Life Is Textured!

What are you doing this weekend?  We have house guests.  My daughter and her two little ones are staying here while their new condo is having all new wooden floors installed (I'll spare you the details about the defective toilet that kept pouring water into the tank after someone flushed and left the condo!) 

When they first arrived a couple of weeks ago both granddaughters had colds.  Now my DH has one, but with the fever he has it does seem more like a flu than a cold to me.  I'm trying to fight it, but feel achy and have a slight sore throat.  I have not had a cold since I became a vegetarian a year and a half ago - here's hoping my immune system can continue its good work and ward it off.  I'm using Echinacea and some Reflexology treatments on myself to try and stimulate my immune system into high gear.  Fingers crossed! 

One of our granddaughters was allowed to bring home the resident rabbit of her grade 2 class.  So we have a sweet, quiet old rabbit called "Moka" as a house guest for the next week too.  It is a winter break period at school so the girls and the rabbit will be home all next week.  Should be fun!   Mix in the added texture of a small tragedy to all that fun, as the girls got word from their Father's house that their pet bird, "Kiss" just died.  Oh dear -  lots of tears and lots of questions.  Life is truly textured!

Since I cannot have YOU over for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, thought I would reach out to you by offering a free download of a great texture.  I so love what this texture can do to an image.  Many textures seem to work mainly in the blending modes of 'Overlay', 'Soft Light' or 'Screen' - but this texture named 'Old Linen Skirt' works little miracles in many of the blending modes in Photoshop.  Scroll down and I will show you a few.  First, of course, the texture:

Next, the image to which I will apply the texture and manipulate with different blending modes:

(Lorenzo asked where the photograph of the urn was taken. 

It greets visitors at  a little museum of modern art located in "Old Montreal". 

Fortunately it sits on the edge of the old town as the architecture is distinctly modern.)

Now the image of the falling urn sculpture, with the texture applied in Linear Light blending mode.  I adjusted the blending mode to 50% opacity.

Below, the same image, same texture, using Difference blending mode.  I adjusted the opacity to 88% and used a layer mask to remove all of the texture from the sculpture itself.

Same image, same texture, Screen blending mode.  The opacity was left at 100%.

Same image, same texture, Luminosity blending mode.  The opacity was reduced to 88% and a layer mask used to remove the texture from the sculpture.

You can download and use this texture "Old Linen Skirt" to enhance your images by simply clicking HERE.  The only stipulation to this free download is that you not sell or regift the texture as being your creation.  Enjoy!

Your Photographs Into 'Fine' Art

As some of you who follow my blog may know, I have been immersed in learning about digital editing of photographs and digital art during the last six months.  I was able to allow myself this luxury, in part, because of breaking both bones in my non-dominant arm in October, 2010.  With an arm in a cast mobility was limited.  So whenever possible I parked myself in front of the computer to take e-courses, experiment with digitally editing photographs, and trying my (good) hand at creating digital art in Photoshop Elements 8. 


The learnings and skill-building grew, and one day, to my surprise, I produced what looked like a piece of 'impressionist' art while editing a photograph in Photoshop Elements 8.  The process is more than simply applying one of the fine art type Filters in the Photoshop Elements 8 program.  I tried the process on other photographs and got similar great results.  The next couple of weeks are a blur as the technique was refined to produce unique pieces of artwork out of simple photographs. 


Allow me to show you some 'before' and 'after' examples of the application of my little technique.  First, the before:

And then, after the application of the technique - the after!

another version after the application of the technique:

While on a walk near my home  I discovered a new residential construction area clustered around a commuter train station and snapped a few shots.  The water in the foreground is simply rain that has collected on a grubby, vacant lot. Here is the before photograph:

Below is the same photograph after the application of my technique.  It makes quite a difference, don't you think?  From a rather ordinary photograph to something that could be matted and framed!

Whether you need it or not - I have another example!  I am so excited about what a little technique, Photoshop tools, and my artistic efforts can produce.  Okay, here is a photograph of an alleyway in Old Montreal where artists can show and sell their works - the before:

And the same photo after:

Here is another before:

and the after:

and a second variation after applying the technique:

Do you have some photographs you would like to give such a fine art look?   I would love to turn some of your special photographs into pieces of art that you can hang on your wall.  If you would like a impressionist, painterly feel applied to a  photograph such as one of your home, a place of business, a school, a garden, a vacation spot, etc. etc., check out the static page you can access by clicking on 'Your Photos As Art' (just below my header), or by clicking  HERE.   There I explain how you can engage me for this service.  You can also view more applications of this technique on that stand-alone page. 

Taste Only Sacredness

Something opens our wings.

Something makes boredom and hurt disappear.

Someone fills the cup in front of us:

We taste only sacredness.

~ Rumi

When I first chose this quote to accompany my image I thought it was the idea of filling one's self up with sacredness that appealed to me.  Now that I am constructing the draft for this post, I realize it is probably the phrase "Something makes ... hurt disappear" that grabbed my attention.

Back in January when given the go-ahead to lift weights and do a bit of exercise with my then mended broken bones in my left arm, I was a little too enthusiastic.  Using a powerful stretch-band contraption that hooks around your feet and has two other extensions for your hands, I stretched and pulled and felt very proud of myself.  While I felt no pain at the time, it seems I tore a ligament or something in my upper arm for I have had continuous pain radiating from my shoulder down to my wrist since. 

It has been about a month now and last week while finding myself feeling rather discouraged, I decided to follow some of my own advice and try changing my relationship to the pain.  Rather than resenting it, cursing it, wishing for it to disappear, I decided to see if I could allow it, try to understand it, respect it.  Well, I am doing it - not consistently - sometimes I forget and slip back into frustration, annoyance and self-pity.  I console myself that at least I have 'awakened' and brought into awareness that I do have a choice in how I relate to the pain.  I wonder if I can take it a step further, follow Rumi's advice and view this cup of pain as sacred?  (Right now - not so much! :-)

So there I am wanting to relate in a new way to pain, and still choosing a poem that speaks of  'making hurt disappear'.  It is always a challenge to stay conscious and to not regress into child-like wishful thinking when in circumstances that would not normally be of one's choosing.

My postings have been sparse and rather wimpy of late, due in part to some difficulty concentrating with pain on and in my shoulder radiating down into my wrist.   Please bear with me (or is it bare with me - I always get those two mixed up!), I hope to be able to bring my full attention and awareness to my posts soon.

There is still a free texture available for you to download in yesterday's post (Feb. 20th).

Free Texture for You!

Here is a sweet little flower image from a birthday bouquet received back in January:

Here's a little texture I made from one of those cushionned lap pads you park on your knee for writing while nestled in a comfy chair:

Let's play with these two images and see if we can come up with something that is more than the sum of the parts!

To get the above effect, I applied the texture on the image, set it to the blending mode (in Photoshop Elements) Pin Light, adjusting the opacity to 46%.  I cropped the image to eliminate a 'blown out' area in the upper left hand corner, and added a white frame.  Very basic I know, but I want to share what I have been learning and how I am now applying the learnings.

Now the above romantic, ethereal, desaturated look is all the rage, but look at what else you can do using the very same components - the original photograph and the above texture with different manipulations in Photoshop:

I like the abstract improbability, mystery and drama of this second Photoshop manipulation.  To create the above look, I added the texture to the photograph, set the blending mode to "Difference" with the Opacity adjusted to 82%.  I then went to Layer - flatten layer - duplicate layer.  Then on to Filter - Artistic - Poster Edges.  I added the frame and my initials and et voila!

To add the above "Bonjour ma douce" texture to your Texture Library simply click HERE.  It's my little weekend gift to you.  Enjoy.  My only request is that you not resell or repackage this texture as your own. 

Desire

Touch Me

Summer is late, my heart.

Words plucked out of the air

some forty years ago

when I was wild with love

and torn almost in two

scatter like leaves this night

of whistling wind and rain.

It is my heart that's late,

it is my song that's flown.

Outdoors all afternoon

under a gunmetal sky

staking my garden down,

I kneeled to the crickets trilling

underfoot as if about

to burst from their crusty shells;

and like a child again

marveled to hear so clear

and brave a music pour

from such a small machine.

What makes the engine go?

Desire, desire, desire.

The longing for the dance

stirs in the buried life.

One season only,

and it's done.

So let the battered old willow

thrash against the windowpanes

and the house timbers creak.

Darling, do you remember

the man you married? Touch me,

remind me who I am.

~ Stanley Kunitz

... open ...

If your everyday practice is to open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing down ... then you will understand all the teachings that anyone has ever taught.

~ Pema Chodron

... taking care of your heart ...

If you find yourself in a time and place where no one will be sending you valentine's wishes, what can YOU do to make YOUR HEART feel acknowledged and appreciated?

While receiving a valentine's day card can lift our spirit and gladden our heart, let's keep it all in perspective.  It is, after all, a hyped holiday driven mainly by merchants of flowers, chocolates, cards, jewellery, etc.  What happens on this day is hardly a measure of any one's lovability or worth.

... take joy ...

The gloom of the world

Is but a shadow;

Behind it,

Yet within reach,

Is joy.

Take joy.

~ Fra Giovanni




(Ballerina image by Sheispretty Stock with bz textures and editing.)

....ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....

You may have noticed that I have slowly been transforming the appearance and set up of this blog.  Not to worry - it is still the same old me behind the scenes and the eclectic, somewhat erratic content will remain pretty much the same.

Thanks to some excellent e-courses (linked for you with the new tab under the header:  Resource Links) I have, of late, immersed myself in the magical world of digital editing.  While I love to edit photographs to bring out the best in them, I am much more interested in the artistic applications of digital manipulations with Photoshop.  At the controls in my photoshop/art cockpit I have been dipping and diving into realms heretofore unknown to me, and the ride has been exhilarating.  The creative destinations and possibilities are endless!

Making textures to give depth, intrigue and dimension to art and photographs is one of my latest obsessions.  (Yes, it's true.  I do have a touch of OCD!)  So expect to see a host of artistic textures and backgrounds here in future.  I want to give many away for you to use, and some I will package into sets to sell.  Here are a couple of examples of textures recently produced.

You can download this texture by clicking HERE.

You can download this texture by clicking HERE. 

You may have noticed my new Grab Button in the sidebar, with the added name,
Pixel Dust PhotoArt.  I have a new, little service I will soon offer here that has been so christened.  Can't wait to share it with you -just working out the final details before 'launch'!

I have installed some static "Pages" with their tab links under my header to help you negotiate your way around my blog labyrinth.  Now you can easily access interviews I have done with other bloggers, sample pieces of my artwork, photographs and digital art, and link up with many of my favorite resources for your creative blogging endeavors.

There is a static page where I list most of my postings of a psychological nature:  Psych-Help Posts.  With one click you can navigate to any of these posts that may interest you.  A few people have tapped me on the shoulder for a little help with personal issues/dilemmas/concerns and I have enjoyed being able to offer some help via e-mail.  I have decided to offer this sort of consultation as a service here, and you will see the tab Psych-Help Consults where you can learn more.  There I explain how such a service would unfold, the conditions and the cost.  The same codes of confidentiality that apply in a therapeutic relationship will apply to this consultation or coaching service.  No one will ever know that we are in touch behind the scenes!  :-) 

Hope this post has answered any questions you may have had about what I am up to here.  It was time for a new look and a bit of tweaking to what I do here ... and the process will continue.  Thank YOU so much for your visits and comments.  It is a delight to exchange thoughts and ideas with each and every one of you.  Don't forget to download your free textures pictured above!

more free rose images for you

Voici more images of roses for you to download freely to print on cards for Valentine's Day, play with, or use on your blog.  My only request is that you not present them as your own work and where convenient, when you use them, link back to Original Art Studio where you received them.  Thanks.

Download this free, high resolution rose image HERE.

 

Download this free, high resolution rose image HERE.

If I Should Cease To Bring a Rose

If I should cease to bring a Rose

Upon a festal day,

'Twill be because beyond the Rose

I have been called away --

If I should cease to take the names

My buds commemorate --

'Twill be because Death's finger

Claps my murmuring lip!

~ Emily Dickinson

Free for You

It was my birthday last Saturday.  Mine and Oprah's.  This year flowers seemed to be the gift of choice - especially roses.  While our flower-laden home did begin to feel a bit like a funeral parlor, I had more than ample subjects for a sweet-scented photo shoot.  Photographs of roses are now spilling out of my archives! 


Thought the best thing to do would be to share some of these photographs with you in a way that could prove useful.  I will, therefore, be posting a few before Valentine's Day that you can download and use as you wish.  These are high-resolution photographs that you can print on a card or print to frame and give a loved one.  Enjoy! 


(My only request is that you not sell, re-share or claim this photograph as your own.  You are welcome to post it on your blog, and while a link back to me would be appreciated, it is not required.)

For your free, high-resolution download, click HERE.

The Magic of Textures (and a free one for you)

I've been trying my hand at creating textures to apply to photographs in Photoshop.  They are fun to design and it is even more fun to see the effects they produce on your photographs.  With blend modes, adjustments in opacity and levels there are dozens of different looks you can create.  Below is a photograph taken through the car window across a frozen river to the other shore.  You can see some of the salt and dirt stains showing on the window glass.

Below is a texture I made yesterday and the one I applied to the above photograph.  Scroll down to see the results after applying it to the photo.

Below I used the blending mode of Pin Light, at 37% Opacity.  It adds a little 'painterly' feel and camouflages the dirt on the car windows.

Below the same photograph and texture using Overlay as the Blending Mode, at 85% Opacity producing a bright, yet desaturated image.

 And last, for a little fun and a moody effect, I used the Difference blend mode adjusted to 89% Opacity.  I also did a Levels Adjustment to add a little light.

You can download this high resolution texture, gratis, by scrolling down to click on the link beneath it.  Enjoy!

Click on link to download:http://www.mediafire.com/?b58k2aiwaafw465