{from photograph to faux painting and challenge}...

I set out to create a piece of art in red and yellows.  Not colors I usually work with.

Using only PSE, and a bit of luck with my layering I came up with this.

I am really pleased with the results.



Once I created the photo I attached it to a 3" wide styoform block that I had prepared with a

plaster texture.  This allows it to sit on a table or hang on a wall.  It's now at the Raven Cafe

Collage Show.



Below is the original photo from moguefile.com  

I don't have all of the layers available to show as I work with so many combinations

it's difficult to remember which one's I keep. 

But after doing a bit of cropping, and a hue/saturation to tone down the colors

I tried a Gaussian blur, which I often try, but rarely keep as the results seem to just create an out of focus photo.  And not in a pleasing way.  But this time it looked really great and showed real promise.  I then add a greenish yellow layer a couple of times and grunged it up a bit with some brushes.

 

It's just amazing how this nice photo can become so much more.

If you took a dozen people, even a hundred people they would all come up with just as many

other amazing results.

 

Which suggests.

 Why not offer a challenge.  Is anyone game?  What can you do with this photo?

Here' the link to the original photo.  http://morguefile.com/archive/display/690489

As these photos are free to use I don't think this is a problem.

 

If you leave a comment to let me know you'd like to participate I'll know who to wait for

and collect everyone's

photo for a later post.

 

Just email me your photo and I will post all the results here.

My email is at the top right column.

 

No rules.  Just do your own thing.

 

I hope you will join in.

{one last blast of winter}...

While we are experiencing a winter blizzard - 18" of snow and counting.

I have been spending a little time in PSE with some photos of spring flowers

knowing full well spring will return shortly.

I'm really glad I didn't plant the peony shrub outside on Friday.



{enjoy me}...

a poem and a flower

Laughter Came From Every Brick

Just these two words He spoke

changed my life,

"Enjoy Me."

What a burden I thought I was to carry ~

a crucifix, as did He.

Love once said to me, "I know a song,

would you like to hear it?"

And laughter came from every brick in the street

and from every pore in the sky,

After a night of prayer, He changed my life when

                                  He sang,

"Enjoy Me"

                                              ~ Teresa of Avila

{morning latte and PSE}...

Just relaxing with a latte and playing with a bit of PSE.

I can remember when working in PSE was anything but relaxing.

 But it has become so.

One more hydrangea :-)

So if your new to the whole Photoshop process don't give up.

Keep on keeping on.

{finally a light soft image}...

Using more images from the rose photos I took a couple weeks or so ago.

And I am so pleased that I finally was able to create an image

with a light soft feel to it.

 For some reason I have had a difficult time composing photos that are light and soft.  But persistence has paid off.  (It's the way with PSE).

And one with a bit more of a worn look to it.

{just consider}...

What if the Hokey Pokey

really is what

it's all about?

I'm just saying ~ consider

{It's all about Hydrangea}...

I have a new Hydrangea bush in the garden, and along with watching

it grow outdoors I am taking lots of photos of it. 

Of course!

One reason to take photos is to play with them in PSE,

and a second reason is because when I planted the bush I planted it with all of the blooms

 facing to the back corner  so they aren't very visible from the house or yard.

But not to fret - there are plenty more blooms coming.

As I try all sorts of layers and blend modes different images appear as

if by magic.  I liked this one for reasons I can't even fully explain.  But it

has sort of an old worn look to it.  I may still add a bit of a frame around the edge

and call it printable. 

Above  I am using multiple png. files and masks.  (Hope that's all the right lingo).

Which needed a blank background layer first in order to create a solid printable image.

At least it did for this image using two masking layers.

Below a simpler version.  But oh, so lovely!

And a watercolor painting of the bloom.  (Now remember, I am a fiber artist, I can sew anything with confidence but painting not so - yet!

I have a few more watercolors of flowers which I will share in another post.

This painting was my least favorite so I used it to experiment with.  Including using a gel medium over it.

It works just fine and created a nice leathery feel and usability to it.

And once I stitched it to a black and white background it became one of my favorites.

It'll probably become a back cover to a journal.

And it all started from this one single photo.

Well, out to play in the garden some more. 

This time I have a new Peony bush to plant.

{Tuesday Morning Musing's}...

a sense of awe

connection to the sacred

falls into breathless experience

{for the beauty of it all}...

Gerba Daisys are so beautiful.  I've been doing a fair amount of PSEing with

all the wonderful spring time beauties.  These all show a single gerba daisy

all using a couple of textures layers and then making filter adjustments.

This one using Polerized

This one is Poster Edge

 

Just using an additional whitish layer and soft light

adding a  mask

and Watercolor

It's so exciting to be at a point with PSE that I can try using some of the other adjustments

to achieve amazing results.  So glad I kept up with it in the beginning when it took hours even days to

get anything worthwhile

[Allowing}...

Allowing the space

to take hold

and bloom

{Late Night Musings in PSE}

Not really trying to complete anything worthwhile

Just trying to relax before bed.  I created this late night musing

{Sunday Morning Truths}...

{destination... PSE}...

I was just playing around last night in PSE, with no outcome in mind,

and quite simply by accident I came up with these 2 little pics

The above photo had a background that just disappeared when I clicked

on a blending mode.  I think perhaps it was either multiply, or darken.  And it appeared to

have something to do with the color of the new layer and the color of the flower.

More experimenting is needed.

Anyway it was sure easier than trying to erase or blur out the background.

There is something I really love about paths.

And I will be spending sometime in my dreams exploring where this path may lead.

And I think both of these pics may end up in an Art Journal.

{Sheer Fabric Art Journal Challenge}...

I have decided to give myself a little art journal challenge
by using only sheer fabrics for the covers and pages.
 So first I created the photos for the new journal.

I felt like I needed some new fresh photos for this Art Journal 

Some light colors.  To go with the sheer fabrics.

With just a hint of color to add to the whites of the sheer fabrics. 

 Then add just a hint of words to inspire thought

I also had a bit of fun playing with a portrait painting in PSE.

And the sheer fabrics for the covers and pages.

I hope to start assembling the pages tomorrow.