Seen Through a Window Screen on a Rainy Day (Rhododendrons)

Seen Through a Window Screen on a Rainy Day (Rhododendrons)
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

It rained hard all day and more rain is predicted through Sunday. Everyone is tired of rain, and it seems a shame that it is raining just as the rhododendrons are blooming all over the place. I took this picture anyway, through a window screen. I was trying to capture the rain on the leaves and the window. I decided I liked the effect of the screen. However, the window was dusty, so I opened the image in Painter IX and cleaned it up with a little digital pastel.

Bright Poppies

Bright Poppies
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I always associate poppies with the field of red flowers in the Wizard of Oz. These are just as magical, but are much closer to home. I saw them on a recent walk here in Beverly. I liked the color of the flowers, as well as the texture and silver-green color of the leaves, so I took a picture with my new phonecam. I am still amazed at how much detail it captures. Tonight I cropped the image to focus on the four bright flowers.

Doorway Print (restored)

Doorway Print (restored)
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Sometimes it is fun to go back and look at the art work I did in college. This is a monoprint I made for a college class; I used cardboard cutouts and corrugated paper to create the image. Although the image seems to be faded, I still like the composition. But I noticed that one of the lines on the left side was missing or faded, and it seemed to throw the composition off balance. So I opened the image in Painter IX and restored just the one line by cutting and pasting. Then I used digital pastel to even out the color of the background. I guess this is a kind of time-travel, a collaboration with a younger version of myself.

Pink and Yellow Petals

Pink and Yellow Petals
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is another photo that I took last week at the garden store in Marblehead. I am not sure whether these are mums or zinnias. But I was interested in the patterns made by the pink and yellow petals, so I took a photo with my phonecam. Tonight I cropped the image just a bit for posting.

Rhododendron in the Rain

Rhododendron in the Rain
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Well, we are back to rainy days here in Massachusetts. Today when I was leaving the gym, I noticed this newly planted rhododendron. I liked the way the raindrops looked on the blossoms, so I stopped and took a picture with my phonecam, despite the fact that I was getting wet. Later, I did I little cleanup of the background with Painter IX, and cropped the image for posting.

Branch of Redbud Tree

Branch of Redbud Tree
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

There are so many flowering trees in Massachusetts, but one kind I don't often see around here is the redbud tree. (I remember walking on the campus of the University of Kansas in spring, under a canopy of redbud trees.) So when I saw a redbud tree in bloom on a recent walk here in Beverly, I took a picture with my phonecam. The tree looked nice against the white house and black shutters. Tonight I cropped this image to get a closer look at the tiny buds that cover the branches.

Souvenir Shop in Lisbon

Souvenir Shop in Lisbon
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Time for another picture from Portugal. This is from my trip in July of 2001. Mauro showed me Lisbon, and we explored the Alfama and then the Castelo de Sao Jorge. This souvenir shop is near the castle. I took the photograph because I liked the building, the colors, and the patterns of the merchandise. But I didn't buy anything in the shop. Photos are the best souvenirs.

Colorado Dream House with View

Colorado Dream House with View
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

My friend Herman sells homes in Colorado, and today he sent me two photos, one of a home in the mountains near Colorado Springs, and the other of the view from within the house. I decided to put the two photos together, to show inside and outside at one time. By the way, this house is available, and if you are interested in this dream house in the mountains (or any other home in Colorado), Herman's web site is http://www.hermansusser.com/

Planting Pansies

Planting Pansies
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

With better weather, I am trying to make up for lost time in the garden, too. Yesterday I planted some pansies in window boxes. This pansy's "face" made me smile, so I took a picture with my phonecam. Tonight, I noticed some spilled potting soil creating a distraction in the background, so I opened the image in Painter and cleaned it up with digital pastel.

House at Long Hill with Wisteria

House at Long Hill with Wisteria
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Now that the weather has improved, we are making up for lost time. Here's a picture from a recent outing, the house at Long Hill Gardens. Around here, wisteria is in bloom and I especially like the way it looks against the brick. I took this photo with my phonecam, then cropped the image to get the composition I wanted.

Rhododendrons on Sale

Rhododendrons on Sale
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here's another image from yesterday's trip to the garden store in Marblehead. I enjoyed seeing all these little rhododendron plants for sale, so I took a picture with my phonecam. Tonight, when I was getting ready to post it, I noticed a sales tag, so I opened the image in Painter IX and removed it with some cutting, pasting, and digital pastel.

Stall at the Garden Center

Stall at the Garden Center
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

We went to the garden store in Marblehead this morning. It was beautiful there and I took a lot of pictures with my phonecam. I love to walk up and down the rows of stalls like this one. Tonight I cropped this picture for the sake of the composition, and then used Painter IX's digital pastel to eliminate two small but pesky signs that were distracting.

Blue Columbines

Blue Columbines
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I saw these columbines at a garden shop yesterday. They reminded me of Colorado, so I took some pictures with my phonecam. (Then I decided to buy three columbine plants for my garden.) Tonight I cropped the image to focus on the blossom of the columbine.

Pencil Sketch for A Portrait as of May 25

Pencil Sketch for A Portrait as of May 25
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I will be starting to paint another portrait soon, but sometimes I like to start with a pencil sketch. It is a good way to "learn" the face, and it can be helpful even if (sometimes especially if) the face is familiar. It helps me to draw what I see, not what I think I know or remember. Here is the pencil sketch as it looks tonight.

Looking at the Beach from Pao de Acucar

Looking At the Beach from Pao de Acucar
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Time for another picture from Brazil. This is a view of the wonderful beaches of Rio, seen from the top of Pao de Acucar. This was taken during our long-awaited trip to Brasil in 1994. We had no sooner arrived than we were taken on this amazing adventure to the top of Pao de Acucar by suspended cable car. This is a happy memory of a trip that was worth the wait. Before the trip, I used to say, "I have never been to Brazil, but Brasil has come to me." And I am still very glad that it did.

Dad March 7 1938

Dad March 7 1938
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

One of my cousins recently sent me a box of family photos, and I have been enjoying looking at them. Here is one that caught my eye. This is my dad (years before he became a father). Tonight I loaded the digital version of the photo into Painter IX and cleaned it up with digital scratch remover and in one or two places, some digital pastel. Then I cropped the image to improve the composition.

Garden Walkway with Azaleas

Garden Walkway with Azaleas
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a digitally modified image of a photo I took recently at Long Hill Gardens in Beverly. We sometimes go to Long Hill with the dogs, for the exercise, and the flowers. You feel peaceful there after just five minutes, no matter how hectic or difficult the rest of the day has been. It's not easy to walk dogs and take photographs at the same time, so sometimes the results are not ideal. But I liked the azaleas and blue forget-me-nots , so I took a quick picture with my new phonecam. The resulting photo had potential, but also some problems. The foreground was fine, but some of the color in the background was washed out, making it hard to see the railings. Basic adjustments didn't seem to work. So I opened the image in Painter IX and used digital pastel to restore color where it was needed. Then I did a little digital pruning of an azalea branch that was blocking the view of part of the railing. Now the image looks more peaceful, and matches the way it feels to be in this beautiful garden.

Harvard Windows

Harvard Windows
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Mel and I drove in to Cambridge this morning, and we had great weather for it. I took a picture with my phonecam as I was walking toward the Harvard Bookstore. Tonight I cropped the image to focus on the patterns of the windows and the spring green leaves.

Sun on the Lilacs

Sun on the Lilacs
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

It has been such a rainy week, so it was great to get out this morning. We went to Long Hill Gardens with the dogs. There were lots of lilacs, and I like to get right up close so I can smell their perfume. I like the way the lilacs looked in the bright morning sun, so I took this picture with my phonecam. Tonight I cropped the image just a bit to balance the composition.

Hibiscus

Hibiscus
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today as I was heading into the grocery store, I saw hibiscus plants outside. I loved the color against the brick, so I stopped to take a picture with my phonecam. (Seeing hibiscus makes me smile because we used to have a big hibiscus tree which we called Junior and schlepped around the country when we moved.) Once I loaded the image into my computer, I cropped it to focus on the flower, and corrected the brightness to restore the color of the brick, which was too light and looked washed out. It is hard to ignore hibiscus, and I am glad that I didn't even try.

Exercise in Graphing the Curve of a Color

Exercise in Graphing the Curve of a Color
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a piece of digital art I have been working on, inspired by graphs and other mathematical illustrations. I am very interested in the idea that line carries meaning, whether in art or in math. I started this image about a month ago, but have had trouble finishing it. I started it by making some arcs in Painter IX, and then started filling in color with the digital airbrush. At first, I wanted hard, crisp lines. But with the cursor, which is what I use, it is very difficult to make precise lines that are curved or diagonal. Then I decided to soften the edges a bit, and I liked the effect. It also brings the piece a bit closer to what I have been thinking about, the intersection of art and math, and the blurred edges that divide the two fields.

These Pears Are Even Better

These Pears Are Even Better
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday I saw some beautiful pears, and I have to admit, I bought them because of their color! This is just the kind of thing I love to draw with pastels. I didn't have time to draw them last night, but decided to take a photograph before I set them out for dinner. Tonight I loaded the image into my computer. First I cropped it, trying to square the circle, and I liked the result. But although these are beautiful pears, still there were some distracting marks on them, and some of the color had been washed out by the flash. Even though I probably will use this image as the basis of a pastel or watercolor, I decided that I liked the photo well enough to try to improve it. So I opened the image in Painter IX and used some digital pastel to clean up the image and adjust a few areas of color. Now the pears are even better.

Another View of RIo

Another View of RIo
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Mauro is visiting family back home in Rio de Janeiro. This is a photograph I took during our trip to Brazil in 1994. It is a view of Rio (including Corcovado) that I took during our unbelievable cable-car ride to the top of Pao de Acucar. It was an amazing first look at Rio on our very first day there! Tonight I scanned the image into the computer, adjusted the light and cropped it. Rio is certainly worth another look.

Tree with White Blossoms

Tree with White Blossoms
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This has been a very rainy week, with steady downpours, closed highways, and flooded basements. But there is better weather ahead, I am sure. Here is a photo that I took with my phonecam during a recent walk, before the recent string of rainy days began. Tonight I cropped the image to focus on the sunlight hitting the little white blossoms.

More Flowers for My Mom

More Flowers for My Mom
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I was trying to find a photo of myself with my mother, but couldn't find too many. But I did find this one in an old album. Tonight I scanned it into the computer and cleaned up some scratches with Painter IX. Then I considered several ways to crop the image. I thought about eliminating the car, but I like the period feel and the dappled light on the lawn. I also considered cropping the opposite side, which was almost entirely dark in the original version. Instead, I decided to use Painter IX's tools to cut and paste the spirea that was visible in the photo, and put more of it in the dark area. Once I added more white flowers, I was happy with the composition, so didn't crop anything after all, not even the remaining shadow. And it is nice to find a way that I can still surround my mother with flowers on Mother's Day.

Bright Geraniums

Bright Geraniums
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

The other day, I used my phonecam to take a quick picture of the geraniums for sale in front of the grocery store. The color isn't quite naturalistic, even after I invoked "auto-adjust". I could have tweaked this to bring the color into a more naturalistic range, but given the run of rainy days we are having, I like the brightness of the image as you see it here.

Lilacs and Peonies

Lilacs and Peonies
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today I received this bouquet of lilacs and peonies as an early Mother's Day gift. Lilacs remind me of the house where I grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, and peonies remind me of our house in Lawrence, Kansas. The arrangement is beautiful and I took some pictures with my new phonecam. When I loaded the images into my computer, I noticed that in the photo I liked best there was some background clutter in one corner. So I opened the image in Painter IX and neated it up with a little cutting, pasting, and digital pastel.

A Quiet View of the USS Constitution

A Quiet View of the USS Constitution
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Several years ago, Heather and I decided to go see the tall ships when they came to Boston. To get there, we caught a water shuttle from the Charles Navy Yard. While we were waiting, we had a chance to look at the USS Constitution, and used it as a backdrop for souvenir photos of our adventure. But tonight I opened the photo in Painter IX and did a little bit of digital editing to get an image of the USS Constitution, because I think it is worth looking at for its own sake.

Spring Nor'easter

Spring Nor'easter
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

We have been having heavy downpours just as the trees are leafing out and blooming, so here is a photo to match the day. Tonight I cropped this image from a photo that I took with my digital camera around this time last year. Last year we were having a spring Nor'easter, just as the dogwood was blooming, like it is right now. It's hard to have cold, wet days just when trees are blooming, but we need the rain, and every once in a while, the sky brightens, and then the colors seem to glow like mad.

Portrait as of May 9, A Post-Script

Portrait as of May 9, A Post-Script
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a digitally modified version of a portrait that I painted for my friends. In February, I mailed the painting to them. But I had the painting scanned before I sent it because my friends want to make copies for family. Scanning turned out to be a good idea because it gave me a chance to make a post-script modification, to soften a small area of shadow that turned out to be distracting. If I still lived down the block, I could have run over and fixed the problem in five minutes (and maybe I can still do that on my next trip home.) But meanwhile, I was able to use Adobe Photoshop to modify the digital image of the scanned portrait, and here it is. Does it matter that I made the changes digitally? To me, that is less important than making sure my friends are at peace when they look at the portrait. Whether I used paint or pixels, this image is the work of my hand, start to finish.

Red Violet Cliffs

Red Violet Cliffs
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here's another painting inspired by memories of the Colorado mountains. This painting was done with acrylics used as water media. Although this painting is from my imagination and is not an attempt to capture realistic detail, it is inspired by the colors found in the Colorado landscape and the proportions of sky, mountain, and horizon that you see when you drive through the mountains of my home state.

Geraniums

Geraniums
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Geraniums are on display at the grocery stores, which I take as a hopeful sign that it is going to stay warm enough to plant a garden without worrying about cold weather. (But then this is north of Boston, so nothing is certain.) Several years ago, I took a picture of geraniums at a local greenhouse. Not too long ago, I cropped this closeup to focus on the patterns of the geraniums and of the roof. Tonight I came across this image, and wondered why I hadn't posted it. When I looked closely, I could see some distracting dried leaves in against the roof, so I opened the image in Painter IX and fixed it up with some digital gardening.

View of Arno River, Florence

View of Arno River, Florence
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Last night, Mel came home from the conference in Turin, Italy. I didn't get to make this trip, but I do have nice memories of Italy from the European trip we all made about ten years ago. This picture, from my album, is a view of the Arno River, and was taken during our short stay in Florence. Today I scanned the image, then cropped it just a bit and corrected the color.

Flower Boats at Xochimilco

Flower Boats at Xochimilco
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here's a nice memory from a trip to Mexico City in 1993. Heather and I went to Xochimilco to ride the beautiful flower boats. I recently came across this photo in my albums, so decided to post it today for Cinco de Mayo. I experimented with the contrast and the saturation, trying to find the best possible solution, given the bright reflections and dark shadows on the water. In this version, the color is slighly intensified to convey the vivid colors and the excitement of this adventure in Mexico.

Driving in the Foz in Porto

Driving in the Foz in Porto
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Why do I take pictures from the passenger seat of moving cars? I guess I get excited about what I see and don't want to miss any opportunities. I took this photo during my first trip to Portugal. Ordinarily, I would crop the photo to eliminate the dashboard and windshield wipers. But in this case, I left enough of the dashboard and windshield wipers to put the viewer in the passenger seat, where I was when I took this photo, and convey a sense of the fun of driving down the narrow and winding old streets of the Foz in Porto.

Horse at Russell's Orchard

Horse at Russell's Orchard
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday Heather took a detour, and we were suddenly on a beautiful back road. Although this area is known for the ocean, it is also horse country. Tonight I found a photo that I took at Russell's Orchard in Ipswich a few summers ago. The photo had potential, but needed a little work. I rotated it to get the vertical lines straight, then cropped the image to focus on the horse, and to line the roof up with one corner at the top of the picture, and the end of the fence with the bottom corner on the other side. Then I enhanced the saturation just a bit for contrast, and that brought out the beautiful color of the horse.

Mountain in Blue

Mountain in Blue
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today I used my recently rescued Clie handheld to sketch this image of the Colorado mountains. The image is from imagination and memory, but also is inspired by photos I have taken on trips back home. I have been trying out some new techniques with the Clie, using a thinner "brush" to make layers of color. After I loaded this image into my computer, I cleaned it up a bit with Painter IX's digital pastel, but one of the benefits of the technique I have been using is that I don't need to do as much cleaning up of the image. This is pretty much what the image looked like on the screen of my little Clie handheld.

Road from Lisbon to Porto

Road from Lisbon to Porto
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a photo from my trip to Portugal in July of 2001. I took this picture from the car as Mauro drove back to Porto from Lisbon. It is fun to drive through the countryside of Portugal and see the patterns in the landscape. Tonight I cropped the photo just a bit, and adjusted the contrast to restore the color.

Buds on the Fruit Tree

Buds on the Fruit Tree
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Fruit trees are getting ready to bloom around here, so today I took some pictures with my phonecam. Later, I cropped this closeup image out of one of the pictures, trying to focus attention on the brightly colored buds against the sky.

Violets are Blue

Violets are Blue
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

That's what they say, though I have always thought they look more purple than blue, but nothing rhymes with purple. I have been noticing the violets coming up everywhere, so I took a picture with my phonecam.

Late Afternoon at the Pond

Late Afternoon at the Pond
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this photo yesterday with my phonecam. I liked the reflections in the water and the soft afternoon light. I am still exploring what this new cameraphone can do, and I can see that it can capture a lot of detail. This image was cropped from the original photo, to get the composition I wanted, and then I reduced the image to half its original size (in pixels)for posting

A Quiet View of Bom Jesus, Braga

A Quiet View of Bom Jesus, Braga
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is the staircase at Bom Jesus, near Braga, Portugal, that I mentioned a few days ago. Recently, I was looking for a good photo of the place, but realized that I only had one photo of the staircase, taken by a friend while Mauro and I stood in front of it. I was so happy to have finally made the trip to Portugal! After I found the photo, I decided to see if I could copy it and use it to create an image with an unobstructed view of the staircase. I opened the copy in Painter IX, did some cut and paste and used a little digital pastel. Then I cropped the image to improve the composition. The original photo is intact, and naturally I will always prefer that image as a wonderful souvenir of my very first trip to Portugal. But still, I had fun practicing some digital sleight of hand, and creating a little disappearing act with Painter IX.

Necklace with Rose Quartz and Jade

Necklace with Rose Quartz and Jade
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday I phoned my aunt in Colorado. She has recently started making jewelry and she loves it! We compared notes on the fun of making jewelry and talked about the addictive quality of bead stores. When you travel or go shopping, you are always on the lookout for beads to buy. Here is a necklace I made last year; I remember finding the jade in a little bead shop on 7th Avenue in New York. Anyway, it was fun comparing notes about jewelry-making with my aunt, and I am looking forward to seeing her work the next time I get a chance to take a trip back home.

Blossoming Tree in the Morning

Blossoming Tree in the Morning
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Due to an unfortunate mishap, my old cellphone is no more. (I shall remain silent about the details except to say that the mishap was hilarious and that it involved water.)So now I have a new cell phone with a new camera, which I tried out on my walk this morning. I love the way the morning light looks on flowering trees, so I took this picture. I also wanted to get a sense of what this new camera would do, and I learned that this camera has a much sharper resolution (see the details in the background). Even though I did like the soft effects of the lower resolution in my old phonecam, it will be nice to be able to get this much detail, especially considering that I reduced the size of the image for posting. In art, each tool is different, and that goes for cameraphones, too. The trick is to learn to use each tool, and figure out what it does best.

Street Near the British Museum

Street Near the British Museum
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this picture during my short stay in London a few years ago. We went to the British Museum on a rainy day. Afterward, we explored some bookstores close to the museum. I remember standing in the doorway of the bookstore and taking this picture of the street scene across the way. Tonight, Mel was watching "84 Charing Cross Road," a movie (based on the book) about a small London bookstore. Well, this is definitely not Charing Cross Road, but the movie reminded me of London bookstores and of this image. The picture was easy to find, but not quite ready to post. So I cropped it, then opened it Painter IX and cleaned up a bit of street litter with digital pastel. Then I added a little color to the sky and intensified a few lines on the buildings just to add contrast, using colors that were already in the photo. I wouldn't call this image a fantasy, but it has been digitally modified, so I guess you could say it is a bit of a London daydream.

Magnolia Blossom Up Close

Magnolia Blossom Up Close
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

The magnolia trees are in bloom. It was too cold and rainy today to go out and take pictures, so instead I cropped this image from a picture I took last spring with my digital camera. Magnolia trees bloom all of a sudden, and often, the blooms don't last. But the photos do!

Sunset Over the Rocky Mountains

Sunset Over the Rocky Mountains
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this picture on my most recent trip to Colorado. I love the way the mountains look at sunrise and at sunset.

An April Celebration

An April Celebration
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is a photo I took recently with my cameraphone. These tulips look they are having an April celebration!

Lembrancas do Bom Jesus

Lembrancas do Bom Jesus
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a picture I took during my first trip to Portugal. This is the outside of a souvenir shop in the park at the top of Bom Jesus (famous for its enormous white staircase that leads up the mountain. Yes, I did climb all the way to the top.) I certainly enjoyed the vistas panoramicas (panoramic views), but even more I enjoy just visiting and experiencing life in Portugal. I took this picture because I loved the tile, the sign in Portuguese, and the little red bench in the shade.

Little Pink Tree

Little Pink Tree
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

When the weather warms up, everything seems to bloom at once. While I was taking a morning walk on Sunday, I came across this little tree with pink and red blossoms. Because the tree was small and was growing right next to the sidewalk, I had an opportunity to get a closeup picture with my phonecam.