Rosh Hashanah Still Life (video)

I made this on my iPad with the Procreate app, which captures a "replay" as you draw. This little video is a great demonstration that art is about making mistakes, revising, trying again, making changes to make things better.  Just like life.  Sending this out to say "L'Shana Tova" to those celebrating the Jewish New Year, and to everyone, wishing you sweet days ahead.

 

Path near Kelleher Pond

I took this photo during a walk around Kelleher Pond back on August 23rd. There is something about a tree-lined path that makes me want to take a picture.  And I often do.  It is still amazing to think that this little bit of nature is tucked away in a residential neighborhood.  

Mandevilla Rocktrumpet (Brazilian Jasmine)

This photo is from last Thursday, taken during a walk in my daughter's neighborhood. I saw these lovely flowers so got right up close and took this picture with my iPhone.  (This was taken a shortly BEFORE I got the new iPhone that does fancy closeups, and that should be helpful in the future.)  I found the name of this flower by searching Google images, and in spite of the exotic names, this plant really does grow in Massachusetts.

 

Multicolor Necklace and Earrings (Custom Design)

This project began this summer in a bead store in Nashville, where my daughter-in-law found the multicolor assorted glass chevron beads and where I found the recycled green glass beads and the black coconut beads to add to the necklace.  But there was no time to put this all together because it was time to head home. Back in Massachusetts, I experimented with the design, and finally decided to add red seed beads.  After a couple of attempts at stringing the beads, I arrived at a final design for the necklace that was light enough and moved well.  Then I made the earrings to match. I finally finished this project this week and  will soon be mailing this set to Nashville. . .

Hydrangeas Becoming Pink (with Prisma filter)

Just for fun, I used the Prisma app to add the "Watercolor" filter to the photo that I posted here yesterday.

Hydrangeas Becoming Pink

Here is a photo that I took back on August 23rd, during a walk around the block.  Next door the hydrangeas were starting to turn pink, so I took some pictures.

Twin Towers from the Brooklyn Bridge (with Prisma's "Sketch" filter)

Even though we made frequent trips to New York City during the time we lived in New Jersey, I have very few photos of the Twin Towers.  In July of 2001, we were in New York and decided to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was a lot of fun, but my attention was the bridge itself.  But I took a photo of the New York skyline from the bridge, including the twin towers.  I didn't know that would be the last time I would see it.  Since then, I have made many versions of that photo.  And here's another one, this time with the Prisma app's "Sketch" filter.   This version captures the happiness of that moment on the bridge, not the tragedy of what came just a few months later.  

Shadows on the Path (with Prisma filter)

I added the "Flora" Prisma filter to my recent photo, taken at Cummings Center Pond. Suddenly the dappled light was more dramatic.

Shadows on the Path

From a recent walk at the Cummings Center Pond.  I liked the play of sunlight and shadow on the path, so I took this picture.  I used the Prisma app to make another version which I plan to post here tomorrow.

Glenwood Canyon Memory (in new home in Brazil)

After a long and complicated journey* that began in July, my painting "Glenwood Canyon Memory" has finally reached its new home in Goiania, Brazil.  Yesterday, Sandra, the new owner, sent me pictures. She tells me that this may not be the final location of painting in her house, but meanwhile I like the way the painting looks on that yellow wall.  They say  "The road to the house of a friend is never long."  I guess that is true of paintings, too. 

*The complicated journey:  In early July I left the painting with the local UPS store to be wrapped for shipping, intending to then pick up the wrapped painting and mail it from the US Post Office. But when I went back to the UPS store to pick up the wrapped painting, it had disappeared!  Phone calls and in store video revealed  that a UPS driver inadvertently picked up the painting, wrapped but unlabeled apart from a post-it note with my name and number. The UPS label scanning system was down that day,  the driver wasn't scanning packages, and so didn't see that the package had no label, but just put it in the truck. After many phone calls over the next two days, the painting was located at a UPS processing center, so we drove over to retrieve it.  A few days later I mailed the painting to Brazil from a local post office. Then I was able to track its progress until it arrived in Brazil.   But after that, radio silence for several weeks until I became convinced that it was lost (again). But Sandra, my friend and the new owner of this painting, found out that the painting was in Brazilian customs, awaiting payment! (Oh no!!!) It took awhile for her to retrieve it, but now it is finally in Sandra's house, and we are both relieved.

PS: For any potential art buyers: I have sent a number of paintings via UPS and also via the US  Postal service without incident. Typically in the US shipping takes 3 to 5 days and costs around  $50.00.  I have mailed other international packages without problems.  And this experience has taught me some things about insurance and customs forms that should help avoid such delays in the future. 

Composition with Woodpecker

Yesterday, as I worked in my upstairs office, it was easy to tell that the woodpecker had returned. From the noise and vibration, you would think that someone was hammering into the house, just below my office window. I was able to work right through the noise because the woodpecker has been here many times. But I had never seen the bird in action until yesterday.  After I finished my work, I went downstairs and the noise got louder as I approached the deck.  My husband was already out there on and motioned me to be silent as he pointed up at the woodpecker, hard at work destroying our siding.  So I took a quick picture just before the bird flew away.  Today I cropped the photo to get this composition  and adjusted the contrast to make it easier to see the bird. Hard to believe this little bird could make so much noise or do so much damage.  From the sound, I was expecting a bigger bird, probably with red and blue feathers. . .oh, right, that would be Woody Woodpecker.  But this was just a small bird with quiet black and white markings. It looks like we are gonna have to replace one corner post. And that's all, folks!

Hy Zagon, Fishing in 1941 (Prisma filter added)

Last week, I started working on this snapshot of my father.  First, I rescued the snapshot, which was badly tilted.  In order to do that, I had to use Painter to create additional background on the right side of the photo so that I could then rotate and crop the image.  Then I used Painter to create a second version with some subtle color.  I liked it but it didn't quite capture the joy of the moment.  So yesterday I decided to see what a Prisma filter would do, applied over the work I had already done.  I tried out several filters, but decided to go with "Watercolor," which is one of my favorites.  I liked the result, though I did a second round of editing in Painter to correct a few things, toned down some blue on the teeth, and decided to cover up some sort of badge on the shirt.  I am glad I did the additional work on this; it makes me happy to see my dad smiling in the sunshine.

Pink Flowers at Cummings Center Pond (with Prisma filter)

Here is the photo of pink flowers that I took at the Cummings Center Pond a few days ago, but this time I used the Prisma app to add the "Watercolor" filter.

Pink Flowers at Cummings Center Pond

Today we went for a walk at the Cummings Center Pond.  We have had too little rain here. The grass is dry, the water level is lower than usual, and some of the trees are loosing leaves early. But I spotted these spiky purple flowers at water's edge and took a picture.  Later I cropped and retouched the image, and here it is.  I also used the Prisma app to apply a filter, and I plan to post the result here tomorrow.

Hy Zagon, Fishing in 1941 (Digitally Modified Snapshot)

Yesterday I posted a rescued snapshot of my dad as a young man of 23. (He was born August 28, 1918).  The original snapshot, taken by an unknown photographer, was tilted so much that I had to add to the background with Painter so that I could straighten and crop the image, and I posted that here yesterday. But while I was at it,  I also decided to use Painter to add some color with a combination of color overlay and digital pastel. Then I added a bit of posterizing effect in selected areas. Here is the result, which I like but I also like the original version.    For me, the process is just as important as the result.  As I work on the photo, I notice more details (my dad's shirt, his belt, his watchband, the rocks along the shore, little boy in the background). As I invent the colors, I spend a little more time with the photo as I think about the scene, and about my dad, and his life.  

Hy Zagon, Fishing in 1941 (Rescued Snapshot)

I love this picture of my dad at 23, fishing, and smiling with the wind in his hair.  I found this among the collection of family photos that my cousin Bob Fitterman put together a few years ago, and it is dated August 5, 1941.  I have often thought doing more with the photo but the original version was very badly tilted.  (Mind you, my father seems to be standing in a rowboat, and so was the unknown photographer, but still. . .)  My father was born on August 28 in 1918, so I decided his birthday was a good day to try to rescue this snapshot.  When I rotated the photo to straighten the background, too much of the figure would be cut off if I cropped it.  I used  Painter to add pixels to make the digital canvas bigger on the left side, and then used enough cut-and-paste to create more background on the left and also slightly increased the line of the shoulder by drawing into the photo.  Then I was able to straighten and crop the photo without cutting off the figure.  The result as not perfect, but much better. Then I used iPhoto to do some  basic cleanup, and here it is.  (I also used Painter to create a digitally modified version with color, and I plan to post that tomorrow).  Anyway, I am glad to have this image.  It's the only picture I have seen of my dad fishing (although that years later he sometimes went fishing with my Uncle Bob in San Isabel and sometimes my cousin and I would tag along). I would love to know more about the 1941 photo. A companion photo shows him in a rowboat with a friend, and a third person took the photo  Who were these friends, and where were they fishing? This is just a year before my dad enlisted, so I would guess maybe somewhere in Brooklyn or Long Island? Maybe Central Park?  There is a lot I don't know.  But what I can clearly recognize in that photo are his smile, his easy temperament, and his sense of fun.  He was ready to laugh and always willing to have fun.  Once, at Pueblo City Park (I was maybe 8 or 10)  he showed me how he could do a flip on acrobatic rings, and wearing a sport coat and tie, turned completely upside-down, not worried about his car keys falling on the ground. He kept his sense of enjoyment throughout his life, whether he was fishing, rollerskating, or later, just taking a walk. His memory is a blessing, as was his life.

Ten Mountain Landscapes in Beverly Farms (View 2)

Here is the second photo I received from the new owners of my mountain landscapes.  This view shows the same ten paintings, but photographed from the other direction.  I am very happy to see my paintings in their new home in Beverly Farms.

Ten Mountain Landscapes in Beverly Farms (View 1)

I recently received photos from the new owners of my mountain landscapes. My paintings are now hung in their new home in Beverly Farms.  I think the light fixture creates an interesting effect,  like sun and passing clouds on the mountains.

Light-Catching Necklace and Earrings: with Glass and Wooden Beads

I used glass and wooden beads for this custom-made necklace and earrings set.  I like the way the green and brown glass beads catch the light. The necklace can be worn long or short, "doubled" with an S hook.

 

Guest Artist Mindy Fitterman: "Stitched Kintsugi"

Guest Artist Mindy Fitterman (my cousin) has several works on display at the Ayer Loft Gallery, 172 Middle Street, Lowell, MA.  This piece is canvas and thread. Mindy is part of a group of six artists, "Seacoast Area Fine Artists" displaying fabric arts in a show entitled, "Not Written in Stone." The show is up through August 28th, and the gallery is open Saturdays, Sundays 12-4 pm and by appointment.  I hope area friends will check it out.