Heart Shaped Box as of December 25, 2010

Heart Shaped Box as of December 25, 2010
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is my collage and decoupage project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with pieces of printed metallic ribbons in various patterns. I have been working on it, and this is how it looks at now. In this photo, you can see that the progress working on the inside wall of the box. The original orange pasteboard still shows through the predominantly pink pattern that I am using, but I am beginning to get an idea of how it will look when I am done.

Snow Fall (Stroke-by-Stroke Video)

Snow Fall
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I posted a digital sketch of a snow scene that I drew on the iPad with the Brushes app. I started with the idea of creating an animation of snow falling because I knew Brushes would capture a stroke-by-stroke video as I drew. I had to plan not only what to draw but when to draw it. I had a lot of fun "making it snow"! I hope it is fun to watch as well.

Snow Fall

Snow Fall
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I drew this digital sketch on my iPad using the Brushes app. I was thinking about drawing a snow scene. Because Brushes captures as stroke-by-stroke video as you draw, I wondered whether or not I could make it snow. I think it was a success. I plan to post the video tomorrow so you can see it snow. For now, here is the little drawing that was the end result. I plan to use it as a way to wish everyone the pleasures of the season.

Winter Afternoon (Posterized)

Winter Afternoon (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This image began with a picture that I took yesterday. It was late afternoon and I was heading into the house. The December afternoon sunlight was hitting the trees just right, and I liked the contrast with the snow-covered roof. I didn't have my digital camera (wasn't really thinking about taking a picture), but fumbled around with my gloves and my iPhone and took a couple of photographs. When I got the image into the computer, I could see that the focus was too soft, but I decided to see what I could do with it. I cropped the image in iPhoto. Then I opened the image in Painter and adjusted the contrast and the focus. Next I added a color overlay to the sky, which was washed out in the photo. After that I did some selective posterizing, using the magic wand tool. Finally, I cropped again in Painter to get the composition that you see here.

Winter Composition (Posterized)

Winter Composition (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I cropped this image out of one of the photographs I took yesterday, when we had the first snowfall of the season. I opened the image in Painter and posterized it. Then I cropped twice more to get the composition that I wanted, and here it is.

First Snow on Branches

First Snow on Branches
Originally uploaded by randubnick

It finally snowed here today, the first snow of the year in the Boston area, and I am excited. Now I know there are lots of reasons to dislike snow. It can be very inconvenient, I agree. I don't like driving in snow, and just today, I almost got stuck trying to drive uphill on a slick road. But I love the way the snow looks, and more important, I love the fact that snow makes me see the world differently because it makes me pay attention and really look. So after I had safely returned from my adventures on the road, I took some pictures of the first snowfall. Here is one of them.

First Ice on the Pond (Posterized)

First Ice on the Pond (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos that I took recently at the pond at the Cummings Center (Shoe Pond). I wanted to focus on the details that first caught my eye when I pulled out my camera: the reflected winter light and the texture of the branches against the texture of the icy surface. Tonight I also used Painter to posterize the image.

December Afternoon (Cummings Center Pond)

December Afternoon (Cummings Center Pond)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This image began during a late afternoon walk at the Cummings Center Pond, here in Beverly, MA. I liked the December light on the icy pond, so I took some pictures with my iPhone. Tonight I edited some of the pictures. This image is something I cropped from the background of one of the photos because I liked the composition and the reflections in the water.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 17, 2010

Heart Shaped Box as of December 17, 2010
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a collage and decoupage project in progress. I took a break to work on this heart-shaped box this afternoon. I am using printed metallic ribbons to create patterns on every surface. Today I continued to work on the interior wall, which I am covering with a pattern in pinks, green, and blue. This view also shows the inside of the box top.

New England Landscape (Pen and Ink Exercise)

New England Landscape (Pen and Ink Exercise)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a drawing exercise in pen and ink that I did tonight with a Sharpie and a sketch pad. I wanted to get more practice with creating texture, so I started working on a landscape. This is drawing from imagination, but I was also trying to capture the some of the scenes that I see as I drive along some back rounds here on Boston's North Shore.

Before the Snow (Stroke by Stroke Video)

Before the Snow (Stroke by Stroke Video)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a stroke-by-stroke video of a digital sketch that I drew on the iPad yesterday with the Brushes app. (Brushes captures a record of your strokes as you draw.) For some reason, the little video stopped a bit short, so I used iMovie to add a still photo of the sketch to the end of the video. I think I may have set the video for wide screen, which might be why the format is a little different. Anyway, I think it's fun to watch. Just press play.

Before the Snow

Before the Snow
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Today I took my car in to be repaired, which meant I would have at least an hour to kill at Starbucks while I waited, so I took my iPad with me. What I had in mind was the muted color palette of December that I had just seen as I was driving to the car repair. As winter approaches, when it is overcast and cold enough to snow--but doesn't--there are lots of greys and neutrals in the landscape, colors that I have learned to appreciate more over time. I was also interested in some more practice using the different kinds of digital brushes in this application, so I started this landscape, working from my imagination. After about an hour, I caught a ride home because I had to leave my car in the shop all day. But I still hadn't finished this sketch, so I worked on it for a few minutes when I got home, and here it is. The Brushes app on the iPad also captures a "stroke-by-stroke" video as you draw, so I plan to post that here tomorrow.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 13, 2010

Heart Shaped Box as of December 13, 2010
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This morning I took advantage of an early start to work for a while on this project: a heart-shaped box that I am covering with collage and decoupage designs cut from printed metallic ribbons. At this point, I am working on the inside wall of the box. I am using a predominantly pink pattern, with some green and blue mixed in. I have been worried about having enough of this pattern, but today I found another piece of ribbon with this pattern.

Memory of Halibut Point (Pen and Ink Sketch)

Memory of Halibut Point (Pen and Ink Sketch)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Tonight I drew this pen and ink sketch, loosely inspired by the image I posted here yesterday, a photo that I took recently at Halibut Point, up near Rockport, MA. I was thinking about that photograph, but I wasn't looking at it. This is a drawing from memory, rather than observation. It is interesting to see what is the same and what is different, what I remembered of the photo and what I remembered from seeing the landscape. I used a Sharpie to draw in a sketchbook, and was just getting some drawing practice. I concentrated on creating texture with pen and ink. Some of these are textures that I learned to create back in high school art class with Mr. Corty (at Pueblo Central). Practicing these textures with pen and ink was tedious for a teenager, especially because we had to use quill pen and real ink, too. But it was a very useful exercise, too.

November at Halibut Point

November at Halibut Point
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Tonight I cropped this image out of a photograph that I took on November 20 at Halibut Point, near Rockport, MA. I took this photo is from the scenic overlook. I enhanced the saturation just a bit because the camera muted the red tones in the grass. I think I might try to paint this scene sometime.

Boston Near South Station

Boston Near South Station
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here is an image to match the today's gloomy skies. This is a photograph that I took back on November 5 during a trip into Boston (a South Station run.) The sky was gloomy, like today, but sometimes there's a kind of luminosity in that kind of light, if you look hard. I was in the passenger seat as we left South Station for the ride home, so I got out my camera. I took advantage of a red light to snap a couple of photographs through the windshield. I liked the composition and the light in this image, but the focus was a little too soft. Today I used both iPhoto and Painter to edit this shot, adjusting both the exposure and the focus. I also put a little bit of color overlay in a small area of the sky.

Lotsa Latkas

Lotsa Latkas
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Well, it is still Chanukah till sundown, so here is my last Chanukah image for this year. Yesterday I posted a little digital sketch of a latka on a spatula (made with the Brushes app on the iPhone). Later, I used Painter to clean it up a little and to create this pattern. Here's an image for anyone still eating leftover latkas!

Flipping a Latka

Flipping a Latka
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This morning I had time to kill in the waiting room at the vet, so I got out my iPhone and started to sketch with the Brushes app. A Chanukah song from a recent viral video has been stuck in my head for a week, especially the line "I flip my latkas in the air sometimes." To see the video by the Maccabeats of the song Candlelight*, go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PuPcWaw8us

Anyway, I had a vague idea for an image of latkas and spatulas so this is what I drew. Brushes is great, even on the iPhone, but still hard for me to control. So when I got home, I opened the image in Painter and cleaned it up a little with digital pastel. Then I used it to create a pattern, which I will post tomorrow.
*The song is a parody of Taio Cruz Dynamite; Maccabeats' lyrics at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMDwmPnc7BA

Purple Menorahs

Purple Menorahs
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This image is another digital "print" made with Painter's pattern pen and a menorah pattern made from one of my digital sketches. After I had the strokes of the pattern pen where I wanted them to be, I posterized the image. This process and the images that result from it remind me of printmaking, so I call them digital prints, though they aren't really prints at all.

Pink Menorahs

Pink Menorahs
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Tonight I made this image on the computer. I used Painter's pattern pen. I made this pattern last year, from one of my digital sketches, called "Metallic Menorah" (posted 12/10/09). I used pink paper for the background. Once I had the "strokes" of the pattern pen where I wanted them, I posterized the image and then cropped it to get this composition. These menorahs look like they are having fun.

Another Menorah (Stroke by Stroke Video)

Another Menorah (Stroke by Stroke Video)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I posted a digital drawing of a menorah that I made on my iPad with the Brushes app. Brushes also captures a "stroke-by-stroke" video as you draw. I used iMovie to combine the little Brushes video with the jpeg of the final drawing.

Another Menorah

Another Menorah
Originally uploaded by randubnick

The other day, I started a second digital sketch of a menorah on iPad (using Brushes). At the time, I was having technical difficulties with a Brushes action video of a menorah and was thinking of starting over. But I figured out how to solve the problem and was able to post the video, so I abandoned my second menorah sketch. Today I decided to go back to it and finished it up. I tried to use my new stylus. I think it will be helpful when I get used to it, but right now it is mostly frustrating, so I finished up the drawing without it. Once I transferred this image into the computer, I used iPhoto to straighten and crop, and then used Painter to do a little post-production work (mainly straightening out the base line with a grid and some digital pastel). This time I had no problems with the stroke-by-stroke video, and I plan to post it tomorrow.

More Spinning Dreidels

More Spinning Dreidels
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This morning I had another go at the spinning dreidels pattern, this time with brighter colors. I made this image with Painter's pattern pen, loaded up with a pattern made from a digital drawing of a dreidel that I made a long time ago. For today's image, I used the pattern pen as a marker (which makes the image clearer) and then posterized it. My dreidels are getting crazier, but that's what happens when you spin.

Spinning Dreidels Again

Spinning Dreidels Again
Originally uploaded by randubnick

One of the first pieces of digital art I ever made was a digital drawing called "Chanukah Dreidel" (posted here several years later on Dec. 25, 2005). I had also captured the dreidel image in a pattern (also posted here on Dec. 5, 2007). Well, the dreidel pattern disappeared when I upgraded my Painter program, so today I found the original drawing and "captured" the pattern again. Then I used the pattern to make something new. I loaded the "digital pen" with the dreidel pattern, and started experimenting with dark blue strokes on light blue paper. It took some trial and error to get what I wanted. (For one thing, if you reverse directions with this pattern, the result is dreidels spinning upside down.) Then I posterized the image and cropped it. So, for Chanukah, here are my spinning dreidels again.

Lighting Menorah (Stroke-By-Stroke Video)

Lighting Menorah (Stroke-By-Stroke Video)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Happy Chanukah! This year I decided to draw a menorah on my iPad with the Brushes app. Brushes captures a stroke-by-stroke video as you draw, so I thought maybe I could make the menorah light up. I really had to concentrate on the order in which I drew things to get this to work. Even though I loved the animated effect, I wasn't completely happy with the little sketch, so I did some "post-production" work on it in Painter as well. Then I used iMovie to put the Brushes stroke-by-stroke video together with the revised sketch. Here it is, and I am sending this little menorah out to wish everyone happiness, light, and little miracles every day.

Little Red Leaves at Halibut Point

Little Red Leaves at Halibut Point
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a photograph that I took during my recent adventure at Halibut Point up in Rockport, Massachusetts. I took lots of photos of granite cliffs and dramatic ocean views, but I also took photos of some of the details along the way. I liked these little red leaves and the contrast with the texture of the dried grass. I cropped the original image to get this composition.

Heart Shaped Box as of November 27, 2010

Heart Shaped Box as of November 27, 2010
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I continued to work on this project over the weekend, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with collage and decoupage made from printed metallic ribbon. This photo shows the area that I am working on, the inside wall of the box, and also shows the inside of the top of the box.

Cinderella Pumpkins (Posterized Photograph)

Cinderella Pumpkins (Posterized Photograph)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a posterized photograph of some pumpkins that I saw last month at Trader Joe's. The sign said "Cinderella Pumpkins." I liked the shapes, so I took a picture. Soon after, I received my own Cinderella pumpkin on the last day of The Food Project. The pumpkins were still green, but we were told to keep them and they would ripen. I intended to use the pumpkin for Thanksgiving, but I got too busy to fool with it. I also intended to post the photo for Thanksgiving, but I didn't do that either. But last night, I finally roasted my Cinderella pumpkin, and am now looking for recipes for pumpkin soup. And today, I finally used Painter to posterize and crop the original photo.

Heart Shaped Box as of November 26, 2010

Heart Shaped Box as of November 26, 2010
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a collage and decoupage project in progress. I am covering this heart-shaped box with patterns cut from printed metallic ribbon. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had a chance to work on it a little bit. This photo shows the top of the box as well as the interior. At this point, I am trying to cover the interior wall of the box with a pattern that is predominantly pale pink, with rose, blue, and green in it as well. As usually, I am worried about running out of this ribbon, and may have to use some additional patterns to finish. I enjoyed getting back to this project, even for a short time. This is how it looked on Friday.

Digital Leaf Print 8

Digital Leaf Print 8
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here is one more of the digital leaf "prints" I have been making on the computer this week. These are images created with my Painter program's pattern pen and a leaf pattern created from one of my photographs. (They aren't really prints, but the process and the results remind me of printmaking.) This one is almost abstract.

Digital Leaf Print 4

Digital Leaf Print 4
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is another one of the digital leaf "prints" I have been making. I use my Painter program to make these images, and they aren't really prints, but they kind of look like prints to me. I turned one of my photographs of leaves into a pattern in Painter. Then I used Painter's pattern pen combined with posterizing and color overlays to create this look. The final step was to crop, and in some cases, I created multiple images out of one.

Digital Leaf "Print" 1

Digital Leaf "Print" 1
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is the first in a series of images of leaves that I created last week on the computer. I call these images digital prints because the way they look and the way they are made remind me of printmaking in some respects. To make this image, I used Painter's pattern pen, loaded with the pattern that I created last week from my photograph "Fall Colors". I used colored "paper" and loaded the pattern pen with digital pastel. I chose a large size for the pen, put down a few strokes where I wanted them, and then posterized the image. I also added a color overlay in yellow. The last step was to crop the result to get this final image.

Walking Down to the Ocean at Halibut Point

Walking Down to the Ocean at Halibut Point
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here's one more photograph from last weekend's adventure at Halibut Point. I took this photo on one of the narrow trails that lead from the scenic overlook down to the ocean, through huge boulders and tall brush. I liked the contrast of textures and colors in this view. Tonight I cropped the original photograph to get this composition. I took so many photos at Halibut point. Maybe some of them will be useful for painting. I will come back to this set of photos again, but I also want to post some of the digital leaf prints I have been working on. That's what I hope to do tomorrow. . . .

Distant Shore from Halibut Point

Distant Shore from Halibut Point
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here's another photograph from my adventure at Halibut Point over the weekend. This was my first visit to Halibut Point in Rockport, MA, and I took a lot of pictures. (Don't worry; I am not going to post all of them.) I took this photograph from the scenic overlook. The brochures say you can see as far as Maine and New Hampshire. I don't know if the land masses in the distance are New Hampshire and Massachusetts, or just Crane's beach, but I like the effect when you look at the horizon line. I like the play of horizontal and diagonal lines in the photo, so I used iPhoto to crop it to get this composition. This might make a good composition for a painting.

View of Quarry at Halibut Point

View of Quarry at Halibut Point
Originally uploaded by randubnick

My unexpected adventure this weekend was a trip up to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, MA. Although I have lived in Massachusetts for quite some time, I have never been at Halibut Point before. I was amazed at the dramatic setting: granite cliffs, a quarry, huge tide pools, and ocean vistas. Despite the dramatic cliffs, the trails are easy enough, and I took pictures along the way. This is a view looking down at the quarry and out towards the ocean.

Many Fall Colors

Many Fall Colors
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Today I was thinking about using digital patterns in Painter. I thought I had created some patterns of autumn leaves, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. Pattern files seem to disappear when you upgrade Painter, and I have never figured out how to solve the problem. However, creating a pattern from an existing image is a snap. So I poked around in my image files and found a posterized photograph of leaves, called "Fall Colors" that I posted here back on Nov. 30 0f 2007. I opened the image in Painter and "captured" it as a pattern. Then I opened a new image, and used the paint bucket tool to fill it with this pattern. Then I cropped it, and here it is. That was all I had time for today, because I had a sudden invitation to have an adventure, so I quickly saved this file before I grabbed my camera and set off for Halibut Point. Now I will be able to use this pattern with my pattern pen to make "digital prints". I hope to be able to do that sometime this week. Coming soon: more with this pattern, and photos from my adventure at Halibut Point.

Heart Shaped Box as of November 18, 2010

Heart Shaped Box as of November 18, 2010
Originally uploaded by randubnick

After weeks and weeks of too much to do, I finally had a chance to work on this project. I am covering this heart-shaped box with collage and decoupage created from printed metallic ribbons. Yesterday I worked on the inside wall of the box. I started working on this late in the afternoon, and it was nearly dark when I took this photograph.

A Tall Daydream at Starbucks

A Tall Daydream at Starbucks
Originally uploaded by randubnick

First thing this morning, I set off for the grocery store to get half-and-half (among other things). I decided to stop at Starbucks first and have coffee: tall dark roast with extra room . I sat down to drink it, and took out my new iPhone. I installed Brushes on it a few days ago, and had only had time to make a few strokes to try it out. So this morning started trying out the brushes just to compare (I also have Brushes on my iPad) and came up with this little abstract sketch. I was having so much fun that I almost forgot about the grocery store. Later, I transferred the image into my computer, and used iPhoto to crop it a bit to adjust the format, which is predetermined by the shape of the iPhone screen. Apparently the iPhone version of Brushes doesn't capture a "stroke-by-stroke" video like iPad version does, but it is still great to have Brushes on my iPhone because it is so portable.

Friendly Swan

Friendly Swan
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Tonight I cropped this image from a photo that I took last Friday afternoon during a walk at the Cummings Center Pond, here in Beverly, MA. Walking at the Cummings Center is usually pretty routine. But as I parked the car, I saw a swan right at the edge of the water. It is not unheard of to see swans at the Cummings Center Pond, usually during the summer, but they usually stay in secluded areas off in the distance. This swan seemed used to people (even people accompanied by a small dog), and seemed quite calm about being photographed. So I took several photographs of this beautiful bird. This image is from one of the best of the photos.

Window Pane 4 (Posterized)

Window Pane 4 (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is the fourth in a set of four images that I made from a photograph that I took recently. My starting point was a picture that I took this week through an upstairs window. A version of that photo, "Through a Window in November," was published on this site on November 12th. I used iPhoto to make four copies of it, and then cropped out the view of each of the four window panes in the picture. I used my Painter software to add posterizing and color overlay to each of the four images. This image is the view from window pane on the lower right.

Window Pane 3 (Posterized)

Window Pane 3 (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is part of a set of four images that I made from one of my photographs, "Through a Window in November," posted three days ago. I duplicated that image and cropped out the views from each of the four windowpanes, making an image of each one. Then I re-posterized and used color overlays on each of the four images. This one is Window Pane 3, which is the one on the lower left.

Window Pane 2 (Posterized)

Window Pane 2 (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Two days ago (November 12) I published my posterized photograph of a tree seen through a window. I thought the view through each of the four window panes in that photo could each stand alone as a composition. So yesterday, I used iPhoto to duplicate and crop that first image, creating four compositions, one for each window pane. Then I used Painter to adjust the brightness, and added more of the posterizing to each image, as well as color overlay in pale yellow. So I created a series of four images from one. This is the second image in the series, the view through window pane 2, top right.

Window Pane 1 (Posterized)

Window Pane 1 (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I posted a posterized photo that I took of a view of November leaves through a window. The four window panes in that photo seemed to suggest four "found" compositions. So today, I duplicated the photo, and cropped four times, to get the composition seen through each of the four window panes. This is the view from the first window pane (upper left). Then I opened each of the four images in Painter, adjusted the brightness, posterized them even more, and then used a color overlay in pale yellow. This is the first of the set of four images.

Through a Window in November (Posterized Photo)

Through a Window in November (Posterized Photo)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This morning, I was admiring the view through an upstairs window. I liked the morning light on the green and yellow leaves, so I decided to try out the camera in my new iPhone. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop this composition out of the original photograph, emphasizing the window panes. Then I opened the image in Painter and posterized it. This morning when I took the photograph, I already knew that I was going to posterize the image because I was shooting the photograph through a window screen. That is usually a liability, but posterizing with Painter turns the liability into an advantage because it creates interesting effects with window screens. As I worked with this image tonight, it occurred to me that the window panes create four compositions, not just one. To be continued. . . .

Tree with Orange Berries (Winter King Hawthorn)

Tree with Orange Berries (Winter King Hawthorn)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I recently posted photographs that I took at Long Hill Gardens (here in Beverly, MA) of the view looking up and down the main road (posted here on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5). While I was at it, I also took some pictures of the berries on the trees that line the road. The trees are wonderful in all seasons, but I love the berries! The berries even outlast the leaves and add some color to November. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos. I couldn't identify the kind of tree this is, so I went on Google and found out that this is a Winter King Hawthorn.

Tree in November (Stroke-by-Stroke Video)

Tree in November (Stroke-by-Stroke Video)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I posted a digital sketch of a tree that I drew using the Brushes app on my iPad. As you draw, Brushes captures a stroke-by-stroke video. This time, the little video somehow stopped short, so I used iMovie to add the still photo (with Ken Burns effect) and then added a second clip from the video. It's not perfect, but hey, I am still learning (thanks to the folks at the Apple Store). To see the little video, just press play.

Tree in November

Tree in November
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I took my car in for an oil change. That meant spending about an hour waiting around at a nearby Starbucks, so I decided to take my iPad along. I used the Brushes app to make this little sketch, working from my imagination. I had a great time, and was (almost) sorry to hear that my car was ready.

Red and Yellow Leaves (Digital Woodcut)

Red and Yellow Leaves (Digital Woodcut)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here is another image created from my recent photograph of red and yellow leaves. This one is a digital woodcut that I made using my Painter program. It took a number of tries to get the right amount of black. The image was too complicated, so I reduced the number of colors, and that helped. Afterwards, I decided I wanted to see more yellow, so I put in some color overlay using the magic wand tool, one tiny area at a time.

Red and Yellow Leaves (Posterized)

Red and Yellow Leaves (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I used Painter to posterized the photograph that I published here yesterday: a picture of autumn leaves that I took last week at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA.

Red and Yellow Leaves at Long Hill

Red and Yellow Leaves at Long Hill
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is cropped from a photograph that I took last week during a walk at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. There was a small shrub next to the road with beautiful red and yellow leaves. The colors were amazing! The shrub was growing low enough that I could photograph it from above, so the grass could act as background.

Looking Up the Road at Long Hill

Looking Up the Road at Long Hill
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday's post was a photograph that I took of the view looking down the road at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. Tonight I am posting another photograph of the same road that I took five minutes later, looking back up the road at where I had been. In this view, you can see the trees covered with berries. I would like to paint this road, maybe for the show that is coming up in May.

Looking Down the Road at Long Hill

Looking Down the Road at Long Hill
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a photograph that I took on Monday during a walk at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. The fall colors were subtle, but still amazing in the late afternoon light. This road leads from the main house and gardens down to the children's garden and the field. The trees that line the road are covered with berries now, which adds to the color in the photo. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop the original image just a bit, and also used the "retouch" tool to make a small street sign in the distance disappear.

Photo of Ruth Zagon by J. Raoul Turner (Reference Photo for Sketch)

Photo of My Mom by J. Raoul Turner (Reference Photo for Sketch)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is the reference photo that I used for the little crayon sketch that I posted yesterday. This photo hangs in my house, and today I took it down so I could scan it in to the computer. I have it framed in with the little 1940's cardboard matte, which I love. I decided to scan that in too, because it bears the name of the photographer: J. Raoul Turner, of Pueblo, Colorado, who did such a nice job! (The photo must have been taken before my mom got married, or at lease before my Dad's sister Rita and brother-in-law Ike moved out to Pueblo; Uncle Ike was a very talented professional photographer and became the family photographer.) I like the expression on her face, and even like the 1940's hairdo, and the dramatic collar. (She was tall and could carry it off.) This image inspired the little crayon sketch, which was more of an exercise in visual memory than an attempt at portraiture. I tried to draw her face without looking at the photo, and then went back to the photo to make corrections. (This is an exercise that I learned in a portrait-painting class, but for this sketch, I wanted to see if I could still remember my mother's face well enough to draw it, so in this case, this exercise was more emotional than artistic.)

Mom (Crayon Sketch)

Mom (Crayon Sketch)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a crayon sketch of my mom that I started several years ago; I recently came across it while cleaning up my studio. It is based on a black and white photograph that hangs in my house. I pass it twenty times a day. (I plan to post the photo tomorrow.) I think I started this drawing based on the photo but working from memory of it (it isn't exact enough to be a drawing from observation), and then referred back to the photo to correct some of the details. I wanted to see if I could draw her face from memory. So it isn't really a portrait, but I like the little sketch anyway. This morning I got out my crayons again (yes, of course I still have crayons!) and finished it up, correcting a few things that were bothering me. I decided to post this today because she was born on November 2. Working on this today reminded me of sitting at the kitchen table as a little kid and watching my mom demonstrate her drawing skills. She liked to draw little sketches of people, drawings that looked a little bit like fashion illustrations. (Maybe that's what inspired my obsession with making my own paperdolls. I used to draw them with crayons, cut them out, put them in an envelope, and carry them to school with me.) In art, as with everything else, my mom always made me feel confident but never pressured (not an easy balance for a parent to achieve). Somehow I always had what I needed. As a very small child, I had paints and a little easel, and I still remember taking an art class at the local college when I was in elementary school. And I always, always had a box of Crayola crayons, the big box with 64 colors and a sharpener, the same kind I used to draw this sketch a few years ago, and the same kind I used to finish this up today. I am still grateful for the crayons, for her vote of confidence, and still grateful that she was my mom.

Little Pumpkins (Posterized Photo)

Little Pumpkins (Posterized Photo)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Yesterday I posted a digital woodcut, made from the photo I took of some little pumpkins. I also made a posterized version of the same photograph. Even though the basic image is the same, each technique creates a different mood.