Saturday, July 31, 2010

Metal Momma

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Last Monday, Hollie from Holliewood Studios released a funky new digital pack overflowing with some wonderful metal digital files.   For those of you who are building up your library of digital images, this kit may satisfy your appetite for rust, metal and some funky backgrounds as well.  I love the chicken wire as well as the tinfoil textures. 

Below are my contributions for Hollie - 




Steampunk or Heavy Metal Marie 8 x 10 inches  available here

Image Credits:  Metal Momma  - Holliewood Studios DeviantScrap.com



The Dragon Slayer  5 x 7 inches

Image Credits:
Veronica Fraticelli is the model - you can visit her blog here 
Metal Momma - Holliewood Studios


Snow White Revisited - digital collage

Image Credits - Apple - Metal Momma - Holliewood Studios, Mirror, and paper bits - The Thing Finder - Holliewood Studios
Brushes - TotallyWildDezinez On the wall cluster brushes - all at DeviantScrap
Figure - Suzee Que on Flickr




February 4th 2011 - Diary Page - credits as above


Friday, July 30, 2010

Friday FREEBIE and Doctor Macro!

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This image is directly from www.doctormacro.com  To download the image double click on Charlie and then right click "SAVE AS."  If you use this image, please credit Doctor Macro!


Thursday, July 29, 2010

Tat for Tea

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The inspiration for this digital collage came from a challenge to create a tattoo image - thus the name "Tat for Tea"...and the tattoes of the cherry blossoms pointed me in the direction of a semi-oriental feel. The woman in the image is Ida - and she is also the creative talent behind MizzD Stock.
Tat for Tea - 5 x 7 inches Available for sale here





Image Credits - **MizzD Stock - Renaissance for female figure, background - Studio Gypsy, Box Society, **Holliewood Studios - flare from STARK - DeviantScrap.com  other - Cali Designs

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

In the mail last week....

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Aurora - by Seth Apter

I had been watching Seth's posts regarding these tiny little hands  he'd  purchased and then attached to  bases  made out of various sizes of rusted metal odds and ends for months and months and finally decided I could provide a good home to one of them!  Thanks Seth - I'll snap a photo of her resting place and post again. 

Seth purchased several of these little hands at once and is slowly attaching them to various repurposed metal bits and has entitled this series - Making Waves.  I love Seth's imagination and talent with words....




Saturday, July 24, 2010

Borrowing from the Masters....

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John William Waterhouse's Boreas - (click name to be directed to more of his work)






Image Credits:
Pioneer Story - Clementine Designs at DeviantScrap
Figure - Waterhouse




Rene Magritte's Son of Man has to be one of the most recognizable contemporary and surreal images of this century.  For more about Rene Magritte's art look here





Image Credits:
Tumble Fish Studio - Vintage Beach and Bright and Bold Borders.
Rene Magritte - The Son of Man - Wikipedia


Image Credits:
Tumble Fish Studio - Vintage Beach and Bright and Bold Borders.
Rene Magritte - The Son of Man - Wikipedia


Friday, July 23, 2010

And then there is always the lighter side....

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Cousin Harvey
I might use these as postcards during my next beach holiday...



Image Credits:
Tumble Fish Studio - scene and hat -  Vintage Beach at DeviantScrap.com
Tangie Baxter - Shadowy Waves - Penguin at ScrapbookGraphics.com
Male figure - Library of Congress - Flickr




Love at Fish Sight

Image Credits -
Tumble Fish Studio - Vintage Beach, Vintage Borders and Bright and Bold Frames - DeviantScrap.com
except for -
Tangie Baxter - little bubbles and pelican - Shadowy Sea - ScrapbookGraphics.com
Library of Congress - male figure



Got Milk - 8 x 10 collage available as a limited edition print


 I was delighted at how crisp this looks when printed up!  Perfect as a positive reminder for a toddler's bedroom who's reluctant to drink milk!!  I love those little round milk tabs - takes me back to the days when we had milk delivery and glass milk bottles.  Somehow milk tasted better out of a glass bottle....am I sounding like Andy Rooney? 

Image Credits:
 Tumble Fish Studio - Miscellany, Little Round Things,  Letters, Big Whimsy (dotted background)  Bright and Bold Borders and the floor - Twinkle Toes
Milk - from Stark - Holliewood Studios
all via DeviantScrap.com


If you just want to bring out the joy of your inner child and drown your nasty adult inner critics - then there's Nancy's CrowAbout  StudioB selection of imaginary figures to play with....


Note To Self:
"Discover your inner child's voices and be fearless to your art.  Live joy." 


Image Credits:
Crowabout StudioB - Dirty Words and Wild Things
Holliewood Studios - The Collector
 DeviantScrap.com
Smaller Words - Lisas Altered Art

 
 
Oddly Familiar?....Bad Kitty

Image Credits -
Crowabout StudioB - Oddly Odd, Crow Scratch, Dirty Words, A Bit of Vintage
Holliewood Studios bird and nest - The Collector
Bat wings - The Thing Finder
Do Not Enter - Sign of the Times
X - Scarlet Letters
Tumble Fish Studio  border - Bright and Bold
legs - Crazy Legs
all At DeviantScrap.com
Shoes - stash



That's T R U D I with an ....i.... nyuk nyuk

Someone suggested I should use this as a business card....wink...

When You're Strange - lyrics from The Doors
Image Credits -
Crowabout StudioB - Dirty Words, Wild Things Paper and Oddly Odd and Funky People
Tumble Fish Studio - Funky Grids and Twinkle Toes
all at DeviantScrap.com



The Zetti-Step Dancer - with that luscious velvet green dress thrown in just for 'the luck of the Irish"

Image Credits -
MizzD Stock - gown
Crowabout StudioB - Dirty Words, Wild Things
at DeviantScrap.com




Image Credits  -
Tangie Baxter - Art Stomp - Scrapbookgraphics.com
Dress - MizzD Stock - DeviantScrap.com
Einstein, Money - Creative Commons
Holliewood Studios -
Hat, Rubber Boots - Love and War
Sign - Sign of the Times
Grass - Maya
Chorus Line - Ruby Blossom - Fllickr


Work It Sister

Another morsel of   just for plain  fun.  What kept running through my mind as I created this image is a saying "There's No Dress Rehearsal..... in life...

Image Credits:
Tumble Fish Studio, MizzD Stock, Holliewood Studios all at DeviantScrap.com
 and N. Perry for the cat







Creative Minds.......

I kept thinking of the film "Throw Mama From the Train" while I was piecing this image together!

Image Credits:  Clementine Designs - Choo Choo Train at DeviantScrap.com

Dreaming - the same as Creating?????

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So Dream - 5 x 7 collage available as a limited edition print

Lyric Credits - by Ella Fitzgerald - Dream (When you're feeling blue..)
Image Credits -
*Tumble Fish Studio - moon, waves, and background - NEW - Vintage at the Beach Journal, wings, Angels
*Holliewood Studios - stitching, umbrella and stars - The Thing Finder
Lisa's Altered Art - flying figure and 'dream'
*DeviantScrap.com

I've  recently realized  how often the digital art I create has a theme of dreaming in it and this realization has brought up a query in my mind of whether the process of creating shares or mimics  any neurobiological phenomena or subconscious streams of thought that also occur in a dream or meditation  state?  For me personally, I learned how to meditate through the process of drawing when I was in art school, so my thoughts and considerations tend to sway in the direction of proving this hypothesis.

Here's the story

 I had a deadline project due and rushed to the university studio one Saturday morning at 8 am, determined to finish it.  The drawing I was working on was a large scale ( 4 foot square)  tonal study of a group of  3 feet x 3 feet square white painted cubes that were arranged in the studio with a spotlight shining on them to exagerate the shadows.  I sat down with a mug of coffee and arranged my graphite.  The next memory I had was looking at my watch and realizing it was 4 pm.    Eight full hours had passed and I had no recollection of ANY time passing at all.  It was as though I had been catapulted into a different realm that bore little resemblance to 'earthly time'.    I vividly recall driving home afterward, with not only riveting thoughts about how this could have possibly happened but also with the clearest set of what I have since referred to as 'artist eyes'.  To me, artist eyes are the way the reality of what you are seeing almost morphs into a painting and no matter what you are looking at, the shadows, colors, tonal nuances all take on an illuminated feel to them.  Burned into my brain is an image of the wet pavement  I was travelling home on,
lit by street lights and contrasted with the brilliant grass green ditches on either side.  The sky was Payne's Grey and the yellow road lines, equally brilliant.

Please please share with me any similar experiences you may have had when your experience of creating seems to morph into a surreal experience???


Below, I'd like to share a few of my more recent digital pieces, again, all with the theme of dreaming... and with some very thoughtful encouragement from a dear friend, I am going to begin to sell limited edition prints of some of my digital collages.  I don't have a lot of confidence at selling my art, but I have to continue to repeat to myself - nothing ventured, nothing gained.    I have decided to put mats on  everything that I will be selling as well as keep the sizes standardized for easy and affordable framing so I'm busy busy busy working on this task as well as protecting each limited edition print in sealed envelopes and creating  a recording system to track each edition.  I'll begin to indicate on my posts here if a piece is available and at what size.  And as time allows, also list them on Etsy.   Eventually I hope to get a rhythm done for doing this efficiently.   Wish me luck?  or  support the cause :0)  or simply..... Thank you for looking, shopping, buying or leaving a comment.  Do I sound starved for attention?  Well, you'd be right about that!  I spend many many hours each and every day, alone, but never lonely.....dreaming........

DayDream - 8 x 10 digital collage available as a  limited edition print


Image Credits -
Tangie Baxter - Compendium of Daydreams at Scrapbookgraphics.com
 for all elements except
 figure - Midnight's Touch - DeviantArt.com
 
 
 
 
Remain in Wonder 8 x 10 digital collage available as a limited edition print

Image Credits -
Tangie Baxter - Compendium of Daydreams and Art Stomp at Scrapbookgraphics.com for all elements except figure - Midnight's Touch - DeviantArt.com







A Day in The Life


Image Credits:
Art Stomp and Splatter Graffiti from Tangie Baxter at  ScrapBookGraphics,com
Figure from Stark - Holliewood Studios @ Deviant Scrap.com


Universal Keys - digital collage  5 x 7


Image Credits:

Mjranum - DeviantArt for male figure
*Tumble Fish Studio - Angels and lower clouds - wings
*Studio Gypsy - Shrine Sets - shrines, keys, ephemera 
*Clementine Designs - Starry Night background and Sky background - Pioneer Story 
*DeviantScrap.com



Paris in the Springtime - 5 x 7 digital collage available as a limited edition print

Image Credits -

Tangie Baxter - Compendium of Daydreamsat Scrapbookgraphics for
all elements except -figure -
William Adolphe Bouguereau - 1900




So Far Away - from Carole King's lyrics

Image Credits:
Clementine Studios - background - Choo Choo Train at DeviantScrap.com
Paper Whimsy - figure.

Friday, July 16, 2010

L U S T

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I am taking part in a Seven Deadly Sins challenge, at, well, you might have guessed, DeviantScrap I seem to be hanging out there A LOT lately!!!  And even if I weren't on several of the creative teams, I suspect I'd be there shopping.  There are new releases arriving  at a frantic pace and I'm impressed at the growing selection of non-scrapbook  related images.  This site could easily replace a Yahoo group as the forum is growing into a great spot for challenges.  The gallery is becoming spotted with more and more altered art pieces.  So.... There's this weeks plug for Deviant! 

Back to my topic.  I confess I knew the  Seven Deadly Sins were of a biblical origin, but that was the extent of it.  I would have been able to list Avarice Greed and Lust,  so I had to do 'the google'.   

At a  conscious level, I was not aware of  any recent thoughts about the subject of lust persay...unless they pertained to wanting to acquire art supplies!  All kidding aside,    I've always been a very  loyal person and to me, lust conjures up infidelity.  It came as no surprise, that when I began to consider THAT, a plethora of painful  emotions leaped to the surface, as I have certainly had  my share of heartbreak from finding out the subject of my love was less than true to me several times.    The silver lining -   I value loyalty, fidelity and trust more than most now.    Such sorrow betrayal evokes. Time has healed.   I've had many years to recover.  ....Tho' this piece reflects that deep part in my heart  that  remains. 

Most often,  I don't have the desire to continually  focus on revisiting deeply disturbing ideas or memories, but when they surface, it is much like setting my soul on fire. Maybe it's a form of self protection that  I do my best to keep it light.  Thoughts?

L U S T - Seven Deadly Sins
Image Credits: 
K. Pertiet - far background
 Clementine Designs -  book, fire and barbwire -  heh, that rhymes! - Pioneer Story at DeviantScrap.com
Holliewood Studios - Stark - for faintly seen cubby holes and perspective room
and bars on holes - Love And War
Bride - RubyBlossom on Flickr
Little Girls - Lisa Altered Art
Figure in forefront - Cemetery Angels - MidnightsTouch-  DeviantArt.com -
Tangie Baxter - Collage Chatter - faint words above book






Thursday, July 15, 2010

Just Another Feather in her Cap CLOTH ATC

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I promised I'd post an update on this ATC after I 'translated it' from digital to cloth.  I've been so busy doing digital work lately that I forgot how much I enjoy by hand work and I'm hoping to steer away from the BLUE SCREEN as much as possible, while still keeping up with my Creative Team requirements.  I'll have a post updating all of the various new packs that have just been listed for sale later this week.  Some of them are still a shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh secret! 

So, here's 3 snapshots of it in progress.  If you look closely, you'll see the needle in one photograph - which I planted there on purpose to create a perspective.  I've finished the machine sewing, added a couple of embellishments (button and little feather charm) and am working on the embroidery now for the front.  Time in  so far, approximately 5 hours (including the digital comp).

Thanks for all of your encouragement!  It keeps me motivated.














Please see this  link for image credits.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Just for the love of blue.....

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Ok, I'm still on the blue craze after thinking about an old song by Eiffel 65 - If you can't remember it then you're under 30 or like me, hard of memory...... here's the youtube video.....Remember it?
 


If you managed to listen to the full song...then maybe you'll also be able to look at the collage I did using the lyrics as a catalyst....and CrowAbout StudioB images (mostly)



Just for the Love of Blue


Image Credits:
CrowAbout StudioB - lots of different packs at DeviantScrap
Tangie Baxter - Cartoon Houses

Monday, July 12, 2010

Just Another Feather in her Cap ATC

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This is the digital image of an  ATC I'll be 'translating' into cloth over the next few...days and will post when finished.  It's for an ATC exchange with BLUE as the only specification.  It also fits this weeks theme at Mixed Media Monday.


...Feather in Her Cap....

Image Credits:
Terri Kahr - Pringle Hill Studio for female figure
Tumble Fish Studio - background, border, circles, wings DeviantScrap.com
Peacock -commercial purchase




He's back.....Karma

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I never thought I'd really get into working on the Alice in Wonderland theme that came to life again after Tim Burton's movie, and now I can't seem to get it out of my head.

 While creating this piece I became acutely aware of  how much the QUEEN scared me when I was a little girl and how unfair I thought the whole scene was - it may have been my childhood introduction into EVIL people. So, when I empowered the rabbit to take care of that queen with the rolling pin, below,  I felt so relieved!!

 I also kept thinking back to the game of CLUE and so this could also be titled - the rabbit, in the library with the rolling pin.




K A R M A


Image Credits:
Holliewood Studios - The Thing Finder and Love and War - rolling pin, 'blood', mouse, glasses, crown, medal, texture
Clementine Design - Pioneer Story - rabbit
Tumble Fish Studio - Snappy Dressers queen's head
Studio Gypsy - Mercurial - parchment scroll
MizzD - costume
all at DeviantScrap.com
Nicole Perry - Wonderland Adventure - background
Tangie Baxter - Mercado - for heart from Scrapbookgraphics.com
The Graphics Fairy - Alice
Q card - stash

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Freebie, Digital work in progress and.....Today I am grateful for.....

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....the new baby fawn we have whose mother has decided our backyard is a safe haven to camp in while her baby learns the ropes!  They arrived together about two weeks ago and I've had the absolute joy of watching this little fawn learn to gallop, and jump and progress to the point where this morning, he was running around in big circles, exactly like a dog will do.  From the back trees you see here all of the way up to our deck and back again.   He ran for a bit and then did a series of those popping straight up in the air jumps and then back to the galloping over and over again.   I counted eight rotations.  I've watched as the doe is beginning to refuse to nurse him all of the time and guess that she is beginning to wean him.  If you look closely in the mid ground of the photos, we have apple trees and so there is a plentiful supply of organic food for this youngster to gobble up.  In a few weeks, as the apples begin to mature on the branch, the deer normally start standing on their hind legs to pluck the lower hanging apples from the branches.  It's always quite surprising how agile they are on their two hind legs.

 I've also come to believe that it may be the abundant supply of apples along with the number of protective areas in the trees (we have 35 mature blue spruce trees) that the deer decide to settle in to the yard.  There is lots of shade and also protection from the wind that Lethbridge is famous for.

 For the last couple of evenings they have slept underneath a group of spruce trees and from a window on the second floor I saw that they were still sleeping when I woke up this morning.

I am blessed to have a yard that is in the middle of the city but is also large ( just over an acre in size) and because it backs onto the coulees, and isn't fenced, we enjoy these frequent visits. 

The only tiny  disadvantage is that deer love to eat my  flowers and vegetables and so I've had to compromise and not build any flower gardens in the yard.    I keep most of my flowers on the deck  or in pots in the front yard next to the house and even so, if they are hungry enough, I have caught them on the back deck with mouthfuls of petunias and tomatoes and even had them peering in the front window.   The second disadvantage is that my dog hears  them when they arrive to bed down in the evening after dark and is always quite unsettled and focused on wanting to chase them away, so I have to accompany her outside and keep her from chasing them away.  It's a worry as she's had a few very close calls with the larger 4-5 prong bucks who could kick her the moon (she's 5 pounds) easily.

Click on the photographs to enlarge them!









And, I must apologize for my inconsistency in missing posting my freebies over the past several weeks.
Below is an image I recently extracted from  its background - one of my favorite artists - Bouguereau. 

I can relate to this quote as follows: 

 "Each day I go to my studio full of joy; in the evening when obliged to stop because of darkness I can scarcely wait for the morning to come...My work is not only a pleasure, it has become a necessity. No matter how many other things I have in my life, if I cannot give myself to my dear painting I am miserable."

- William Bouguereau



 extracted image from a William Bougeureau painting  - JPG at 300 dpi 5.84 x 10.41 inches

If you would like to take a look at more of his masterpeices click here  and if you would like to play with the image above, double click it to enlarge it and then right click and SAVE AS.

Here is the painting in its original form -




I have begun to work with this image to create a digital composition, but just started on it last night - here's the beginning.....


*** a rough start only*****

Image Credits for above work in progress -
Background, Sheep, Racoon - VOID, STARK and ARTDOLLIES -  by Holliewood Studios at DeviantScrap.com
Books - Nicole Perry
Raccoon - ARTFAERIES - Holliewood Studios


I've decided I enjoy blogging about the process of creating some of the digital work.  Although, I am far from being able to describe all of the thoughts that enter and exit my head, I am offering something that I would appreciate seeing from others.  Hint, hint. 

Have a great weekend and if you do decide to work with this image, I'd love to see what you create.