Randi with Dad (Posterized Photo)

This image began with one of the photos recently sent to me by my cousins. This was taken sometime around 1990, at a family event. It is so nice to have a picture of myself sitting with my father! I thought it would be worth it to fix a few distracting details, so today I opened the image in Painter 2023 and got to work. Because I have just upgraded to this version of Painter, I had to search for familiar tools and controls, and there is quite a learning curve. However, I was highly motivated to work on this photo, so it was a good match. I managed, and I learned a lot. In the original photo, there is so much glare from my dad's glasses that it made it hard to see his eyes. So I enlarged the image and used a bit of digital pastel to make his eyes more visible. I did a little retouching to get rid of some distracting marks on the faces. I removed the logo on the cup in my hand, and I took the liberty of changing the color of my Dad's tie. I added posterizing and also did basic cropping and straightening. I am glad I took the time to do this because I love having this image. And again I was reminded that photographs are powerful carriers of memory and emotion. Yes, tears were running down my face as I worked on this, but I can't blame the computer issues. Of course, these days you can change a lot of things about a photograph, but you still can't change time. . .or love

Snowfall (Digital Woodcut) 2023

I haven't posted in a while. Over the past week or so, I have uploaded new operating systems to my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. All of this was a bit bumpy, but upgrading my Mac meant I also had to get a new version of Painter, moving from 2019 to 2023 versions.  Finally was able to install Painter 2023 yesterday. So this image is a photo of our recent snowfall, with posterizing an woodcut effects added with my brand new Painter program.  The program is so new to me that I couldn't even find the "crop" tool, so I had to crop the image in iPhoto. And things are still bumpy: for example, Flickr can't seem to upload directly from my photos on the Mac. But I am happy to be able to use Painter again and eager to learn. . . 

Winter Window (with Prisma filter)

This image began with a photo of a February snowstorm.  I took a picture from an upstairs window, then added the Prisma app's "Oleander" filter.

Photos of my Dad (with Prisma filter)

My cousins recently sent me some more photos of my father. 

 Among them was a set of about 8 or 9 head shots of him.  Last week I posted a photo of six of those photos.  Then I decided to see what that would look like with a Prisma filter added.  I used the Prisma app on my phone and chose the "Pencil Tones" filter. 

 I think it works pretty well. 

Roses in Sunlight (with Prisma filter)

Yesterday, after a whirlwind trip through Market Basket, we passed a big display roses on sale for Valentine's Day.  My husband asked if I wanted some roses, so I said yes. So I  picked out some hot pink roses. Today I took a picture of them in the morning sunshine, edited the photo in Painter, and added Prisma's "Masquerade" filter.  

Photos of My Dad

A lovely surprise arrived on February 7th:  a small package of photos, sent to me by cousins Russ and Carol Kates.  Most of them were pictures of my dad, and I had seen only a few of them.  Some were snapshots, but there was a whole set of head shots of my father, nine of them I think.  What a great post-birthday surprise!!!  I couldn't decide which one of the head shots to post here, so I took a picture of six of them all at once. I am not sure of the date these were taken, but I would guess late 1980s.  I am pretty sure these were taken by my uncle, Ike Fitterman. Anyway, it is great to see that smile and I am grateful to have these.   

Tree in a Year

Yesterday I made this on my iPad with the Procreate app, which captures a video replay as you draw.  I am posting this today (a little early) because Tu B'shvat (the Jewish New Year for Trees) starts at sundown tonight.  I have always loved the idea of this holiday, and in recent years have tried to make a Tu B'shvat video every year.  I do this not only because it's great practice for the simple kind of animation that works on the iPad, but also because it is a great reminder that nature should not be taken for granted. 

Trumpet Vine for Marcia (Painting)

I finally finished this painting, and here it is, ready to be mailed next week to my long-lost friend Marcia.  I have been working on this painting since my last post on January 27th, almost a week ago.  At that point, I was expecting just a few minor changes but In fact I did a little more than that.  First, I kept working on the background, which was surprisingly complicated. In addition to showing the shift from light to shadow, I also needed to get the shifting hues in that wall:  pink and pale purple to red-orange to burnt orange to brown and purple. It took a while to get all that and still have smooth transitions. Once I got the background to work, I did more on the foliage and flowers, refining shapes and fixing mistakes.  And once the background was in place, I was able to use light and dark on the leaves to create a 3-D effect, with some of the branches seeming to come forward and some seeming to recede. As I did that, I repainted some of the foliage. Now I am happy with it and I am glad I kept going! After all, this is for my long-lost friend Marcia and I want her to be happy with it as well.