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.


 

10 comments:

Seth said...

Wow...how wonderful that you have an opportunity to watch these fawns in your own backyard. And I like the start of your digital piece. It already has such cool, interactive elements.

cornishmist - thats me ju x said...

Hi, how wonderful to have the deer come into you garden, the photos are amazing it must be hard to turn away from your windows each day, thank you for the beautiful image and I look forward to using it take care ju x

Terri Kahrs said...

Last year we, too, sheltered a bambi and Mom in our backyard. Tootsie, our mini-schnauzer, wasn't too pleased to have guests, but we enjoyed watching the little one grow. Unfortunately, I can identify with the gobbled garden. **sigh**

Thank you, Trudi, for our generosity. This little one is truly beautiful, and I appreciate your sharing your digital journey. Your work continues to inspire!!!! Hugs, Terri xoxo

Becca said...

Hi Trudi, I love the photos of the deer in your garden! How wonderful to be able to watch this happen! I think I would give up my flowers too for a while to see this. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Bouguereau- thank you for this Trudi, I had not heard of him. Interesting - somewhat sentimental but at the same time captivating in that there is depth in exploration of human emotion. Thoughtful...
Linda T.

layers said...

How lucky for you to have deer so close and you get to watch the baby grow up-- they are so gentle and lovely-- and good start for your new digital collage.

Marilyn said...

Wonderful photos of the deer. You are indeed very lucky. Your grounds are exquisite.
Thanks for the image - I'll try to do something with her. She's so lovely and innocent.

Kathy said...

Thank you for the lovely image! I'll play with that for a while today and see what it decides to become. Love the wonderful deer story, too. Enjoy your Sunday. - Kathy

studio pashnada said...

I too love Bougeureau - such a sweetness to his girls.
Bunnies eat my plants - I'm not liking them as much as you like your beutiful fawn.

Lorraine said...

It sounds delightful to watch the deer and fawn antics. I've not seen them this close so I can imagine wiling away the time watching. Beautiful image...