Celestial Bouquet (L'Shana Tova) Digital Drawing

Yesterday I had an idea for a Yom Kippur* greeting, so I started this drawing in Procreate, which captures a stroke-by-stroke video as you draw. My idea was to start with a drawing of the sun and planets, and show them turning into flowers.  Due to technical difficulties with my iPad and Apple pencil, the actual drawing didn't get underway as soon as I had planned. But I forged ahead and liked the result well enough to post the video. (You can see the video posted here on Sept. 29, 2017).  But the drawing itself needed some cleanup, so I finished it up with Painter on my desktop, and am posting it here tonight.  In art (as in life), sometimes you just have to keep going to get a little closer to the result you want.  Send this out to wish everyone a good year ahead.

*Jewish holiday, Day of Atonement

Celestial Bouquet (L'Shana Tova)

This morning I had an idea for a Yom Kippur animation, so I got out my iPad to sketch it on Procreate.  But first I had to solve several technical problems (how to change resolution on video, how to charge Apple pencil, how to un-pair and re-pair the Apple pencil).  So by the time I got started, I felt rushed.  But I liked the idea and went with it, and wouldn't you know, it calmed me down.  I hope you like this little celestial bouquet. Sending this out to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful year ahead.

Another Heart Shaped Box (As of Sept. 28, 2017)

This morning I went to the studio at Porter Mill and worked on this project for awhile.  I am covering a heart-shaped candy box with collage and decoupage designs created from printed metallic ribbon.  I have already been working on the top of the box, covering it in purple and orange stripes.  But this is what I worked on today, the underside of the box. I am covering it with brown ribbon accented with floral accents in green and purple.  I call this project "Another Heart Shaped Box" because it isn't my first one.  Here's a link to my first heart shaped box: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/albums/72157632769935420

View of the House at Long Hill

This photo is from a walk that we took about a week ago at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly, MA.  I took a lot of great photos of the gardens, but I thought I would start with this one, which shows the main house. Long Hill (aka Sedgwick Gardens) was formerly a private estate owned by Ellery Sedgwick (Atlantic Monthly editor) and his wife (Mabel Cabot Sedgwick) designed the amazing gardens around the house.  Today the house and gardens belong to Trustees of the Reservation and are open to the public.  This is just up the road so we go there often and it is a great place to take pictures, no matter what the season.

Chain Link Fence (with Prisma filter)

I take a lot of photos with my iPhone, usually on purpose, but have to admit that some of my photos are accidents.  During my recent trip to Lynch Park on a foggy day, my hand slipped while I was trying to photograph birds on the ocean, and I ended up with a picture of the chain link fence.  But I am partial to chain link fences so I didn't delete. Instead, I decided to see what it would look like with a Prisma filter.  I liked the result, but toned the colors down just a bit in iPhoto.  In art (as in life), we have to learn to value what happens by accident. 

Birds and Fog (with Prisma filter)

This image began with another of the photos I took last week at Lynch Park (here in Beverly MA) on a very foggy afternoon.  In the original version, the little bits of stuff on the beach were distracting, but I decided to use a Prisma filter and I liked the result.

View of the Coast in the Fog

Here's one more photo from last week's walk at Lynch Park on a very foggy afternoon.  Lynch Park is surrounded by water on three sides. From the point where i took this photo, you can normally look across the water and see Beverly's beaches and houses.  But in last Sunday's fog, Beverly was just about invisible, just a subtle gray shape in the distance.

Mountain Painting from the 1980s

Yesterday I was surprised to see one of my old paintings posted on Facebook by a friend who lives far away. I painted this sometime in the 1980s when I lived in Lawrence, Kansas, and gave it to my friend when I moved away. It made me happy to see the painting again when my friend posted the image, and to consider that it has been in her house all this time, so I downloaded the jpg.  The image she posted was a photo of the painting behind glass, so there were a lot of reflections. Today I used Painter's digital pastel to soften the reflections a bit.  Back in the 1980s I didn't always take photos of my work, so it is nice to have this. This is acrylic paint used with water on watercolor paper. This was done around the time I started painting mountain landscapes, and it is part of what I jokingly called my "big bang" series, because I always included a burst of brushwork, like a creative explosion. Well, time passes, but some things remain.  Like the mountains.  And good friends. . .

Fog in the Cove (Lynch Park)

It has been foggy all week, here north of Boston (in Beverly, MA).  But it is great weather for photography, if you ask me! This is another picture that I took during a walk at Lynch Park last Sunday.

Apple Flowers (Digital Drawing)

Yesterday I created this little drawing, flowers made of apples.  This is for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) when we eat apples dipped in honey.  I made this on my iPad with the Procreate app, which captures a stroke-by-stroke video as you draw.  If you want to see the video, check out the post for September 18, 2017.

Apple Flowers

Here's a little still life for  Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year).  L'shana tova means "Happy New Year".  I drew this on my iPad with the Procreate app, which captures a stroke-by-stroke video as you draw.  Sending this out to wish everyone a great year ahead.

Trees and Fog (Lynch Park)

We have had a run of foggy weather here in Beverly, MA.  Fog is bad for driving but I love taking photos in the fog.  Here is a photo that I took during a walk at Lynch Park, which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.  In fact, the water would normally be visible in this photo.  I like the way the trees seem to disappear. . . .

Another Heart Shaped Box (As of Sept. 18, 2017)

I went to the studio at Porter Mill this afternoon and worked on this project for an hour.  I am covering this heart-shaped candy box with collage and decoupage designs created from printed metallic ribbon.  I have already done a lot of work on top of the box (on the left in the photo). It has orange and purple stripes and is going to have a gold border.  But today I concentrated on the bottom surface, which I am covering with brown metallic ribbon, accented with floral patterns in purple and green.  I feel encouraged as I cover more of the surface with ribbon and less or the original label shows.  But there is still quite a bit to do. . . . I call this project, "Another Heart Shaped Box" because it isn't my first one.  Follow this link if you want to see my first heart-shaped box: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/albums/72157632769935420

Staircase Down to the Beach (Independence Park)

Here's another photo from yesterday's evening walk at Independent Park here in Beverly, MA.  I took this photo at the top of the main staircase that leads down to the beach.  Tonight I cropped the original version to get this composition.

Evening Scene at Independence Park

I thought it was too late for a walk yesterday, too inconvenient, didn't have time.  Dinner would be late. But I went and of course it was beautiful.  We walked along the ocean at Independence Park, here in Beverly, MA. The remnants of fog were still there and sunset was approaching.  The light was great so I took some pictures.  This is one of the best, so I edited to get this composition.

Three Swans (at Kelleher Pond) with Prisma filter

A couple of days ago, I published a photo of swans that I took during a walk around Kelleher Pond, here in Beverly, MA.  This time I am posting the same image but with the addition of Prisma's mosaic filter.

Another Heart Shaped Box (As of Sept. 14, 2017)

I went to the studio at Porter Mill this morning and did some more work on this project.  I am covering a heart-shaped candy box with collage/decoupage designs created from printed metallic ribbon.   Over time (too much time), I have already created purple and orange stripes on the box top.  But today I concentrated on the bottom of the box (which says "Turtles" and lists nutritional information.)  I am covering the surface with mostly brown pieces of ribbon, with some purple and green floral accents.  This is slow-going, but if you want to see where this is headed, you can follow the link to the first heart shaped box that I made: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/albums/72157632769935420

Three Swans (Kelleher Pond)

Day before yesterday, we went for a walk around Kelleher Pond. here in Beverly, MA. The swans and ducks were out and I took some pictures.  In the original photo, there were about seven swans and a few ducks, but I cropped the image to get this composition, three swans and their reflections.  In the original photo, there was a lot of stuff floating in the water, but I did some digital cleanup to get rid of the worst of this.  I also created a second version with a Prisma filter, which I plan to post here tomorrow.

Indoor Garden (Fabric Appliqué as of Sept. 10, 2017)

This is the fabric appliqué I am working on, creating a little still life with pieces of fabric and iron-on adhesive.  This is how it looked two days ago (Sept. 10).  I had already added the flower pots, but that was it.  I used some white chalk to roughly sketch where I want the vines to go.  Then I started cutting out pieces and ironing them in place.  I don't trace the pieces, just cut them to the shapes I want. I always think this will be easy, but it never is. But I love it anyway. To be continued. . .

World Trade Center (with Prisma filter)

This is a new version of an image that I have posted before.  The original version is a photo that I took in 1988, a view of the World Trade Center from the Empire State Building.  I was taking a tour and wanted a  a photo of the New York skyline. As I have said before, despite many visits to NYC  (especially while I was living in New Jersey), I have surprisingly few pictures of the World Trade Center. But I try to post a picture of the Twin Towers on September 11.  I think it is easier to keep a memory alive if you add something new. So today I decided to try adding a Prisma filter to this photo. It took a lot of trying to find a filter that worked, but I like this one.  So here's a nice memory of the New York skyline as it once was. 

Red Berries on Wayfaring Tree (with Prisma filter)

Yesterday's post was a photo that I took during a recent walk at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA.  Every year I notice this beautiful shrub with red berries and lovely patterned leaves.  Today's post is the same image, but with a Prisma filter added.  The crop is slightly different as well.

Red Berries on Wayfaring Tree

This photo is from a walk at Long Hill Gardens at the end of August.  I loved the red berries so I took a picture. Today I cropped the original photo to get this composition.  I have photographed this shrub before at Long Hill. The first time, I didn't know what it was, but I used Google images to find a match. The Latin name is Vibernum lantana, also known as Wayfaring Tree, a very beautiful name. 

Indoor Garden (Fabric Appliqué as of Sept. 8, 2017)

Last week I posted my idea for this project.  This is going to be an indoor garden done in fabric appliqué. I am using the remaining tea towel from a favorite set as the background.  I didn't have a lot of time today, but I wanted to get this started.  I got the three flower pots cut out, positioned, and pasted down.  To be continued. . .

Another Heart Shaped Box as of Sept. 7, 2017

It's been a while since I worked on this project, but it's September and time to get back to it. This morning I went to the studio to work on this for a while. This heart-shaped box once held candies for Valentine's Day (Turtles, as you can see).  Now I am covering it with collaged patterns made with printed metallic ribbon. I have already done a lot of work on the top of the box, decorated with orange and purple stripes. There is still more to do with the top, but today I concentrated on the bottom of the box., which is going to be brown with purple and green floral accents.  I call this project "Another Heart Shaped Box" because it's not the first.  If you want to see my first heart-shaped box, follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/albums/72157632769935420

Hydrangeas Turning Pink (with Prisma filter)

Yesterday's post was a photo of hydrangeas turning pink.  I saw lots of hydrangeas changing color during a recent neighborhood walk, so I took a picture.  Today's post is the same photo with a Prisma filter added.

Hydrangeas Turning Pink

We have had some cool overnight temperatures, and the hydrangeas are turning from white to pink and cream-colored.  I saw a lot of pink hydrangeas on a recent walk, so I stopped to take some pictures.

Idea for Flower Pot Appliqué

A few months ago I found a favorite tea towel while I was going through a chest of drawers. I bought the set of because of the cool design, but now there is only this one left, and it is pretty worn out besides. So I put it in a bag to discard or maybe donate. But I liked the colors and patterns and fished it out, thinking I could cut it up and use it to make fabric appliqué. But every time I thought about cutting it up, I thought no, because it would be great to use as a background for an appliqué: maybe for a bouquet or a window box. But the placement of the patterns as well as some flaws in the tea towel made me doubtful that such a composition would work, so I put it aside. Well, once in a while, you get an idea that won't leave you alone. I tried to start other projects but this idea kept popping up as if to say, "Me first, Make me first." (The last time this happened was when I made my chicken collage. See below.) So today I decided to figure out once and for all whether my idea would work. I put the tea towel over my bulletin board and just started cutting up a few pieces of office paper and moving the pieces around until I came up with the rough composition you see here. Based on this, I decided it would be possible to create a composition that builds on the patterns already in the cloth, while covering some flaws in the tea towel as well. So I decided that this project is a go. I didn't bother to attach the pieces of paper to the tea towel because although I am going to include the three flower pots, I will probably make a lot of changes in the flowers and leaves. But I did take this quick photo to use as a guide. And I put the pieces of paper in a big envelope. To be continued. . . .

PS. Here is a link to my chicken collage: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/8152651327/

Planter at Long Hill Gardens (with Prisma filter)

Just a simple post for a busy day.  On a recent walk at Long Hill Gardens, I took a photo of a planter.  Today I did some editing in Painter and also added a Prisma filter.

"Watercolors of Portugal," in Portugal

This photo shows four of my watercolors, part of a series that I painted from photos that I took while visiting Portugal. Portugal is a lovely place to visit, but the main reason I go is to visit Mauro, who came to the US from Brazil in 1985 to study at the University of Kansas. We were assigned to be his host family while he was a student, but it soon became obvious that he was "a keeper." Now he lives in Portugal. Some years ago, I sent Mauro some prints of these paintings, and today he sent me this photo to show me how they look in his new apartment.

Lilies and Petunias (with Prisma filter)

Yesterday's post was a photo of day lilies and pink petunias, a quick picture taken while I was waiting in the ice-cream line at Cherry Hill Creamery.  Today's post is the same photo with a filter added from Prisma.