Friday, June 30, 2017

Ivy and Walkway in Cambridge, MA


Last weekend, we were in Cambridge.  On a street near Porter Square, I found myself admiring the brick sidewalk and the ivy on this wall, so I took a photo.  Tonight I cropped the original image to get this composition.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Gate and Flowers (as of June 29, 2017)


Today I worked some more on this digital drawing.  I started this drawing several days ago on my iPad, using the Procreate program and the Apple pencil.  I working from my imagination as well as recent memories of neighborhood walks.  Today I did some cleanup and added detail, working mostly on the pink roses and on the house.  Digital art doesn't mean instant art.  Just like art using traditional media, patience and persistence are required.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Scarlet Mountain (As of June 28, 2017)


I did a little more work on this painting today.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," painted from my imagination and my memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  These landscapes are done with acrylic paint used with water.  Today I added a red-violet to the mountains, and in the process, moved the silhouette of the mountain higher up on the page.  I also started work on the sky.  To be continued. . .

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Scarlet Mountain (As of June 27, 2017)


I was short on time today, but managed to get this painting started.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," landscapes painted from my imagination and memories of the mountains in my home state of Colorado. I use acrylic paint with water, on watercolor paper.  This one is small (9 x 12 inches).  To be continued. . .

Monday, June 26, 2017

Gate and Flowers (As of June 26, 2017)


I started this digital drawing last week (June 20th), using the Procreate app on my iPad (and my new stylus).  I am working from my imagination, as well as scenes in recent memory from walks through the neighborhood. I haven't worked on this drawing in a few days, but went back to it today.  I straightened out some lines, cleaned up some areas, and spent some time working on the lattice. It is fun to work on this, and as I workI am learning more about to use the Procreate program.

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Stone Wall with Pink Roses (with Woodcut Effect)


Yesterday's post was a photo that I took recently at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, MA.  Today I used Painter to add a woodcut effect.  I lost the color of the flowers. so I put the pink back in with some digital pastel.

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Stone Wall with Roses at Stage Fort Park


Here's another photo from a recent walk at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  We were heading out of the park when I saw this little scene and I stopped to take a picture.  I liked the combination of the stone wall, the small tree, and pink roses hanging down over the wall, with a glimpse of the ocean in the background. The roses are actually "rosa ragusa" which I think of as sea roses because they grow near the beach.  They are also called "beach roses." Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition. This is a sweet souvenir of a lovely adventure.  

Friday, June 23, 2017

Stone Stairway at Stage Fort Park (with Woodcut Effect)


Yesterday I posted a photo of this stone stairway, taken during a walk at Stage Fort park in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Today I used Painter to create a woodcut effect.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Stone Stairway at Stage Fort Park


Today's adventure was a walk at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, MA.  We strolled along the walkway, looking toward the ocean to our left, hoping we might catch a glimpse of one of the tall ships heading north from Boston to Canada. (Sadly we didn't.) But I looked to the right instead and saw this beautiful stone stairway  and took a picture. Tonight I cropped the original to get this composition, in the process sacrificing the two bottom steps, one of which was missing some stones.  Well, in art, and in life, it doesn't pay to worry about what you can't see. If you do, you might miss something that is right in front of you. 


Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Gate and Flowers (As of June 21, 2017)


This is a digital drawing that I started yesterday on my iPad, using the Procreate app and my stylus.  I am drawing from my imagination, but inspired by walks through my neighborhood, with roses and lilies in bloom. This afternoon, I did a little more work on the drawing. I added trees in the background, changed the color of the house and the fence, and added detail to the lattice.  To be continued. . . .

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Gate and Flowers (As of June 20, 2017)


We went for a long walk after dinner, just through the neighborhood.  We saw lots of roses blooming, some of them winding over fences.  I left my iPhone at home, so couldn't take pictures.  But when I got home, I used the Procreate app on my iPad to draw this sketch, loosely based on what I had seen on our walk. This is as far as I got with the sketch tonight.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Encore Post: Riding the Toy Train (Painting)


Yesterday, for Father's Day, I re-posted a photo of my dad, on a kiddie train ride with my cousin and me.  The original photo was taken by my uncle, Ike Fitterman, and posted here back in 2008, In 2008, I also posted my painting based on this photo, done years earlier, and I am re-posting it again today.  This is what I said about it in 2008: "This is a painting that I did for my cousin some years ago. It is now hanging in her house in Denver, and when I was there recently, I photographed it with my digital camera. (The light was a bit too dim, and there is a little bit of reflection in the image, but basically this photo shows what the painting looks like.) I painted this in the 1990's, not too long after my dad died. It is an interpretation of the black and white photograph posted yesterday, taken by my uncle Ike, and I consider this a collaborative piece. He was a terrific photographer! The painting is done on paper with acrylics used as water media paint. (I did a series of such paintings based on 1940's and 1950's family photos.) I wasn't going for photo-realism here, but wanted to capture the feeling of the image, the happiness of the memory. The colors are invented and I didn't go with realistic colors; I chose the sweet, bright, candy-colors of nostalgia."  

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Encore Post: Riding the Toy Train (Restored Photo)


I have posted this before, back in August, 2008, on father's birthday, but am reposting it today for Father's Day. I also used this photo as the basis of a painting, which I plan to (re)post here soon.  Back in 2008, I said,  "This is one of my favorite photos of him, taking my cousin and me for a ride on the toy train. (My cousin is the little girl sitting on his lap.) This photo was taken in Pueblo, Colorado, but I am not sure whether this was at City Park or at the State Fair. The picture was probably taken by my uncle Ike, professional photographer and family historian. After my dad died, I did a painting based on this photo, and gave it to my cousin. On my trip to Colorado earlier this month, I took a digital photo of the painting (which is hanging in her house) and plan to post it tomorrow. I had planned to post this photo first, but it needed to be rescued. There were a few marks and small scratches on it, exactly in the wrong place, one on my father's face, and another on the hair. So I opened the image in Painter IX and used digital pastel to restore the photo. It was like doing a bit of portraiture because I had to draw in the parts of the features covered up by the scratch. Anyway, here is the rescued photograph. Tomorrow I will post the painting."  

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Wall of Rhododendrons (with Prisma filter)


Yesterday I posted a photo of rhododendrons.  These are growing in my yard and it looked like a wall of rhododendrons to me.  This is the second version I created yesterday, using the Prisma app on my iPhone.

Friday, June 16, 2017

Wall of Rhododendrons


I guess rhododendrons are on my mind because this morning I was out in the yard trimming rhododendron bushes. This is actually a photo that I took a few weeks ago, but due to the long cold spring we are (still) experiencing, the blossoms are still there.  Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.  I also created a version with a Prisma filter, and I plan to post that here tomorrow

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Bright Tree at Long Hill (Revised) as of June 15, 2017


This is an oil bar painting that I started this spring, and pronounced finished back on April 29, 2017.  It has been in my home studio every since, and I have been thinking of revising it, and now I am.  Last week I got started. I wanted to add more contrast and more intensity to some of the colors. This painting is based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens in October. ( My reference photo is posted here on November 5th). Although I took the photo on an overcast day, I have been thinking that the colors need to be more vibrant.  Often an overcast sky makes colors seem more intense.  I have been working on this and today I began by adding some bright white to the trim of the buildings.  I think bright white was missing from the painting; I think the eye (the mind) needs to see it as a reference point.  Then I added more yellow to the leaves, and more shadows to the tree in the foreground. Of course I was looking at the photo, and decided to make some adjustments to the composition.  I wanted to show more of the house through the trees, so I opened up that space. I also adjusted some of the shapes of the trees to bring them closer to the shapes in the photo.  To be continued. . . 

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Bright Tree at Long Hill (Revised) as of June 14, 2017


Back on April 29, 2017, I said that this oil bar painting was finished. But since I said that, I have been thinking of doing more work on it, adding more contrast and more intensity to some of the colors. This is based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens in October. (You can see my reference photo posted here on November 5th). Although it was overcast when I took the photo, I think some of the colors are too muted.  This may be because I was using a lot of pale gray mixed in with the colors to soften them. But sometimes an overcast sky makes colors more seem more intense, not less.  In any case, I got started with my revision a few days ago, adding a bit more blue to the sky and adding more yellow to the leaves. Today, I added some brighter green to the lawn, and some darker green to suggest shadows in the trees on the right.  I also used some red-violet for shadows in the red tree on the left, as well as on the branches. In the process, I added a bit more detail.  To be continued. . . .

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Petunias at Tendercrop Farm (with Prisma's "Disco" filter)


Yesterday's post was a photo of petunias that I took at Tendercrop Farms over the weekend.  Today I added used the Prisma app on my phone to add a filter. This time I used the 'Disco' filter but brought it down to 80%.  The resulting image looks like a dance party, and here it is.

Monday, June 12, 2017

Petunias at Tendercrop Farm


This weekend, we made a quick stop at Tendercrop Farm to pick up eggs and some fruit. There were lots of flowers on display outside so I stopped to take some pictures.  I also made a version of this one with one of filters on my Prisma app, and I plan to post it here tomorrow.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Bright Tree at Long Hill (Revised) as of June 11, 2017


This is an oil bar painting that I pronounced 'finished' back on April 29, 2017.  But since then, I have been thinking of revising some of the colors, adding more brightness, more light and dark contrast. This is based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens back in November.  And I took the photo on an overcast day, but still. Maybe its the influence of the long Boston winter and long cold rainy spring, but I want to brighten this up.  So today I finally got started, adding more pale blue to the sky, more yellow to some of the leaves, and generally more areas of reflected light.  To be continued. . . .

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Benches by the Sea


Here's another photo from yesterday's walk, showing another pocket park with stairs down to the ocean.  Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Friday, June 09, 2017

Picket Fence and Ocean




It was finally warm today, here in Beverly, MA. We took a walk near Independence Park this morning and walked along Lothrop Street, where there are some tiny pocket parks with stairs leading down to the ocean, like the stairs in this photo.. I love the view of this picket fence against the ocean so I took a picture.

Thursday, June 08, 2017

Many Pink Rhododendrons


Rhododendrons are blooming all over town, and now they are all over my photo stream, too!  Tonight I used Painter to add a border to yesterday's image of pink rhododendrons, and then used the image to create this pattern.

Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Closeup of Pink Rhododendrons (With Woodcut Effect)


Yesterday was a cool rainy day, but the rhododendrons have been blooming anyway. Last night I posted a  closeup photo of pink rhododendrons growing in my front yard.  Well, today was even better, bright and sunny and heading towards warm. To celebrate, I used Painter to add a woodcut effect to my rhododendron photo.  

Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Closeup of Pink Rhododendrons




Here in Beverly, MA, which is north of Boston, it has been in the fifties and raining for days.  On the other hand, every rhododendron in town is in bloom, and there are lots of them, including these pink ones, from my own front yard.

Monday, June 05, 2017

Trees on Campus


Here's another photo of the campus at the University of New Hampshire. I took this photo while we were touring campus with our cousins, and walking along one of the wooded trails between the buildings. There's a glimpse of a brook in the background.

Sunday, June 04, 2017

Path at Durham NH (Digital Woodcut)


Yesterday I posted a photo that I took of a wooded path  on campus at UNH (University of New Hampshire). Today I used Painter to add a woodcut effect.

Saturday, June 03, 2017

Path at Durham New Hampshire


On Thursday, we made a  quick trip up to the University of New Hampshire in Durham.  It's a classic college campus but has a lot of wooded areas with paths leading from building to building, so between classes you can take a walk in the woods.  I took this picture from the classroom building where my husband teaches.

Friday, June 02, 2017

Front Yard Rhododendrons


These are blooming right in my front yard, so I took some pictures. Sometimes it is easy to miss what is right under your nose. I did some basic retouching and then cropped the original image to get this composition.

Thursday, June 01, 2017

New Hampshire Fog


We left the house early this morning for a quick trip to New Hampshire, and as we set out, I remarked that this was the first blue sky we had seen in days. But just as we got to Durham, we hit fog, near the lakes. But I didn't mind because I love to take pictures of fog. I pulled out my iPhone and tried to get some photos from the car. This was the best one, and I had to do some careful cropping to get a useable image