Today has been particularly mundane . I woke up to a frost dusted morning once again.When we we start seeing the signs that spring is on it's way ?

Not that I mind winter.In fact , winter can be very inspiring at times , but I want to go outside . I want to play with the kids , and take their picture of course . I want to encompass my artwork with the rich colors of spring ,and the beauty of new life...

We here at our house end up lying about , watching tv , or playing video games . Un-inspired , useless , and despondent.

I found myself at the computer before even having a cup of coffee this morning . Looking through those photo's I took a few weeks ago with the new camera. 300 photos and I found maybe 7 or 8 that caught my attention. This particular photo was toward the end of the shoot.My daughter fed up with her little sister and my constant tinkering , laid down and gave me the most contemptuous look . I happen to be shooting at that moment .

I thought the look she gave was somewhat compelling. And , though I was looking to work with a pic of both of the girls , I found myself prepping this photo for today's magical creation.

I took two takes on it. one vintage painting look , and one painted look that I added a reflection of water to.I felt her position in the image I placed her in was too high up and wanted to add a reason for her to be up there.I used a modified version of a photoshop preset action which turned out fairly well.

Here it is. A blog spot to showcase all of the inspiration behind my work . And...well ........to show off my work.This is completely new to me and Any feedback or suggestions for what you'd like to see here are definitely appreciated.

First , I must pay homage to a friend who has given me all the tools and knowledge to do what I do.Gary Calicott is a genius photographer , and lover of nature . His work is inspiring and I urge anyone who wants to get a feel for life in central Oregon to visit his blog @ http://www.photosnw.com/blog .

Second , I would like to post my favorite creation to date . This is a photo of my oldest daughter.Some days I feel the magic starting to leave her presence as she is almost entering her teen years . Some days , however , I still manage to get a glimpse of her inner wonderment.

A few weeks ago I acquired a new camera (which to be honest is a little too technical for me).It was another blustery day here in central Oregon , so we were stuck taking silly shots inside . The lighting was horrible but I managed to get a few decent shots of the girls. I had Kaylee pose for a few ideas I was playing around with , but in the end , it was just a candid shot that ended up inspiring me.

I used a background that I found at deviantart.com and added some sparkles and glow. I wanted it to look like a new painting on an old canvas , so I created the edging using some combinations of presets that I found at The Adobe website.I think it brought out what I saw in her that day.