Farm Stand Pumpkins (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as a photo that I took last year at a local farmstand with my trusty phonecam. Today I used a little of Painter's magic to transform it into a digital woodcut, adjusting the controls to get the effect I wanted. Then I cropped it to frame the pumpkins, and here it is. I thought this would make a nice image for October 31.
Autumn Leaves and Train Tracks (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as a photograph that I took recently while I was walking by the commuter rail station. I liked the color of the trees in the afternoon sun and the play of the leaves against the shiny train tracks to Boston. I used my phonecam to take the photo, and later I cropped the image, posterized it in Painter IX, and used just a bit of digital airbrush to add some shadows behind the trees.
Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 7) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This morning I went to Red Brick to work on this painting of the Merrimack River in Manchester, New Hampshire. I didn't have a lot of time today, but I wanted to add more purple to the mill building. I decided to applied paint directly with the oil bar (just like a big crayon) and then used a small brush to blend it in, mixing the color right on the canvas. That worked pretty well, and I am happier with the building color now. Working the same way, I added blue and purple shadows to the foliage, and then mirrored those colors in the river. By then, it was time to go. Next time, I plan to adjust the scale (relative size of windows to foliage); I am going to add height to the foliage, maybe paint in a few trees, and I think I may also move the land/water line down just a bit as well. To be continued. . .
Evening Sky (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This image began with a photo that I took with my phonecam about ten days ago. It was early evening, and I was in the passenger seat, on the way to the computer store to deal with a hard drive crash on my laptop. I was not in the most optimistic mood, but the western sky was beautiful, so I took a photo with my phonecam. Although the computer issue didn't get resolved that night, taking the photo restored my perspective on things. Tonight I came across the photo again and cropped the image and enlarged it to get the composition I was after. But apart from that, I didn't do anything to it because I didn't need to and couldn't improve on it anyway. Problems, big and small, are part of life. But I have found that when I am looking for art, or beauty, or peace, sometimes it helps to look up.
Yellow Leaves at Long Hill (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as a phonecam photo that I took on a recent walk through Long Hill Gardens. Tonight I cropped the photo to frame the beautiful yellow leaves. Then I opened the image in Painter IX and used a little digital airbrush to add blue to the sky, which was looking washed out in the photo. Then I posterized the image and here it is.
Bright Fall Leaves (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as a photo that I took yesterday in Beverly Farms. The weather was great and the foliage was beautiful there, so I took a picture with my phonecam. This is the original composition, but tonight I posterized it in Painter IX.
Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 6) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This morning, I went to the studio at Red Brick and worked on this painting of the Merrimac River in Manchester, New Hampshire. Today I concentrated on the mill building. I mixed up a neutral color with purple tones, and got to work straightening out the windows, using the smallest brush I could find. This might sound easy, but it requires a lot of control and concentration. While I was at it, I made the windows smaller, as in an older building, so the building won't look contemporary. I also used some whites and yellows on the windows. When I was nearly finished, I decided to repaint four columns of windows because the spacing was wrong, so I roughed that in. By then, it was already past time to leave, so I turned the painting upside-down, and added some of the same purple color to the building's reflection in the water, scumbling the color on to keep the reflection looking less precise than the building itself. I am still not sure about this color for the building. I may add still more red-purple to it, to restore it to the color I used on Day 5. To be continued. . . .
Hilltop View of Lisbon (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Earlier today I was looking through my photographs of Portugal, taken a few years ago. Mauro showed me the Alfama in Lisbon. This image began as a one of a number of photos taken that day from a hilltop near the Alfama. I loved that view because you could see all the way to the ocean. And you could also see layers of Lisbon's history in the different styles of architecture. Tonight I decided to crop this image from the photo and then I posterized it in Painter IX, changing levels until I got the effect I wanted.
Red Leaves in Afternoon Sun Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday the temperature was in the high seventies, warm enough for a late afternoon ice-cream run. At the ice cream stand (one of the few local stands that stay open year round), I saw a beautiful shrub with bright red leaves. (Some people call this "burning bush".) I loved the colors, so I took a picture with my phonecam. This is the way the color came out of the camera, and I didn't have to do a thing to it. However, I did crop the photo to get this image, which frames what I most wanted to get: the play of the afternoon sunlight on the bright scarlet, pink, and orange leaves.
Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 5) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This morning I went to Red Brick and worked on this painting of the Merrimac River in Manchester, New Hampshire. I reworked the surface of the water in the foreground, using a T-square to straighten out the perspective. I added more purple tones to the water and to the foliage. I am paying more attention to the colors now. When it was almost time to leave, I decided that I want to change the color of the mill to a color that is closer to magenta. I played with that idea for a few minutes, just to see if would be possible. (Yes, but that will have to wait till next time.) To be continued. . .
Golden Leaves at the Pond (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This image began as a photo that I took with my phonecam during a walk around the Cummings Center Pond last week. It was early evening and the colors were great, so I took a quick picture with my phonecam. When I tranferred the photo to my computer, I was disappointed in the color. The trees were too dark (almost black) and the leaves were brassy instead of golden. So I made some adjustments to the contrast and to the color, to restore the warm pink and orange tones of the late day light. (They are subtle, but they make a big difference.) Then I cropped the image for the composition, and here it is.
Autumn Leaves in Lexington (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
According to the news, autumn leaves in Massachusetts are less colorful than usual this year because of climate change. That's probably true, but you can still see great fall color around here. Last week, I drove out to Lexington, Massachusetts, and the trees were beautiful all the way. I took a walk downtown to see some of the galleries, and just as I was walking back toward the parking lot, I saw this view. I loved the combination of colorful leaves against the brick, so I looked up and took a picture with my phonecam. This is the image as it came out of the camera. When I got home, I tried cropping the image to improve on the rather quirky composition. But I finally decided that I like the photo best just as it is.
Ocean and Fog from Lynch Park Beach (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Yesterday it was suddenly warmer, and with higher temperatures came fog that lasted a good part of the day. It was great weather for walking on the beach at Lynch Park. I like fog because it makes you see things differently, so I took a lot of pictures with my phonecam. This is one of the views I liked the best, so tonight I cropped it just a bit to improve the composition, and here it is.
Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 4) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I went to my studio at Red Brick this morning and worked on this painting, a night view of the Merrimac River in Manchester, New Hampshire. Today I concentrated on the foreground, the surface of the water. I also worked on the windows of the old mill building. Then I cut the sharp green of the foliage. It still needs to be darker. But by the time I had accomplished that much, I had already stayed longer than I had intended. The whole time, I was struggling with mixing and applying colors with the oil bars. But it was a good struggle, because I was also learning the whole time. To be continued. . . .
Vines on Tree Trunk in Autumn Originally uploaded by randubnick
Here is another photo from a recent walk at Long Hill. When I saw these vines against the tree trunk, I liked the pattern and the colors, so I used my phonecam to take a picture. This image is pretty much the way it came out of the camera, with just a tiny adjustment to the contrast.
Roses in Autumn (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
A few days ago, I posted my photo (posterized) of a single rose, still in bloom in mid-October. I thought it would make a good pattern, so I opened the image in Painter IX and created a pattern. Then I used the pattern to make this image of many autumn roses.
Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 3) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This morning I went to Red Brick to work on this painting of the Merrimac River in Manchester, New Hampshire. This time I remembered to take a copy of my reference photo along, mainly for the colors at this point. Today I tried to get the sky closer to the periwinkle color that it is in the photo, and changed the reflections in the water from turquoise to a purple tone as well. I added more blue shadows at the shoreline. Then I began changing the color of the mill building to a neutral with some purple tones (as in the photo). In the process of applying the new color, I tried to straighten out some of the windows. By then it was time to leave. This is still very much a work in progress. Next time I hope to work on the foreground (surface of the water). I also want to make the windows a bit smaller.
Late Afternoon at Long Hill (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began with a photo that I took today during a walk at Long Hill Gardens. The late afternoon light was amazing as it came through the golden leaves, so I took some pictures with my phonecam. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos, and posterized it in Painter.
Autumn Rose (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
It is always a nice surprise to see roses in bloom in October. I saw some today while I was walking, and here is one of them. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photo, then used Painter's digital pastel to restore some color to a few places that were washed out by the bright sunlight. Then I posterized the image, and here it is. I think this might make a good pattern.
Red Leaves and Stone Wall (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
While I was taking a walk this morning, I saw brightly colored leaves cascading over a stone wall at the edge of a local cemetary. The combination of stone wall and autumn leaves seemed so typically New England that I took some pictures with my phonecam. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos. The phonecam picture didn't quite capture the brightness of the leaves, so I adjusted the contrast and saturation just a bit, and here is the result.
