back to basic

Recently , I have been getting carried away with the intricate details in my work.Butterflies and glitter , flower and mushrooms , moons , bubbles....whatever.I decided to go back to a basic image in order to attract more focus to the fairy herself.

I had a couple of different images to work with for this child. Her photos were the first to strike me when I got the initial photo pack from Angie.She looks so dreamy and wonderfully intriguing .The photo I went with was not my first choice , but the lighting on her face best suited the background I had created for her.

I used a brush preset called 9 skies , and a lotus flower that I downloaded from deviantart.com .(click the hyperlink to see)Brushes in photoshop are the greatest invention .There are some sparkle brushes of my own thanks to Gary Calicott , wing brushes and tiara brushes are also from diviantart.Seriously , you gotta check out this site !

All in all one of my more simpler works of art , but I think that this piece has become one of my favorites !

Deviations ........

So , as promised , I want to share some of the work I have done with Angie's kids. This was a huge challenge for me as I have never done any photo manipulation with children other than my own.Would exposing other children's inner magic be as facile ? As it turns out , I can .

(at least I think I can )...

During my search for background and accessories , I came across a website called deviantart.com . The site is devoted to artists of all kinds . Here I found boundless tools and resources for doing what I do , as well as some amazing artwork. I have used backgrounds from anaRasha stock , and BellazaArtStock and would like to pay homage to them here.

So thees are some new pieces I put together , again ...the photo quality is poor , but I think

I pulled it off... ??? Feedback would be wonderful !!!!

from this ......

to this.............

'

and from this .................

to this ...............

Thank you again to Angie for providing the photos and to all the wonderful artists at deviantart...............

Mermaid dreams

What inspires people ? What makes us get out of bed every morning to endure the monotony of work and repetitious commute ? For me , it is the faces of my three beautiful children. The wonderment and innocence in all they do ( for the most part ). With spring still looming off in the distance here in central Oregon , I had run out inspiration . When at last someone had given me a challenge.

I had been asking family members for months to provide me with some digital images of their kids.None responded. I showed some of my latest creations . Still .... no response.It was when I posted some photos on facebook that an old friend asked if I would create some art with her children.

I was thrilled by the photos she provided. The quality is poor , but the children display such inner magic , that I was instantly gathering supplies to start a new project. She had asked me to make a mermaid.I've never done a mermaid before , but after several days tinkering I came up with this....

Now , the background and feel of the piece was perfect , but with the way the child was dressed , I had a hart time making the tail believable. I used a golf fish , and her tank just wouldn't blend. She need more .... so I made a few adjustments to her hair , a hue adjustment to her tank and tail , and a small splash in the water (thanks to a suggestion by my husband) , and the final project came down to this ....

Thank You to Angie for providing thees pictures....

Welcoming Boscoe.

Creating images through photo manipulation takes more that just the knowledge of using the software . I happen to have very little knowledge in comparison to many other photographers that I have encountered.I experiment mostly .I find tips for effects on blogs or artist pages. But I mainly FEEL my way through it. Some random thought , image or phrase will spark my imagination and I become inspired to create something magical.

Recently , with only a few fleeting glimpses at true inspiration , I had been unable to create anything truly enchanting. Engulfed by the everyday humdrum routine.For several days I thought about what to do next.I searched the Internet. I searched through books and movies and artwork.I searched my closet and my backyard.The quest for some spark of magic amongst the mundane.Finally , when I realized that I would never find a cure to my own inner battle , I quit looking.That's when I found Boscoe.

Surfing the Internet on another dreary workday , I came across the sweetest face of 2 1/2 year old boxer , licking the face of a small child.Someone was giving this dog away.Immediately I phoned my husband (to ask permission of course) and then went to Madras to meet him.

CRAZY....Boscoe is full of life and energy.He likes to think he's a cuddly lap dog.He doesn't bark , and most importantly , he gets along well with my children and my 3 yr old Lab Sparky.

Ashlynn Absolutely loves having 2 "goggies" she calls them.....

Kaylee thinks he licks too much ..............

Micah is Glad to have more dog hair to clean off his clothes...........

Sean I super excited about having twice the dog poop to scoop !!

As for me , I am elated , and over joyed to have added such a fun loving new family member , now I feel some inner bliss and have come up with some fantastic new creations , which I will share with you throughout the week.........

Thanks Boscoe !