New Year Train (Video)

I made this on my iPad using the Procreate app, which creates a video as you draw.  I am sending this out with wishes for the best of everything in 2018.

New Year Train (Rough Sketch)

Yesterday I had an idea for a 2018 New Year greeting, an idea for a video on my iPad.  I did a quick sketch with pen on a piece of typing paper.  To be continued. . .

Snow Shadows (Posterized Photo)

Here's one more version of my "Snow Shadows" photo, this time posterized in sections using Painter on my desktop.  I like this version best because it brings out the blue and purple tones in the shadows on the snow.

Snow Shadows (with Prisma Filter)

I decided to try adding a Prisma filter to the photo that I took yesterday.  I opened the app on my phone and tried out several filters with this photo, finally choosing "Wave" at about 90 percent. Then I re-adjusted the brightness in iPhoto.

Snow Shadows

It snowed here this week, and I took some pictures. I love the way the sun makes blue shadows on the snow. Tonight I cropped the original to get this composition. 

Closeup of Dogwood in Ice Storm

This is a picture that I took during the ice storm we had on December 23.  Ice storms are the worst kind of weather in so many ways, but they can also be the most beautiful. . .

Holiday Birds

Today I used Painter to edit the image I posted yesterday, a digital drawing of some holiday birds.  I started the drawing on my iPad with Procreate.  I liked the result, but even with the stylus, it was rougher than I wanted it to be.  Today I did some cleanup, straightening some lines, and making small changes to sharpen up the birds and make them more visible.  

Holiday Birds (Digital Drawing)

This is a digital drawing that I made yesterday on my iPad, using the Procreate app. Procreate captures a stroke-by-stroke video as you draw, and this is the final frame. (I posted the video here last night.) This was based on an idea has been following me around: red birds on an evergreen tree (for Christmas), and then nine blue birds on the telephone wire (for Chanukah). I thought this would work to send greetings to interfaith couples and families. This drawing could use some more cleanup, but I am partial to the birds, so I am sending it out to wish everyone happy times and safe travels, no matter what calendar you follow. .

Holiday Birds (Video)

I created this late last night on my iPad, with the Procreate app. Procreate captures a stroke-by-stroke video as you draw. This idea has been following me around so yesterday I decided to draw this. The original idea was for red birds on an evergreen tree (for Christmas), and then I thought of adding nine blue birds on the telephone wire (for Chanukah) to make this work for interfaith families and couples. When I started this, I thought this was going to just be a "rough draft". And besides, my stylus was refusing to pair with my iPad, was being charged, but it was late so I started drawing without a stylus (like finger painting). Then I finally got my stylus to work and made things a bit neater. (Maybe you can tell when the stylus started working). Well, this is still rough, but I am found of the birds, so I am sending it out as is to wish friends and families all the joys of the season.

Tennessee Trees 2

This is another photo from my recent trip to Nashville.  I took lots of photos during my trip, pictures of people and places, and even scenic views that I may try to paint some time.  But I also have a few photos like this one, taken from the back seat of the car.  I know it's pretty hard to get a good photo pointing the camera toward the side window of a car in motion.  But I like to risk it sometimes, and once in a while the results are interesting. Tonight I cropped the original just a bit to get this composition.

Tennessee Trees

During my recent trip to Nashville, I took a lot of photos. Some photos are to share my trip with friends and family. Others are photos of the countryside that I might want to use as painting references someday.  But this strange photo fits into neither category. It's a photo taken from a moving car; some might call it a mistake or an accident. But I like it.

Lotsa Blue Menorahs

I used Painter's "capture pattern" feature to create this pattern from my "Blue Menorah" drawing.  Well, if you are counting, you will see that this is the ninth menorah image I have posted, so this is extra.  But Chanukah celebrates religious freedom and victory over tyranny, so even as the holiday comes to an end, I say, there's no such thing as too many menorahs. 

Blue Menorah with Border

This is the digital drawing I have been working on all week.  I started it last Tuesday morning on my iPad using the Procreate app. At the time, I was on a Jet Blue flight from Nashville to Boston, and I think the name of the airline suggested the color choice.  Since I got home, I have been cleaning the image up on my computer using Painter. Last night I decided it was finished (not perfect, but at a stopping point).   I decided to see how my blue menorah would look as a pattern, but a trial run made it clear that I would need to add a border first.  I decided to use bright yellow, to match the candles.  Tomorrow I will post the pattern.

Blue Menorah

This is the digital drawing I have been working on.  Last Tuesday morning, I started this on my iPad with the Procreate app. I was in a plane at the time, heading home from Nashville.  I liked the idea but the drawing needed cleanup and I have been editing it on my computer (with Painter) for the past few days. I have been straightening lines and making things the same size, and I am now ready to say this is done (not perfect, but good enough).  I decided to see what my blue menorah would look like as a pattern. . . .To be continued. . .

Blue Menorah (Edited) as of Dec. 17, 2017

I am still working on this digital drawing. This began as a sketch on my iPad using Procreate that I drew while I was on a flight from Nashville to Boston.  Once I got home, I opened the image in Painter on my computer and have been editing it ever since.  Tonight I focused on the candles and flames, trying to get them to look more uniform (which never happens in real life).  Still more cleanup to go, but almost there. . .

Blue Menorah (Edited) as of Dec. 16, 2017

Here is the digital drawing I have been working on.  I drew this little blue menorah a few days ago while on a plane (Jet Blue) back to Boston from Nashville.  I started this drawing with my Procreate app, but have been using Painter on my computer to clean it up.  Today I spent a while trying to get the color scheme right. I want the flames to "pop" as if it were evening, but the blue menorah still needs to show.  I finally hit on this color scheme, and I think I am going to go with this.  I also evened out the height of the candles and straightened out some lines.  Almost there.  To be continued. . . .

Blue Menorah (Edited) as of Dec. 15, 2017

This is the digital drawing I have been working on. I started this on a plane (coming home from a trip to Nashville), using the Procreate on my iPad.  For the past couple of days, I have been cleaning up the image using the Painter program on my computer.  Today I kept going with that, and also added some background.  I may change the background colors but this is what I have so far.

Blue Menorah (Edited) As of Dec. 14, 2017

I have been using Painter on my computer to edit this menorah (a digital drawing that I made with the Procreate app on my iPad). The original drawing was pretty rough, drawn during a flight from Nashville to Boston on Tuesday.  Once I got home and had the image open in Painter, I put a grid over it and started straightening out some lines.  I moved one candle with cut-and-paste, and reworked the flames a bit.  Still more to do, but it is Chanukah tonight, so here it is.

Blue Menorah, Digital Drawing (Original Version)

I drew this yesterday at 30,000 feet, on a Jet Blue plane, heading home to Boston from Nashville. I made this drawing on my iPad using the Procreate app. Procreate captures a video playback as you draw. I posted the video last night, hurrying because it was already Chanukah. Tonight I am posting the drawing itself. This is pretty much how it looked when I finished, though I did just a bit of cleanup. It is still pretty rough, but I plan to post an edited version tomorrow, cleaned up on my computer with Painter. Anyway, Happy Chanukah! More to come. .

Blue Menorah

I should really call this "Jet Blue Menorah" because that's where I was when I drew this, on Jet Blue flying home to Boston from Nashville this morning. It's a little rough, but I am posting it as is because Chanukah is starting NOW!  I drew this on my iPad using Procreate, no stylus, just my fingers.  Want to see the candles light up? Just press play!

Bucket of Leeks (with Prisma filter) Edited

Yesterday I posted my photo of leeks, but with a filter from my Prisma app.  I liked it enough to want to make it better. I thought I could get rid of the yellow bin and what looked like someone's shoe.  I wanted a simpler background to make it more apparent that the composition was a circle squared.  So I opened the image in Painter and used cut-and-paste to hide most of the yellow bin and the tip of the show.  Then I added a little digital pastel to create purple shadows. The leek is a humble vegetable, but don't overlook it.  Leeks can be beautiful, even in a bucket.

Bucket of Leeks (with Prisma Filter)

I used the Prisma app on my iPhone to add a filter to the photo I posted here yesterday, a bucket of leeks (or a leaky bucket as my friends have pointed out).  I especially liked the background with the Prisma filter, but I really wanted to get rid of some of the stuff in the background (another bin, someone's shoe), so I opened the image in Painter and got to work.  I will post the result tomorrow.

Bucket of Leeks

I took this photo a few weeks ago while we were at Long Hill picking up our vegetable share from our CSA (which is The Food Project).  I liked the patterns and texture of the leek stalks, so I took a picture.  Right now my kitchen is overflowing with leeks, onions, potatoes, etc. which is why  this image came to mind.  I decided to try a Prisma filter on this photo and I plan to post the result tomorrow.

Vermont Hillside (With Prisma FIlter)

Yesterday I posted one of the photos I took on a trip to Vermont in early November.  Here is the same image with a Prisma filter.

Vermont Hillside

This is another photo that I took on the way to Vermont in early November.  The fall foliage was "past peak" but I liked the subtle colors that were left.  Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.  I also created another version with a Prisma filter and I plan to post it here tomorrow.

Blue Sun, Red Mountains (Aquaboard, on the Wall)

I have recently started painting on Aquaboard.  It seems to work well with acrylics used with water.  This is one of my recent paintings ("Blue Sun, Red Mountains"), which already posted here. But this photo shows how it looks on the wall.  This kind of Aquaboard has a two-inch side, which can be stained.  The painting is 8 x 10 inches. Right now this painting is hanging at at Galatea Gallery, for "Fresh Forward," the December show of Galatea artists.  (Opening tonight!)