Clay Beads in Progress

Clay Beads in Progress
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday at the Peabody Essex Museum, we stopped in at a workshop that we thought was going to be about making beads from natural objects. Hmmm. . .well, it wasn't quite what we thought it would be, but we did get a chance to make beads from terra cotta clay. I make pendants with found metal washers, beads, and leather, so I made these clay beads with that in mind. But first they have to dry . . . so I took a picture of them with my cameraphone. I haven't worked with clay in a long time, and had forgotten how much fun it can be.

Ceiling of Entry Hall, Peabody Essex Museum

Ceiling of Entry Hall, Peabody Essex Museum
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today Heather and I took a break and went to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. We saw a lot in a very short time: a wonderful show of aerial photography called Air Lines and an fantastic exhibit of teapots in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Then we sat in on a bead workshop. But the most amazing art in the museum is the museum itself, with its sense of inside and outside, old and new. I like the light in the entrance hallway from the windows in the ceiling, so I looked up and took this photo with my cameraphone.

Vicariously Vienna

Vicariously Vienna
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a digitally modified version of a photo Mel sent me in a multimedia message to my cellphone. He has been in Vienna all week and used his cameraphone to take a picture of the Votiv Church. It was a great shot, but when I transferred it to my computer, I could see that the sky had multicolored horizontal stripes running across it. Mel came home tonight, and I asked him if I should try to fix his photo of the church. I opened the image in Painter IX and decided to try the digital airbrush. But to make it more fun, I decided to enhance the sky with the purple that was one of the colors in the stripes. Then I cropped the image for a more balanced composition.

View of Narrow Alley in Moncao Portugal

View of Narrow Alley in Moncao Portugal
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this picture during my first visit to Portugal, several years ago. Mauro planned a surprise day trip to Vigo, Spain. On the way, we stopped for lunch in Moncao, Portugal. We ate steak grilled on marble, and Molotov, which is a meringue dessert. Then we walked around Moncao, which is right across the river from Spain. I loved the narrow, winding streets, and took this picture. Tonight I cropped it just a bit to to focus on the inviting view of the narrow alleyway.

Oranges and Blackberries

Oranges and Blackberries
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday I bought some beautiful blackberries, and tonight I sliced up some oranges to go with them. I like the way their flavors complement each other. But I also like the way they look together! I was admiring the colors and patterns of the fruit on the plate, and decided to take a picture with my phonecam. Later, I cropped the photo and adjusted the contrast to make sure that it was possible to see the geometric patterns of the oranges and the berries.

Forsythia in the Snow

Forsythia in the Snow
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here in Massachusetts, we still have at least six inches of snow on the ground from the recent blizzard, but today the temperature went up to 55 degrees, so we decided to take a walk with the dogs at Long Hill Gardens. I was surprised to see bright yellow forsythia blooming in the middle of the snow. I took a few pictures with my phonecam, and this is the one I like best.

Bouquet for February 14

Bouquet for February 14
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a piece of digital art that I started last year, working from my imagination. Today I came across it and decided to finish it, so I opened it in Painter IX. I had thought that I had started this with digital oil pastel, but when I started working today, I realized that it must have been digital crayon, because the color was going on differently. But I liked the effect of the oil pastel, so I kept going. I needed to add more flowers, and I remembered those primroses I photographed in the grocery store (and posted earlier this week). So I added the pink flowers with chartreuse centers. I also added some red daisies and tiny yellow flowers. It didn't take very long to finish, maybe twenty minutes, but I really enjoyed it.

Winter Evening

Winter Evening
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today was so busy that I didn't have a chance to take pictures of the bright snow in the sun. But tonight as I got home, I noticed the light from the street lamps hitting the snow. The colors were great, but it was almost dark. I grabbed my cell phone and put the camera on night mode. This is the picture as it came out of the camera. The edges are soft, but I think they work with the impressionistic colors of the light reflected on the snow.

Trees in Snowstorm

Trees in Snowstorm
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

We expected a blizzard today, and although the forecast called for heavy afternoon snow, early this morning it was already snowing hard and steady with occasional whiteouts. It was still snowing hard when I went out around 8:30 AM to shovel (for the exercise and to feel that I was keeping ahead of the snow, which was delusional.) Afterwards, I took some pictures with my digital camera, trying to capture the way the snow looks while it is falling. I like this one the best, so I decided to post it even though by now there is much more snow on the ground. (The forecast was right after all: it snowed even harder in the afternoon.)

Entryway of London Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel

Entryway of London Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I have been watching the Masterpiece Theater version of "Bleak House" on TV. I read the novel in graduate school and loved it! Tonight I joined Mel for a while as he watched the rebroadcast. Much of the novel revolves around the Chancery Court in London, and as we watched, I remembered that when we were in London, we stayed at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel. At the time, I wondered if there was a connection to Dickens, and liked to imagine there was. Alas, from what I can tell, the real Chancery Court was actually half a mile away from the hotel, and the hotel is in a building that was built in 1914. But that doesn't detract from the sense of romance and history that I felt in London, as I half expected to see characters from Dickens on every winding street and in every narrow courtyard. So tonight I cropped this image of the hotel entryway from my photo and decided to post it. Oh, and the Christmas Tree? Well, it was December. But then, isn't it always Christmas in a Dickens novel?

Morning Light on Lough Corrib near Galway

Morning Light on Lough Corrib near Galway
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Tonight Mel was telling some friends about our drive from Belfast to Galway during my trip two summers ago. Here is one of my favorite pictures from that excursion. This is a photo I took of the morning light on Lough Corrib, in Oughterard (very close to Galway). We stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast, a farm on the edge of the lake, and we could see the lake from our window. In the morning, the light was wonderful, so I went out to take pictures.

Quiet Street in Costa Nova Ilhava, Portugal

Quiet Street in Costa Nova Ilhava, Portugal
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is an image of Costa Nova Ilhava, the Portuguese town with striped houses which I mentioned a few days ago, the location of the wonderful bakery. When I looked through my photos to find a good picture of Costa Nova, I was frustrated. The original version of this photo had the best view of the houses, but a row of cars was blocking the view, there were many wires, and even a satellite dish. But I did like the view of the striped houses. So I did some digital editing: a little cutting, a little pasting, and a little digital airbrush with Painter IX, and as the little street in Costa Nova Ilhava became quieter, I decided it was good enough to post.

Primroses

Primroses
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today was full of errands, deadlines, and work to do. But as I was rushing through the supermarket, I noticed these little primroses, and they reminded me to stop, breathe, and look for just a second. I loved the very intense pink with a yellow center that was almost green. So I took a picture with my cameraphone. Tonight I cropped the image, and adjusted the color at the center of the flowers just a bit with a wash of yellow, using PainterIX's digital watercolor.

Pastries of Portugal

Pastries of Portugal
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is a sweet memory of Portugal's amazing pastry! (My favorite, natas, are third row from the top, center.) I love the little pastry shops with their careful arrangements in glass cases. This picture could have been taken in any number of bakery shops, but this one was in Costa Nova Ilhava, south of Porto, where the houses are painted with vertical stripes. (I will post photos of the town itself in the near future.) I had to do some editing of the original photo (composition, saturation, brightness) so that the image would do justice to the pastries of Portugal.

Self-Portrait with Make-up

Self-Portrait with Make-up
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I guess it is time for another self-portrait. This was another assignment in the portrait painting class that I took a few years ago. The assignment was to do a self-portrait with objects that indicate a social context. I decided to paint my reflection in my make-up mirror.

View of Harvard Square from the COOP

View of Harvard Square from the COOP
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

It rained hard last night and early this morning, but it cleared up and was warm(in the fifties!) so Mel and I decided to make a Cambridge run: coffee at Peets, then the COOP, and Harvard Bookstore. I was sitting in the third floor of the COOP reading a book when I looked out the window and decided that I liked the view of Harvard Square well enough to take some pictures with my phonecam. When I got home, I cropped this one and adjusted the contrast. But there were some distracting shapes on the street, so I quickly opened the image in PainterIX and did a little street sweeping with digital pastel.

Looking North from Singing Beach

Looking North from Singing Beach
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today was unbelievably warm for February in Massachusetts, and we decided to walk the dogs on Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Lots of people were doing the same, and there were lots of dogs having fun on the beach, greeting each other, playing tag in the sand, and even chasing tennis balls into the waves that came onto the sand. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but in between it is a great place to go for a long walk, if you get a nice warm day like today. I also took some pictures with my cameraphone. This is a view of the rock formations that you can see at the north end of the beach.

North Beverly Commuter Rail Crossing

North Beverly Commuter Rail Crossing
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this picture tonight with my phonecam at the railroad crossing near the North Beverly Commuter Rail Station. Everyone else was waiting for the train to Boston to pass by so the traffic could move again. I was waiting for the train to move so I could take a picture of it, and this is the result. I used the night photo feature on my cell phone camera, and did nothing to the image except crop it just a bit.

Pencil Sketch for Portrait as of February 2

Pencil Sketch for Portrait as of February 2
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is how the pencil sketch looks right now. This drawing started as a rough sketch for the painting I finished recently for my friends, and I decided to finish the pencil drawing too. Recent changes include adjusting the hairline, and trying to add more expression to the smile.

Liberdade Street Scene in Sao Paulo Brasil

Liberdade Street Scene in Sao Paulo Brasil
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Last night Heather and I went to a Spanish language get-together. Several of the people there speak Portuguese and had lived in Brasil or were from there. Two of the people around the table also speak Japanese, and that made me think of Liberdade, an amazing Japanese area in Sao Paulo. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of my pictures from Liberdade. You can get a glimpse of the street signs in Portuguese and Japanese. I loved the collage of languages in Liberdade, just as I enjoyed the crazy collisions of languages last night.