Monday, July 09, 2012

Necklace with Wood and Blue Glass on Green Suede Cord

The washing machine broke over the weekend, and the repairman came this morning. I knew I wouldn't be able to accomplish very much while the washing machine was being fixed, just too much noise and too many distractions. So I decided to try to put this necklace together. I already had the basic idea because I had been thinking about this combination for a while: wooden spheres and teal glass beads on a knotted green suede cord. Because I was securing the beads by tying knots, I knew it would be easy to stop at any point if I was interrupted.  But I wasn't! It enjoyed myself, and when I was finished, the washing machine was already fixed.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Queen Anne's Lace (Digital Woodcut)

This image began with another photo taken near the Bass River, here in Beverly, MA. There is a tiny park and path along the river right behind the Starbucks, which is one reason for my frequent visits. The other day, I noticed some Queen Anne's lace with the river in the background, so I took some pictures. The sun was very bright and the focus wasn't as sharp as I wanted, but I was very happy with the composition. So tonight I opened the photo in Painter 12, adjusted the brightness, sharpened the focus, and then applied the woodcut effect. After that, I did some more editing in iPhoto, mainly adjusting contrast and color. There is something about flowers growing at the water's edge that seems peaceful to me.

Saturday, July 07, 2012

Daylilies on Riverbank (Digitally Modified and Posterized)

Here's one more look at those daylilies on the riverbank, just before the sun went down. (This was taken near the Bass River from the little path behind the Starbucks, here in Beverly, MA.) I loved the way the lilies looked on the riverbank, so I took this picture. When I got the image into my computer, I saw lots of problems in the foreground, which I tried to solve in Painter 12 with some digital slight-of-hand. Then I did some selective posterizing. Although I am not completely satisfied with the result, I love the feeling of this image. So I decided to accept this image as it is, put perfectionism aside, and share this peaceful moment.

Friday, July 06, 2012

Daylilies and River

Daylilies and River by randubnick
Daylilies and River, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is another photo that I took near the Bass River at the little riverbank walkway behind the Starbucks here in Beverly, MA. It was nearly sunset (the "golden hour"), and the daylilies looked great in that light, so I took a few pictures. I was pretty happy with this one, but when I opened the image in the computer, I could see some litter (maybe a candy wrapper) in exactly the wrong place. So I opened the image in Painter 12 and used some cut and paste to get rid of the problem. Then I did some selective posterizing. I wanted to cover my tracks and to bring out the color of the daylilies, but I didn't want to add posterizing effect to the water.

Thursday, July 05, 2012

Sunset Reflections

Sunset Reflections by randubnick
Sunset Reflections, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.
This is a view of the sky at sunset over the Bass River, here in Beverly, MA. To be more specific, this is the view from the little parking lot and walkway behind the Starbucks near the river. We stopped to get a coffee just before sunset. The amazing colors of the sky were reflected in the water, so I began to take pictures. This photo was one of the best. Tonight I used iPhoto to lighten some shadows and do a little retouching to get some distracting weeds out of the way. Then I cropped it to get this composition.

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Waiting for Fireworks (Beverly Marina)

Tonight's adventure was a trip to the Beverly Marina to watch the fireworks. I had never done this before, and in fact, had never walked around the marina, but my daughter led the way. We arrived shortly before dark, and it was beautiful! This is a great vantage point to see fireworks being set off in Salem, Marblehead, Danvers, etc. I made many attempts to take pictures of the fireworks, but wasn't optimistic about the results. (I have tried photographing fireworks before.) We also saw lightening and heard thunder, and we left when it began to rain in earnest. When I got home and transferred my photos into the computer, I saw that I did seem to have an enormous number of failed attempts to photograph fireworks. (Some may have potential, so I plan to look at them more carefully tomorrow.) But I did have some nice photos of the marina. This is one of the best, a view of the bridge to Salem, seen from the marina. This is how it looked right out of my iPhone camera.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Chicken Collage Day 24 (July 3, 2012)

This afternoon, I went to the studio for a while and worked for about an hour on this project, my chicken collage. I am using pasted paper to create an image of a chicken made up of patterns. This idea suddenly came to while I was looking at the chickens at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. There were lots of different kinds of chickens there, and lots of beautiful patterns in their feathers. Well, this project is taking a long time, but for me, that is always true of collage. Creating the image is fun, and at the beginning the work goes quickly, but there is a lot of slow and painstaking work to implement the idea and finish it. Today I made the focus of my work filling in gaps in the tail feathers with tiny pieces of black and white polka dot pattern. This went slowly, but I can see some progress. And as always, working on this little chicken makes me smile.

Monday, July 02, 2012

Composition 2 with Square Grate Pattern

Last night I created an image with my square grate pattern, using Painter 12's pattern pen. I had so much fun that I decided to do another one. I am trying to take colors that were in the original photo. On this one, I did some selective posterizing to bring out the pattern.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Composition with Square Grate (Digital "Print")

The images I have been posted for the past few days all began with a photo of a square metal grate that I noticed while I was sitting on a park bench. Yesterday I used Painter 12 to make the image into a pattern (which I am already using to make things like cases for electronic gear on Zazzle.com). Tonight I decided to load the pattern into Painter's pattern pen, and created this "digital print". (It isn't really a print, but these images remind me of mono prints, so that's what I call them.) I use a big "brush" loaded with the pattern, and get the strokes where I want them (not easy!) and then posterize the result. That's a big simplification, but it's the basic idea. Using the pattern pen like this reminds me of running an inked brayer over paper. Anyway, I liked the result, and here it is.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Square Grate Pattern

Square Grate Pattern by randubnick
Square Grate Pattern, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Tonight I used Painter 12 to create a pattern from my posterized photo of a square grate. (This is a kind of "found art" transformed into a digital pattern.) After I had "captured" the pattern, I started a new image and used the paint bucket to fill the new image with this pattern. Then I cropped the result for symmetry. I may try to see what I can do with this pattern on Zazzle.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Square Grate (Posterized)

Square Grate (Posterized) by randubnick
Square Grate (Posterized), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a posterized version of the image I posted yesterday, just a photo of a square grate made of concrete and metal. I liked the sunlight playing on the geometric shapes. Posterizing (with Painter 12) brought out the purples and greens. I think this has potential as a digital pattern.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Square Grate

Square Grate by randubnick
Square Grate, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Last week, I was sitting on a bench at the Cummings Center Pond and noticed this grate made of metal and concrete. I really liked the pattern of rounded squares so I took a picture. It seems crazy to take a picture of the ground when the beautiful pond is right there, but I thought I might be able to do something with this bit of "found art". When I got the photo into the computer, I could see bits of dry grass and other distracting litter, so tonight I started by cleaning up the image a bit with some cut and paste and digital pastel. I also created a posterized version tonight, and I began to think this idea might have potential. More to come.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Sun Breaking Through Clouds (Colorado Springs)

Colorado has been on my mind because of the wildfires. Today I was looking at pictures of my home state, and came across a nice view of the mountains in a photo that I took in Colorado Springs during my last trip home. The mountains looked great in the original photo -- no fire, no smoke, just patches of blue sky and sun breaking through clouds. Although I liked the original photo, I had never used it because there were signs and electric wires getting in the way of the view. So tonight I used Painter to get rid of the wires with some cut-and-paste and digital chalk, and then posterized the image. Here's hoping for bright days ahead for Colorado.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pale Pink Roses (Digital Woodcut)

Yesterday I used Painter 12 to add a woodcut effect to my photo of pale pink roses. I tried many versions, experimenting with the heaviness setting and the black line width. This was the best of many, many tries. I am still not quite sure of it. But this is what I worked on, so here it is.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Pale Pink Roses (Posterized Photo)

Tonight I used Painter to create this image. This is a posterized version of the photograph I published here last night, pale pink roses for a birthday bouquet.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Pale Pink Roses

Pale Pink Roses by randubnick
Pale Pink Roses, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I was looking at roses today, picking out a birthday bouquet, and this one caught my eye. I liked the color, a very creamy pale pink. I liked them so much that I took a quick picture before I bought them. Tonight I used iPhoto to do some basic editing and then cropped the image to get this composition.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Ferns at Bradley Palmer (Digital Woodcut)

This is the same photo that I published here last night (ferns at Bradley Palmer State Park), but I used Painter 12 to apply the woodcut effect. I wanted to see if the black outline would enhance the patterns of the leaves. I also created a version that is lightly posterized, but it is so close to the original photo that I decided not to post it here. However, I might upload it to Zazzle and see what I can do with it.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Ferns at Bradley Palmer (Digitally Edited Photo)

About a week and a half ago (June 12), we stopped at Bradley Palmer State Park, on the way home from the vet. There was a lot to see, but I really liked the patterns and lines in these ferns, so I took some pictures. This image had the best composition, right out of my iPhone camera. But it needed a little clean up (a few dried leaves, etc.), so I opened the image in Painter and used digital pastel to make these problems less visible. While I had Painter open, I also created a posterized version and a woodcut version, which I plan to post here over the next few days.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Colorado Drawings at Open Studios

Last week, for open studios at Porter Mill, I framed up four Colorado drawings. (This is a new series of multimedia drawings created from an old sketchbook from a trip to my home state in the 1980s.) I was running out of wall space, so I put them in four small easels on the work counter. It was interesting to see how they looked when they were displayed together.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Aspen (Framed)

Aspen (Framed) by randubnick
Aspen (Framed), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Here's one more of my Colorado drawings, framed up for Porter Mill open studios last weekend. This one is a drawing of Aspen, based on a pencil sketch from a small sketchbook that I used during a trip to my home state in the 1980s. I have been scanning, copying, and tracing the sketches so that i can then draw into the image with colored pencil, fine line marker, and colored chalk and conte crayon.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Dillon (Framed)

Dillon (Framed) by randubnick
Dillon (Framed), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This mixed media drawing is based on a sketch that I made near Dillon, Colorado, during a trip through the mountains in the 1980s. I have been making copies of the sketches and then adding color with markers, colored conte crayon, and pastel. Last week I put them in frames for open studios at Porter Mill, here in Beverly, MA.

Monday, June 18, 2012

To Leadville (Framed Drawing)

Last week I put some of my Colorado drawings in frames for Open Studio at Porter Mill. This one is "To Leadville" and is probably my favorite of the set so far. (These drawings are based on drawings from an old sketchbook that I used on a trip to Colorado, back in the 80s. I scan them, print copies, trace the drawing into a new sketchbook, and then draw into the images with marker, colored pencil, and pastel or conte crayon.)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Dad and Me (Digitally Edited and Posterized Family Photo)

Yesterday I was looking for pictures of my dad for a Father's Day project. I was rifling through albums trying to find one of my favorite old photos, and then realized I was looking right at it, in a little plastic cube frame displayed on the shelf where I keep my albums. This is a photo of my dad with me on my birthday. The picture was taken by my uncle, Isaac Fitterman, a very talented photographer (professional name Jay Phillips) who took many great photos of the whole family! Well, this particular copy in the cube frame was much loved, and as a result was was much loved and the copy in the cube frame was worn, bent, and cracked. No doubt there is another copy somewhere (and I probably have the negative) but I decided to use this one. So I scanned it into my computer as a color photo, and used iPhoto's retouch tool to take out the worst of the cracks and marks. Then I used Painter to posterize it, which created the pink and green tones, and added a little sparkle to my ruffled blouse. Then I cropped it a little to get this composition. So this image is a collaboration with my Uncle Ike (who was a wonderful uncle to me), and a way to spend a little time thinking about my dad on Father's Day.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Sunset Celebration (In Porter Mill Gallery)

This is one of my oil bar paintings, and it is currently hanging in the Porter Mill Gallery. As part of open studios, every artist has a chance to display art work in the gallery, and this is the painting I submitted. I liked what the gallery lighting did for this painting, so while I was at the reception tonight, I took a quick picture.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Lots of Strawberries

Lots of Strawberries by randubnick
Lots of Strawberries, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday's post was a digital sketch of strawberries that I created using Painter 12. I also created a pattern from my strawberry sketch, and then used the pattern to create this image. It might be fun to use this pattern to make things on Zazzle.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Digital Strawberries

Digital Strawberries by randubnick
Digital Strawberries, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Last week I picked some strawberries and it really makes you understand that one of the functions of color is to help us eat! If you want to find strawberries, you have to look for flashes of red among the green leaves. And if you want to tell if the strawberries are ripe, you have to look for bright red throughout the fruit. So color is necessary and delicious! Tonight I used Painter 12 to create this digital sketch of strawberries. I also used this sketch to create a pattern, which I plan to post here tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Red Roses in the Shade (Posterized Photo)

The other day, during a walk at the Cummings Center Pond, I took some pictures of some bright red roses growing under a tree. They looked great in the afternoon light. But I didn't like the cluttered background. Tonight I used Painter to do some digital cut and paste on the background, and then posterized the image. I still wasn't happy with it, so I transferred in into iPhoto and cropped out the background, leaving this close-in view.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Clematis on the Fence (Digital Woodcut)

Tonight I used Painter 12 to create this digital woodcut from yesterday's post, my photo of purple clematis on a chain-link fence. I knew I would have to use trial and error to get the right amount of black line. But I kept losing the rich purple color. So I created a color set from the original image, and then used that color set to make the woodcut. It worked!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Clematis on the Fence

Clematis on the Fence by randubnick
Clematis on the Fence, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Today I was doing yard work when I saw the clematis in bloom on the chain link fence. They looked so good that I stopped and took a few pictures. This is one of the best. Tonight I cropped the original in iPhoto to get this composition.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Colorado Drawings "Aspen Again"

This drawing is based on a little sketch somewhere near Aspen, back in the 80's. It is part of a series of drawings based on a small (5"x 8") sketchbook that I took with me on a trip home to Colorado during the 1980s. I was drawing from the passenger seat of a moving car, just trying to capture the lines of the mountains, and sometimes I wrote down the location, as in this one. For this series, I am scanning the sketches into my computer and printing out copies which I then use to trace into a new sketchbook. (I put the print-out copy over graphite paper and trace over the lines.) The original sketch is posted here on April 25th. This is my second attempt at a drawing based on the Aspen sketch. (The first one was posted here on May 3). As with the earlier attempt, the color scheme for this drawing is inspired by the accidental inspiration of a printer malfunction when I printed out the copy for tracing. The printer heads weren't working and instead of black and white, I got turquoise and white, with faint red lines. (See post for April 27th.) For this second version, I wanted to maintain the accidental color scheme of turquoise and red, but this time I left more white area so as to give more emphasis to the lines of the mountains. If you want to see other drawings in this series, search my posts for "Colorado Drawings" and "Colorado Sketchbook".

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Bright Azaleas (Digital Woodcut)

Last night I used Painter 12 to create this digital woodcut version of my photo of bright pink azaleas, posted here a few days ago. I fiddled with the controls to get the amount of black line that I wanted.

Friday, June 08, 2012

Bright Azaleas (Posterized Photograph)

Two days ago, I posted a photo of bright pink azaleas, taken May 20th at the Cummings Center Pond. Tonight I used Painter to do a little digital cleanup and the apply a posterized effect to the photo, and here it is. I also created a version with a digital woodcut effect, and plan to post it soon.

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Stone Spiral (Digital Woodcut)

Last night I used Painter 12 to create this digital woodcut from a photo that I took a few weeks ago. We were walking around outside the Danver's Yacht Club after a Mother's Day Brunch. I was admiring the pattern, so I took a picture. Last night, I went to Zazzle.com and uploaded this image, and then used it to make some guy gifts, suitable for Father's Day. (If you want to see what I made, go to www.zazzle.com/randiart

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Bright Azaleas

Bright Azaleas by randubnick
Bright Azaleas, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a photo that I took back on May 20, bright azaleas in bloom at the Cummings Center Pond, here in Beverly, MA. This is the image just as it came out of my iPhone camera.

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Chicken Collage Day 23 (June 5, 2012)

Lately, I have seen a lot of birds: chickens at Green Meadows Farm, guinea hens at Long Hill Gardens, and this morning, two big wild turkeys walking around on the lawn across the street. I took this as a cosmic reminder that it was time to work on my chicken collage, so I went up to the studio this afternoon. I am making a chicken out of patterns cut out of paper, and although the idea came to me all of a sudden while I was looking at some chickens, it is taking a while to finish it (my usual pattern with collage). Today I worked on filling in black and white pattern in the tail feathers. Cutting and fitting the tiny pieces is a lot like working on a miniature jig-saw puzzle. The work is tedious and it's hard to see progress, but I really like the way this collage turning out, so I am going to stick with it.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Purple Violas at Green Meadows Farm

Another photo of a window box that I was admiring at Green Meadows Farm last week. I am always surprised to see violas, and they always look surprised to see me! Tonight I cropped this image in iPhoto, and then did a little cleanup with digital pastel in Painter 12.

Sunday, June 03, 2012

Necklace with Wood, Reed, and Bells

My break today was creating this necklace out of wooden beads, incised reed, and antique coiled metal bells. I put the design together on a soft green suede cord, using knots as part of the design. It's fun to wear because the bells make gentle music when you move.

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Climbing Rose at Long Hill (Digital Woodcut)

Yesterday's post was a photo I took of these climbing roses at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. Today's post is a "digital woodcut" that I created from that photo, using Painter 12. I had to experiment with the settings to get what I wanted. I also used the "magic wand" selection tool to make the woodcut effect heavier on the brick wall, but using a lighter touch on the roses.

Friday, June 01, 2012

Climbing Roses at Long Hill

This is a photo that I took today at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. (This used to be a private estate, but now the house and grounds are owned by the Trustees of the Reservation.) As usually, I didn't think there was time for a walk at Long Hill: tight schedule, too much to do. I have learned that when I am thinking that way, it's a sure sign that I need a break! I am glad I went to Long Hill today because the weather was lovely and lots of flowers are blooming, especially roses. I saw these pink roses climbing up a little balcony, so I took a picture. I liked way the roses look against contrasting textures and patterns. Tonight I also used Painter 12 to create a version with a woodcut effect; I plan to post it here tomorrow.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Violas at Green Meadow Farm

Yesterday, on the way home from the vet, we stopped at Green Meadow Farm. There are lots of things to see. I liked these viola flowers, growing in a window box, so I took a picture. I thought they looked good again the gray background. Tonight I did some basic editing in iPhoto, cropping the original photo to get this composition.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Beverly from Lynch Park (Digital Sketch)

Tonight I decided to sit down at the computer and do a fifteen minute drawing even though (especially because) I have been very busy lately, with more work on the way. Art every day is the motto here, and that helps to make it a priority and keeps my life in balance. So I opened a new file in Painter 12 and started drawing a scene from memory. This is a view of Beverly, MA, from the little cove in Lynch Park. I see this view often, and although no doubt many of the details are wrong, this is the view of the curving beach, rocks, and trees in the foreground, and the shoreline of Beverly's Dane Street Beach in the background. Well, I sketch for half and hour, rather than just fifteen minutes. Then I posterized the image, and here it is. Good practice, lots of fun, and a very short vacation at the beach.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Amazing Peonies at Long Hill

Yesterday I saw these amazing peonies in bloom at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. They must be five or six inches across! And I loved the deep, rich color. I took a couple of photographs, and when I got home, I cropped the original to get this composition.

Monday, May 28, 2012

View from Essex Window (Posterized Photo)

After lunch at Woodman's in Essex, MA, with visiting friends, we looked at some of the antique shops down the street, something I have always wanted to do. There were many beautiful things to see, but the most beautiful was the view of the Essex salt marshes through the back window of one of the stores. So I took a couple of pictures. Tonight I used Painter to obscure a distracting tree branch with cut-and-paste and a little digital pastel. Then I posterized the image, and put a little color overlay on the sky. Then I used iPhoto to adjust the color a bit and crop the image.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Pink Rhododendrons Through the Window (Posterized Photo)

Today I noticed some pink rhododendrons through a window. I liked the way the late afternoon sunlight played on the flowers and on the window screen, so I stopped what I was working on and took some pictures. Tonight I chose the best photo and then used iPhoto to straighten and crop. After that, I used Painter to posterize it. Then I did one more crop, and this is the result.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Colorado Colors

Colorado Colors by randubnick
Colorado Colors, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.
Here's a little digital daydream of my home state of Colorado, inspired by a visit from a friend, staying over here in Beverly, MA, before catching a flight in Boston, to head back to Colorado Springs. I used Painter 12 to make this digital image of the Colorado front range. The colors are inspired by the Colorado landscape, and the style is a digital approximation of the flat color field paintings that I used to do when I was a student in college, back in my home state.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Mist in the Distance (Modified and Posterized Photo)

Late yesterday afternoon, we went to Obear Park to walk the dog. It was sunny in Beverly, but as we arrived at the park, we could see fog or mist across the water, in Salem -- even though it was full sun on the Beverly side! I love the way fog looks, so I tried to take some pictures. I tried to zoom in to capture the effects of the fog. The original version of this photo was one of the best at getting a view of the mist in the distance. But unfortunately, I also captured a big sign in the foreground. So tonight, I opened the photo in Painter 12 and used some cut-and-paste as well as digital pastel to obscure the sign. Then I applied a light posterizing effect, but used selection tools to avoid applying the effect to the sky.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Porto seen from Boat Ride (Posterized)

This image started with a photo that I took during my visit to Portugal last May. I have been thinking about Portugal today, and tonight decided to look through my photos.  Even though my visit to Portugal was far too short, I took a lot of pictures. We managed to fit in an amazing boat ride on the Douro River. It was so relaxing to be on the river and the scenes of the city were very beautiful. Tonight I used Painter 12 to create this posterized version of the original photo, and cropped it in iPhoto to get this composition. It's a nice souvenir of a very happy day.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Rhododendrons in Bloom (Posterized)

Tonight I used Painter 12 to create this posterized version of the photograph I posted here yesterday, the pink rhododendrons that are in bloom all over town. It looks like quite a celebration!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Rhododendrons in Bloom

Rhododendrons in Bloom by randubnick
Rhododendrons in Bloom, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

It's May and the rhododendrons are blooming all over town. These were at the Cummings Center Pond, and I took some pictures the other day. Tonight I cropped one of the photos in iPhoto to get this composition.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Pansies at Green Meadow (Posterized Photo)

Tonight I used Painter 12 to create a posterized version of the photo I published here yesterday, pansies at Green Meadow Farm in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Sometimes adding a posterizing effect is easy, but more often, it gets complicated. In this case, I knew I would need to lighten the shadows because the posterizing effect makes them darker. Then I experimented with the levels of posterizing. When I had the level that I liked, I could see that the lightest colors were completely washed down to white. So then I used the selection tool to add a pale yellow color overlay. Then I did some more selective posterizing to get a mix of bright white and pale yellow in those areas. I like this image, and hope to do something with it, maybe a Zazzle project.