Heart Shaped Box, Edge of Top (As of May 29)

Heart Shaped Box, Edge of Top (As of May 29) Originally uploaded by randubnick

I went to the studio on Thursday to work on this project. (This is a collage and decoupage project made by pasting pieces of printed metallic ribbons onto a box that once held a Mother's Day gift from my daughter.) Yesterday I posted a view of the box seen from above. Here is another photo of it as it looked on Thursday. This view shows the progress on the edge of the lid, which I am covering with red and gold paisley patterned ribbon. I don't have much of this pattern left because I used a lot of it in my last decoupage and collage project (see Ribbon Roses Tray).I have been worrying about not having enough of this pattern to cover the entire rim, but I keep finding more scraps of red and gold paisley.

Heart Shaped Box (Collage Day 7)

Heart Shaped Box (Collage Day 7) Originally uploaded by randubnick

I finally was able to get back to the studio this week! (I have been coughing for a few weeks, the after effects of a cold combined with spring allergies and asthma. I was trying to avoid the dust and fumes typical of a studio environment, so I concentrated on computer art and photography instead.) But I went to the studio for a short time on Thursday, and I was really glad to get back to this project. This is going to be a keepsake box covered with collage and decoupage. The heart-shaped box originally held a gift from my daughter for Mother's Day. I am using printed metallic ribbons to create the patterns. On Thursday, I did some work on the top of the box, trying to finish it up, using a combination of light and dark brown ribbon. I also finally resolved the bottom of the heart's shape by using a trio of metallic leaves. The top is almost finished, but not quite. I also worked on the edge of the top, not visible here, of course, but I will post a photo of it tomorrow.

Lilacs and House at Long Hill (Digital Woodcut)

Lilacs and House at Long Hill (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a digital woodcut that I made in Painter IX, using the photo that I posted yesterday. This is an image of lilacs in front of the old Sedgwick house at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly. The color is more muted than in the original photo, but the textures are emphasized by the digital "black ink".

Lilacs and House at Long Hill

Lilacs and House at Long Hill (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

Yesterday and the day before, I posted images of lilacs, taken on an overcast day at Long Hill Gardens. Here is another photo of lilacs, taken that same overcast day, but this time with the house at Long Hill in the background. I took this photo because I liked the way the lilacs looked against the brick and architectural detail of the house. This house is now a public building rather than a private residence. Although I usually just refer to this place as Long Hill, the official name is Sedgwick Gardens at Long Hill, run by The Trustees of the Reservation. The house was once the home of Ellery Sedgwick (of the Atlantic Monthly) and his wife, Mabel Cabot Sedgwick. Now it holds a horticultural library and administrative offices. I have only been inside the house once or twice, and it is beautiful, inside and out. But for me, the grounds are the main attraction, a great place to walk, relax, watch the seasons go by, and take pictures.

Lilacs and Cloudy Sky (Posterized Photo)

Lilacs and Cloudy Sky (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a posterized version of the photo I posted yesterday: lilacs in bloom at Long Hill Garden here in Beverly, taken on a cloudy day. I used Painter IX to add the posterized effect to capitalize on the diffuse light toward the top of the lilac bush and the purple shadows in the flowers.

Lilacs and Cloudy Sky

Lilacs and Cloudy Sky (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

This time of year, I am on the lookout for lilacs. I love the scent of lilacs. Whenever I can, I pull the lilacs close to my face and inhale their perfume. A good place to hunt for lilacs is Long Hill Gardens, and lately the lilacs have been blooming. This photo is from a recent outing. I liked the look of the lilacs against the overcast sky, so I took some pictures. Tonight I cropped this photo to get the composition I wanted.

Penobscot Bay in Belfast Maine

Penobscot Bay in Belfast Maine (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

On Thursday, I drove up to Belfast, Maine. A close friend from high school back in Colorado now lives in Maine and we try to together when we can. She invited me to meet her in Belfast, Maine, to attend the opening of the art show where she had a painting on display. She is one of my very favorite people, so of course I said yes. I was also curious to see Belfast, Maine, because I have spent a little time in Belfast in Northern Ireland. By the time I arrived on Thursday afternoon, it was pouring buckets, raining too hard to take photographs, but I could see that the town is very inviting, especially for artists, and I hope to go back sometime to see more of it! Despite the rain, the art show was terrific and it was great to spend time with my friend. The weather was sunny on Friday morning and I had just enough time to get a few photos of the view of Penobscot Bay from the hotel before I had to head back home. The color in this shot is just as it came out of the camera. All I had to do was crop the photo to get the composition. Now I have a nice souvenir of a very short but sweet vacation in Maine.

Celebration of Azaleas

Celebration of Azaleas (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

It is May and azaleas are blooming everywhere. I took this photo during my most recent visit to Long Hill Gardens. It looked like a fiesta! I loved the color of these hot pink flowers combined with the bright green leaves (just beginning to show), and the blue forget-me-nots peeking through in the lower right corner.

Stage Front Park Seen from Beach in Gloucester MA

Stage Front Park Seen from Beach in Gloucester MA (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

I took this photo with my digital camera last weekend while taking a walk in Gloucester, MA. From the beach, you can see Stage Front Park in the distance. Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Gazebo at Long Hill Gardens

Gazebo at Long Hill Gardens (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

There is always something to see at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly. But in the spring, the scene changes very quickly, so it was worth going back this week to see what was in bloom! This time, the azaleas were blossoming near the gazebo. It looked like a fantasy landscape, so I took a picture.

Many Tulip Tops

Many Tulip Tops (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

Yesterday I posted a photo of a tulip blossom, digitally modified and posterized in Painter IX. I also used Painter IX to create a pattern from the image, and this is what it looks like.

Tulip Top (Digitally Edited and Posterized)

Tulip Top (Digitally Edited and Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick

For the past few days, I have been posting photos of last week's excursion to Long Hill Gardens. The first photo that I took that day was of a single tulip with an orange and pink blossom. I thought the flower was amazing, but I didn't pay much attention to its surroundings. When I loaded the image into my computer, I noticed how distracting the background was. The leaves and stalk of the tulip were obscured by other plants. This wasn't a problem that I could solve with cut and paste or even a little retouching with digital pastel. But I really liked the tulip top, so today I tried to salvage the image. I cropped the image to focus on the top of the tulip, and then opened the image in Painter IX. I used opaque digital pastel to replace the foliage of the flowerbed with a simple dark background. Then I posterized the image, and here it is. I also made the image into a pattern, which I will post tomorrow.

Looking Up at Blossoming Tree (Posterized Photo)

Looking Up at Blossoming Tree (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here is another view of blossoming trees. The original photo was in the same batch as yesterday's post, all taken during a trip last week to Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly, MA. The originally photo was a wider shot that showed more of the tree, but you couldn't see the detail very well. So I decided to show more by showing less, so cropped the photo, and then posterized it. Then I cropped it a second time to get the composition I wanted, making sure that I had a square format.

Trees in Bloom at Long Hill

Trees in Bloom at Long Hill (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

Here is another photo from a recent outing at Long Hill Gardens in Beverly, MA, where there are rows of blossoming trees lining the roadway. I was so excited to see the trees in bloom, and thought, as I always do, of A. E. Housman's poem, "Loveliest of Trees", and caught myself reciting some of the lines. It is a poem about cherry trees in bloom, but it is also about life and beauty and time. (I posted the entire poem here on April 30 of 2005, but it is found in many anthologies, and it is worth having a look.)

Lilacs and Barn at Long Hill (Posterized)

Lilacs and Barn at Long Hill (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is an image from a recent walk at Long Hill Gardens in Beverly. The lilacs are beginning to bloom, so I took some pictures. It was a windy afternoon, and the lilac branches were dancing in the wind. I liked the composition in this shot, with the barn in the background. But the foreground was distracting. I adjusted the focus in that area and then used a transparent color overlay, and it looked better. Because I was planning to posterize the image, I also used a color overlay to even out the color in the sky, to avoid getting bands of color that I didn't want. After I posterized the image, I cropped it to get the composition I wanted.

Heart Shaped Box, Edge of Top (As of May 15)

Heart Shaped Box, Edge of Top (As of May 15) Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I went to the studio to work on this project, a keepsake box. The heart shaped box once held a gift from my daughter, and I always kept the box. Now I am making it into a keepsake box. I am covering it with collage and decoupage designs made of printed metallic ribbon. Yesterday I worked on the top, adding some brown ribbon for the background (see yesterday's post). But while I was doing that, I stumbled across some more scraps of the red and gold paisley print that I am using on the edge of the box top, so I also worked on that. Here is a picture that shows a view of the edge.

Heart Shaped Box (Collage Day 6)

Heart Shaped Box (Collage Day 6) Originally uploaded by randubnick

I finally had a chance to get back to the studio to work on this project today! This is a decoupage and collage project made from a box that originally held a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. I am using printed metallic ribbons and acrylic medium to create the designs. Today I worked on the top, mostly adding pieces of brown ribbon for the background, and occasionally adding a leaf or flower. I also worked on the side edges, which aren't visible here, but I will post a photo tomorrow.

Closeup of Crab Apple Blossoms (Posterized)

Closeup of Crab Apple Blossoms (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick

It has been a long wait for spring. But over the weekend, the crab apple trees finally decided to bloom, just in time for Mother's Day. I took some pictures while I was out walking. This image is a close-in crop from one of the photos that I took. I posterized the image in Painter IX to emphasize the excitement of seeing the brightly colored blossoms against the grass on a sunny day.

Closeup of Pear Blossoms (Digitally Edited and Posterized)

Closeup of Pear Blossoms (Digitally Edited and Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick

Time for one last look at the pear blossoms. This is the same image as yesterday, but cropped. I think the cropping makes the composition stronger, and it also makes it easier to see the effects of posterizing.

Under the Pear Blossoms (Digitally Edited and Posterized)

Under the Pear Blossoms (Digitally Edited and Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a posterized version of yesterday's image, a picture of a pear tree in bloom. Yesterday I used Painter IX's digital pastel to remove the tiny electric lights and wires (strung year-round on the trees in downtown Beverly). In this image, the posterizing is subtle, but you can see the color variations in the sky and in some of the leaves.