Photo Art Friday Nov. 30

This is our last Photo Art Friday until the new year.  Bonnie has asked us to select our favorite image to share.  I went back through my archives and looked at so many pieces.  The decision was just too much, so I'm sharing two.  For the first image

I used a stock photo of a mannequin from Morguefile and blended her in with one of my paintings.  I don't know that she is my best work but she is certainly one of my faves.

This next image is one of the first edits I did when I started working in Photoshop.  It reminds me of the puzzle images we saw as children that asked something like how many different (fill in the blank) can you find hidden.  I have my granddaughter's feet, an image of tree roots, an image of a poinsettia, a couple of the Morguefile's mannequins and a sheet of paper from a legal pad.  Again these are blended with one of my paintings.  I call this one "Tree of Life".

Be sure to visit Bonnie's website to see the other entries.  Remember this is the last one until the new year, so get your fix now.

Bloom True Update - End of Class

So my wonderful painting class is over, but I'm not over!/?

I haven't finished my two canvases.  I got stuck and stayed stuck for a few weeks.  I'm now starting to get unstuck!  Is that a word???

I'm still unfinished but getting closer.  I eliminated some things that I felt were just too much clutter.  Here's the latest look on Canvas 1.  I haven't touched Canvas 2 since the last update.  I'll get to that one when I finish this one.  

After I decide what to do with the lower left corner (below), I'll put on the "icing" as Flora calls it.

It truly was a fun class.  I've never painted quite this way, and it is very freeing.  It's unusual not to have any idea what I'm going to paint when I start  --  just to go with the flow, so to speak.  It's a bit scary as well, because I had no plan -- I just waited for something to unfold.......just appear from the marks and images.  Then I had too much and needed to whittle it down.  That means, whittle the color palette and images if need be.  For a long time I didn't like the painting and thought maybe I never would finish, but I think I like it now.  We've moved through the awkward teen-ager stage.

Stay tuned.  

Forgotten Buddha

I forgot to post this image for PAF....and it's absolutely my favorite of the edits.  I used the "stylize" filter and then "extrude".  I played with that filter to get different angles of the extrusion but this is the one I really liked.  I think it shows off the gold beautifully.  I also like the way the real and reflected Buddha merge.

I think I may have used vivid light blend before I applied the filter.

Photo Art Friday Nov. 23

I'm reposting an image from two posts ago because the texture is one we were asked to use for this week's Photo Art Friday.  I duplicated the background image and blended with "overlay" and then added the texture blended in "difference".  Gives it a rather surreal look.

If you wish to see what else I did with this Buddha image you go here  to that post where I used some of Bonnie's ideas.

Secret Garden

My previous post was about relaxation.  So while I'm in that mode I'm posting another image that gives me that same peaceful feeling.  I took this picture while visiting my friend in Phoenix.  It's a portion of her back yard.

I really like the wind chimes in the foreground and the water feature to the lower right.  It's one of those spots where you can sit and just live in the moment with your Self.  I processed this first in LR and then added a couple filters in PSE.

Relax

That's what I'm doing today......taking a break from Lightroom class.  Do you ever go to bed frustrated wondering why something in some application/program just isn't working?  

That's what happened to me yesterday.  

Today I've decided to relax.  For this week's 

Texture Tuesday we are using Kim's new texture "Kristin".  

Here's my original (which gives me a peaceful, "relaxed" feeling).

I added Kim's "Kristen" texture and played with several filters.  I cropped the image and played a bit more.

Bonnie had some great tips on her website. I got this look below using her "signed and sealed" texture. You can download it free from her site.  

Have a glorious art-filled week!

Dream

I have really been enjoying Kim Klassen's "Round Trip" Lightroom class.  

I feel like I did when I first started Photoshop Elements  -- lost!!  I  try to keep reminding myself

how far I've come in PSE as a guideline. 

Today's theme for Texture Tuesday is "Dream".

Though I did not use any photo textures here, I kept thinking about this mixed media 

piece I did several years ago and decided to play with it in Lightroom so I could

apply some of what I've learned in that class.

Isn't is amazing how I gravitate to my favorite color palette -- purple and green or some

variation thereof?  

See you all next week when I come up for air from the Lightroom class!

Back for Texture Tuesday

I've been crazy busy with painting and I'm kinda stuck there.....can't decide which direction to go.

  Meanwhile, I started Kim Klassen's Roundtrip Lightroom class.  I've just started and don't have a

clue even how to navigate in the program.  You can see I'm going to be really busy.

This week's Texture Tuesday is open

for any image we want to post.  I blended three images together...

for this result.....

 and  then converted it to

 black and white. 

Then I added a metal gradient and this is the result.  I added a little frame from

Pixlr.com

I'm such a color hound, I think I still like the combined images in color.  

Click on the button below to go to Kim's linky party and see some really creative photography!