More White

I played with this as a possibility for Texture Tuesday but I liked "Purity" better.  I'm trying to take advantage of Picnik while they are still available.  I know I can make collages in Photoshop, but somehow they seem more 

tedious to do that way.  Maybe I just don't have the hang of it.  I seem to have challenges getting my images to fit in the boxes.  If anyone knows the way to simplify it, please email me or leave a comment.

Anyway, here is my Picnik collage in white.  I also used their "gritty" effect and I like that.

It removed some of the color so it looks a bit desaturated.  I also got this simple museum frame on Picnik.  Yes, there are other ways to achieve the frame but they make it so easy.  I'm starting to look for other fast, easy, fun online editing sites to add the little fun touches.  I probably just need to spend more time on Photoshop Elements to see what "fun" things I can do with it since I work in it all the time.

  

Goddess of Purity

The challenge this week for Texture Tuesday was the theme of white.  When I think of 

white I  usually think of innocence or purity.  I chose this beautiful goddess 

for my subject and then went about 

changing everything.  I used 2 layers of Kim's "Ben #2" texture to subdue the busy 

background.  I also added her "Graydayslate" 

so I would have a bit of a frame around my subject.  I must have played with fonts

for an hour and I'm still not thrilled.  I don't have one that looks Greek or Roman enough. 

Hope you all have a fun week and be sure to stop by and see the many other 

wonderful expressions of white. 

Just Do It!

This week for Photo Art Friday we had our choice.....

We could do either

Any piece of photo art

A piece using a layer mask

A piece using an original image of something not generally considered pretty.

My first image here is of something utilitarian (not generally considered pretty although it might be considered a fashion statement).

The running shoe was processed using PSE 9,  Bonnie's texture called Smokin' and a texture by Nancy Donaldson which I call "geometric" and various filters.  I also used this for Nancy's texture challenge.  Check out her blog to see those entries.

I decided to do another piece below.  The original image is from a retail display at Z Gallery.   

I processed this using Bonnie's Touch of Gold texture and various filters.  I'm really liking the "cutout" filter these days.  Thanks, Bonnie for giving me that idea.

The world of Photoshop offers so much to learn.  There's always a new tip, technique or idea.  I think that is why I never tire of it.

Days of Mums and Roses

It's 3:40 PM here in Southern Calif. and I am finally finishing my image for Texture Tuesday.  I have used Kim's Felicity, 2 copies of Graydaystone and one of Inspired Magic. 

Hope you are all having a great week.  

Word Verification?

After seeing Blogger's alert on spam detection today, I just thought I would put my two cents' worth in.  I love comments as I think many of you do.  If you're involved in one 

or more weekly "challenges", you know what you're up against when you attempt to leave comments on many blogs.  This past week-end I 

spent so much time trying to figure out word verifications which now have two (not one) words to decipher, I was ready to give up on leaving comments.  

It's doubly annoying because I never know until I've finished my comment that I'm going to have to do the blasted word verification!  Think how much more time I would have to leave comments if I didn't have to decipher the verification.

  
 It is possible to prevent spam comments by going to comments settings and checking "always" under comment moderation and unchecking "word verification".  
Then you will see "comments awaiting moderation" on your dashboard and you can check them before you okay them for publication.  Don't forget to check the "spam" tab on your comments tab too.  You want to delete those and help Blogger 
do a better job for us.  They do try to eliminate what appears to be spam.
This must be an issue with a lot of people because I've seen more than one post today on this subject.
So if you notice you're getting fewer comments, it's might be because we're having to deal with the verification!!

Oneness

For my Photo Art Friday entry I was searching through my photos and found this one that I had taken at a local nursery in their gift shop.  It was during the holidays.......they had so many beautiful Christmas trees and so much "eye candy" to look at, it was almost overwhelming.  This photo called out to me (you can see the original by running your mouse over the image)......I decided to use Kim Klassen's "Annabelle" texture as well as Bonnie's "Ephemeral" texture.  I used a layer mask to remove texture from my subject.  At the last minute I decided to add one of my new transparent overlays from French Kiss.   The final result is really different and I love the colors.   But then those of you who know me know I'm partial to analogous combinations..... 

He who is rooted in oneness realizes that I am in every being;

wherever he goes, he remains in me.

       ~ The Buddha~

I often go to First Sip in the morning for quiet time and inspiration.  She has some wonderful writing of her own as well as beautiful quotes from others.  Check it out.  You will feel soooooooo serene.
Do look at all the other wonderful entries here......the talent is outstanding.

Color Enhanced Sketch

I loved Pat's color enhanced sketch so much and asked her how she did it.  She was so kind and sent me a pdf document with instructions for Photoshop.  The end result rests a lot with the beginning image.  I think I will try again with a different image.  There were quite a few steps but I love the end result.  This is the original image

I edited with Pat's instructions to get this

and then for fun I used Topaz Adjust filter to get this

It's supposed to look like a sketch.

 I think the middle image using Pat's instructions has more of a sketch look.  Again I think a different image will give a more distinct painterly result.  I love hers.

Photo Art Friday Challenge

I think I'm running a week behind on challenges for Photo Art Friday.  However, Bonnie is so cool, she makes suggestions and then says "either do the challenge or whatever you wish".  Makes it easy...... no pressure.

I was supposed to do this last week.  Bonnie had the recipe for doing this.....essentially making a collage of several images and then using lots of different filters including the wave filter.  I played around with it so much I cannot remember which filters I used.  I started with this group of images which are pieces of art I've done....

 and I then added the wave filter and played with that for a while before subjecting it to additional filters for these.  

Then I played for a couple hours with theses images, added one of my homemade textures and used the twirl filter, which is added going in clockwise and then in counterclockwise directions for my final look here.

I like the fact that I achieved so many looks.  If only I had more time, I could play forever.

Alas......I really do have to get some things done around here.

I think you will like the other examples that the PAF group have done, so have a look at them too!

Anxious for Spring

Though we don't have really cold weather in Southern California, it's all what you 

get used to.  I've been ready for spring since beginning of December.  In view of that, I will probably be posting more floral

images like this one.  I thought this was a good one to use for Texture Tuesday.  Kim gave us a "free" week meaning no theme......just use at least one of her textures.  

I using her "Annabelle" here.

I used several filters to achieve the watercolor look and added "Annabelle" twice....once on 

color burn at 75% and once again on soft light at 65%. 

I just watched Kim's video in the Test Kitchen on framing an image using a texture (in this instance I used Kim's "embrace"). 

I can't wait to see what everyone else does for TT this week.  See

the other examples here: