Art Creations Friday - Challenge 27

Art Creations Friday's Challenge 27 had a photo of little girl. It reminded me of photos of immigrants. I happened to purchase off of eBay recently some old letters written in Russian. They look like letters to a family member or girlfriend who had immigrated to New York. The letters remind me of stories told by my family about ancestors who immigrated from Russia. Life for people back then was very harsh. Family members would immigrate to the United States, and through community contacts, sponsor other family members to come to the U.S. Sometimes whole villages would be emptied, one person at a time. But there were still members who were either unable to afford the fee or who were unable to immigrate because of war. People eagerly awaited the postal carrier to receive word from their loved ones back home, in the Old Country. The letters I purchased reminded me of this. I scanned them and worked them into this piece of digital art.

My Peony Finally Bloomed

In April 2002, Clara and I moved into our current space. In back, there was a patio with a small garden plot, that is mostly in the shade. There were three scattered hyacinths blooming and a scraggly plant coming up through the mud. I thought it was some sort of tree that was starting to grow. But it was a peony bush that someone had planted. It was only knee-high and never blossomed. The next year it came back but didn't blossom because there was too much shade. Each year, it would return, trying to grow faster than the trees that were cutting off the sunlight. Two years ago, the property owners paid a landscaper to come and remove dead branches from trees. Some sunlight finally started hitting the little garden plot and the peony looked like it would actually bloom. But the blossoms died before the sunlight could hit them. Over the winter and through the early spring of this year, enough branches were taken off and some sunlight has finally hit the the little peony plant. Then came rain - a lot of it. It rained pretty steady in mid-April for nine straight days. The peony was literally growing before my eyes. I saw the bud develop and finally, today two large blooms were open. They were so full and heavy that I had to tie a few branches of the plant to support it. I cut off the blooms and put them in water. Another bloom will be opening tomorrow. The fragrance is heavenly. What a determined plant!

Art Creations Friday - Challenge 24

This week's image was a little more difficult to work with. It was an older photo, with dirt on it. The photo had become monochromatic. I changed some of the color options while still keeping the faded look. I then added elements of fun and color.

Art Creations Friday - Challenge 22

This week's Art Creation's Friday challenge was to alter a painting. I decided to make her look like a worn postcard that someone had used as a coaster at one point for their coffee. I removed the background and replaced it with one that looked more tattered. I then used a series of stylized brushes to imitate coffee stains. Then I added a series of overlays and flattened the painting down.

These alterations were all rendered digitally. A lot less messy but a lot more complicated.

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Tim Holtz

For those of you not familiar with Tim Holtz is geniuses who "invents" for Ranger Inks. He also has a line of stamps for Stampers Anonymous. He is one of the lucky people in the world who actually enjoys his job, and when he is not out demonstrating the latest product line, he is home doing the exact same thing! What a life! His studio was recently featured in Cloth, Papers, Scissors "Studios" magazine.

I love his stuff! I own every color Distress Ink Pad. I have quite a few bottles of Alcohol Inks. I have a lot of his rubber stamps (especially the sets that come with their own reusable cushion). I have even watched a few of his demonstrations on-line.

About a year ago I attended a rubber stamp/scrapbook show and was able to add to my collection of rubber stamps and ink pads. I was also able to see a first hand demonstration of how some of the Distress Inks can be used. So I went home and tried some of the techniques myself on some tags. I kept the results hanging around on my desk.

Now a chance to show them because this week's Crazy Amigo Challenge is "anything" Tim Holtz.

Easter Greetings

I found an old postcard in one of my boxes of ephemera. I thought it would be nice to touch it up and display it for the holidays.

Art Creation Friday

I am back on line, ready to "go do art." Here's the first after a long hiatus. I was just playing around with Photoshop Elements and new brushes. I put the little bear in a bit of a nightmare/time travel background.