Ornaments!

I'm so excited to announce my line of 2015 Christmas ornaments.  These are inspired by my love of Arlington.  I started conceptualizing these ornaments in August.  I wanted them to be unique and charming so I experimented with different types and styles of wood and metal before ending up with the current design.  Ultimately the wooden plaques showcased the photo beautifully. 

Besides being able to translate my vision into a photograph, it is very satisfying to use my hands and create something more tangible.  The ornaments have been a challenging and rewarding item to create.  After finishing the main ornament, I learned how to make the decorative ornament hooks.  Adding the 2015 charm really gave the ornaments the finishing touch.  I'm so pleased that I have received so much positive feedback.

Residents of the city can add charm to their tree with these beautiful decorations.  I currently have ornaments featuring SY Wilson, the Cotton Gin, and Arly Burger. 

Impressionism Inspiration

Seeing all the beautiful Impressionist paintings really made me want to try to incorporate more of that look and feeling into my own artwork.  From my last post you can guess that I was particularly inspired by the detail, colors,  and blending of "Seascape".  I won't pretend that this is even close to the depth of color I saw in the museum, however it is my own rendition of the stormy sea.  I am happy withI the colors of the clouds, sky and ocean.  This is more of a soothing storm- there is no wind or waves.  The birds can experience the beauty of the storm clouds while they float gently in the ocean.

Renoir!

I was recently at the Art Institute of Chicago with a plan to visit the Impressionistic paintings.

Impressionism is my favorite painting style and Monet and Renoir are a two of my favorite painters. I'm not alone in my feelings about them which is evident by the many, many of their paintings hanging on the museum walls.  

I was able to get within a foot of their paintings, so close that I could see the details of the brush strokes and blending of paint colors that don't translate into a print.   For instance here is Renoir's "Seascape":

Blue is my favorite color and here the blue sky mixes beautifully with greens and reds to create the stormy mood.   There is wonderful movement in the waves as they come in and crash on shore.  

It is even more compelling as you get in closer.

In this one small portion of sky look at the colors!  Blue, red, yellow, white, gray.  All the colors flow together through the texture of the brush strokes.  Unfortunately I couldn't capture the texture very well but it a major player in the sky.  The colors look calm but the texture adds violence. 

Now look at the water.

The blues and greens of the sky blend  into the waves.  The colors of the sky are mirrored in the water  The paint is becoming very textured in the strokes that make the waves.  Again, it's hard to see in the picture but in person makes the waves very evocative. 

Another close up of the wave.

His texture is really different and more pronounced from the calm of the sky.  

This painting inspires me in so many ways.  I want to experiment more with color mixing, challenge myself to work colors in new ways, and use digital textures to add movement and emotion.  

Behind the Scenes

I put together this explanation to show how I create my photographic composites.  This particular one is one of the simpler composites. 

Most of them have many more layers that I blend to make the background.  I love using textures and almost always use clouds and water in every image I make. 

Flying Free

This was my very first composite!  I challenged myself to come up with an idea that was simple and when finished would tell a story.   In my mind I thought it might take at least a week to accomplish this task, and I was pleasantly surprised that it came together in just a couple of days!  

I was ecstatic!  

My second try took a lot longer.  I was determined to use a different animal.  Giraffes were my first choice, and they looked ok in the landscape, but ultimately I ended up with the egrets again.  And so my egret series began...