Alright, today I thought I might share a few of my favorite Flickr albums that I have created from the digital fusion photography I have been doing. I try to keep organized on Flickr the best I can so that if you prefer to look through albums instead of the entire photostream, you can do so.
This first album is my most recent. I'm still working on it, but I have quite a lot done so far. Remember to keep checking back to see what else I've done with it. Believe it or not, last week I took some macro shots of some thick onion skins after I was finished cooking. Once I did that, it was time to see what would happen once I started editing them into other pieces of art. This folder is the result so far. Obviously it is called Onion Skins.
This next album was created after Christmas 2014 when I had done a lot of light painting of my Christmas Tree lights. Then I did something I had never done before with light painting. I turned those shots into digital fusion photographs just to see what would happen if I went crazy with the light painting photos. This folder is called Light Painting Gone Mad. I hope you enjoy it.
By far one of my biggest album, with over 600 pieces, is called The Kaleidoscope Collection. You can find it here. Almost everything I have worked on usually has at least one kaleidoscope piece made from an original photo. I also have on both of my photography blogs, some that I have done from scratch. However, all of these, I believe, are from original photographs I have taken.
In all the albums in my photostream you will find mixtures of other albums. For example, in my Macro album, you will also find kaleidoscopes and other abstracts because I have cross-referenced everything. It might not have been the best idea and at some point I may undertake to change how I organized the artwork.
Well, there you are. I hope you enjoy browsing through these albums. If you wish to see more albums, just click on the photostream link in the above paragraph and go from there. Throughout all you will see the originals, and then if I have made any digital fusion works, you will see those as well. In many cases you can check the file name to see which original is the base for the artwork.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Photographic Study of Queen Anne's Lace in One Photo Revision
This past week or two, up through tonight, I've been working on trying to improve several of the photographs I took while on vacation. Honestly, I've only ever been on two vacations in my entire life and both were treats given to me by my daughter. So it is important to me that the photos I shot while there are the best they can be. I'm also working on other photos I'm trying to improve. This post will be about just one photo and what has been done to make it better. It's a photo of Queen Anne's Lace--a weed--but one that is pretty enough to deserve a royal name.
Before I get to the photos, I thought it would be interesting to find out some facts about this wild plant. For instance, did you know that it is also called a wild carrot and the roots are edible if pulled early enough before they get woody. Great care must be taken, however, because the plant is very close in appearance to several poisonous species such as Hemlock.
"Queen Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family, Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods." See more here.
Here is another website about this interesting plant..
Okay, let's get to the photos.
This is the original photo pretty much right out of the camera. I may have done some sharp focus editing on the day I photographed this. It was about a year ago, taken in a store front alley near an interesting spot many photographers use for both wedding and family group portraits. While my daughter-in-law was photographing some of her children there, I was looking around for other things to photograph. I noticed among the tossed out pop and beer cans, empty snack packages and other bits of trash, these flowering weeds attempting to give the alley some beauty. I wanted to see if I could take some of that away with me. Because it was a hot day and I don't walk as well as I would like to, I was actually sitting in the car with the door open when I took this shot. Since this was last year, I was also still pretty new to the camera I was using, and still use. It is a Canon Rebel EOS T3i with the kit 18-55mm lens. The photo was shot at 1/125 sec, f7.1, and ISO 100.
I asked for some assistance at an online photography forum I am a member of called The Shark Tank on Light Stalking. While I originally felt that it was focused okay, if maybe a little soft, it was suggested that the main subject was flat and needed to be sharper. I was initially concerned that if I had sharpened it already when I first took the photo, sharpening it more would create too much digital noise. So I resisted that suggestion but chose, instead to try to enhance the overall shot by using a "warm" filter in editing. Here is that result.
Well, while it did make the background much better, it is still showing as being too soft or out of focus. So I gave in and decided to try to sharpen it again. Here is that result.
I did have to admit that this made the photo better. The sharpened photo looked more in focus, although there are a few petals near the center that are still out of focus. But there was still that initial issue about the photo looking flat and the eyes being drawn away from the main flower to those in the background. So this time I decided to try black and white. I tried two different styles of black and white. The first one below is what is considered normal black and white.
Now I have been looking at this photo long enough and working with it long enough that my eye is naturally drawn to the background just to check how it looks overall. So I am not able to adequately judge whether I have accomplished the goal of keeping the eyes on the main flower. Below is what is called "heavy" black and white.
I had to remove digital noise from both of the black and white photos as it was very noticeable in both of those. Also I notice in the bottom one, the heavy black and white, that there is more dark tones to the flower itself than in the normal black and white. I think the heavy shadowing in the bottom one brings more attention to the background instead of moving the attention to the main flower, while the normal black and white one keeps the focus on the main flower where it belongs. What do you think? Please feel free to comment about your suggestions and tips.
While I am at it, below are some graphic designs, or digital fusion photographic art that I did with this particular photo of Queen Anne's Lace. I hope you like them. For more of the things I am working on, don't forget to follow me on Flickr and on Twitter @capirani.
Before I get to the photos, I thought it would be interesting to find out some facts about this wild plant. For instance, did you know that it is also called a wild carrot and the roots are edible if pulled early enough before they get woody. Great care must be taken, however, because the plant is very close in appearance to several poisonous species such as Hemlock.
"Queen Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family, Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods." See more here.
Here is another website about this interesting plant..
Okay, let's get to the photos.
I asked for some assistance at an online photography forum I am a member of called The Shark Tank on Light Stalking. While I originally felt that it was focused okay, if maybe a little soft, it was suggested that the main subject was flat and needed to be sharper. I was initially concerned that if I had sharpened it already when I first took the photo, sharpening it more would create too much digital noise. So I resisted that suggestion but chose, instead to try to enhance the overall shot by using a "warm" filter in editing. Here is that result.
Well, while it did make the background much better, it is still showing as being too soft or out of focus. So I gave in and decided to try to sharpen it again. Here is that result.
I did have to admit that this made the photo better. The sharpened photo looked more in focus, although there are a few petals near the center that are still out of focus. But there was still that initial issue about the photo looking flat and the eyes being drawn away from the main flower to those in the background. So this time I decided to try black and white. I tried two different styles of black and white. The first one below is what is considered normal black and white.
Now I have been looking at this photo long enough and working with it long enough that my eye is naturally drawn to the background just to check how it looks overall. So I am not able to adequately judge whether I have accomplished the goal of keeping the eyes on the main flower. Below is what is called "heavy" black and white.
I had to remove digital noise from both of the black and white photos as it was very noticeable in both of those. Also I notice in the bottom one, the heavy black and white, that there is more dark tones to the flower itself than in the normal black and white. I think the heavy shadowing in the bottom one brings more attention to the background instead of moving the attention to the main flower, while the normal black and white one keeps the focus on the main flower where it belongs. What do you think? Please feel free to comment about your suggestions and tips.
While I am at it, below are some graphic designs, or digital fusion photographic art that I did with this particular photo of Queen Anne's Lace. I hope you like them. For more of the things I am working on, don't forget to follow me on Flickr and on Twitter @capirani.
Queen
Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen
Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood
landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family,
Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early
Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a
vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a
treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only
to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the
Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods. - See more
at:
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx#sthash.QuBqme2I.dpuf
Queen
Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen
Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood
landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family,
Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early
Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a
vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a
treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only
to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the
Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods. - See more
at:
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx#sthash.QuBqme2I.dpuf
Queen
Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen
Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood
landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family,
Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early
Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a
vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a
treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only
to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the
Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods. - See more
at:
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx#sthash.QuBqme2I.dpuf
Queen
Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen
Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood
landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family,
Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early
Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a
vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a
treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only
to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the
Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods. - See more
at:
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx#sthash.QuBqme2I.dpuf
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Back on Facebook
It looks like it is working this time. If you have been following this blog you know that I tried this before, setting up a Facebook page for Capirani Photography, but it failed to go public. This time, I think it is working. But the only way to be sure is to leave it up awhile and see what happens. So, here is the link to click on to get to the Facebook page. Please, if you visit there, make sure to click the LIKE button. Leave me a note too, if you feel so inclined. I'd love to hear from you.
In other news, I've taken a week off this past week, so there hasn't been much new going on at any of my online locations. I'm seriously considering attempting YouTube tutorials in the near future. I'm just not sure how that will work unless I just do screen shots somehow. Obviously I don't want it to turn out boring.
Remember, you can follow me now at Facebook here. You can also find my work at Fine Art America, and at Flickr, and at the online gallery of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. Of course I am also on Twitter where you can easily type in @capirani to follow me there.
I appreciate all your time and energy.
In other news, I've taken a week off this past week, so there hasn't been much new going on at any of my online locations. I'm seriously considering attempting YouTube tutorials in the near future. I'm just not sure how that will work unless I just do screen shots somehow. Obviously I don't want it to turn out boring.
Remember, you can follow me now at Facebook here. You can also find my work at Fine Art America, and at Flickr, and at the online gallery of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. Of course I am also on Twitter where you can easily type in @capirani to follow me there.
I appreciate all your time and energy.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Fine Art America, Anne Geddes, and Genealogy
If you are interested in fine art, I am sure you have probably seen the Fine Art America website. If not, you can click here to check it out. As I was researching ways to learn more about selling my artwork, I saw something about Fine Art America I hadn't seen before so I decided to look into it. As I did so, I noticed something else that really surprised me. Anne Geddes, America's favorite baby photographer sells her work on Fine Art America. That sold me on it so tonight I joined the other artists there and created my own profile, uploading nine (9) of my newest pieces. A really cool thing about this site is that you can set it to connect and post to your Facebook and Twitter accounts automatically every time you upload a new piece of artwork. That takes a load off the work of marketing for yourself. Not only that, the website is free to join, and allows you to sell directly to the buyer through email which keeps it all free for the artist and buyer as far as the website goes. However, you can also sell through the website and have your art put on everything from greeting cards, to throw pillows, to duvets, and even smart phone cases and more. And as the artist, you don't have to do anything to make sure the purchaser gets their product. So, now I am looking forward to seeing how this thing works out. Before I had completed all my nine uploads, I had already noticed that 38 people had viewed my profile.
One of the parts of this fine art sales that bothers me is the business side of things. In fact, this was what I was researching so I could learn more about it. When I first submitted to Xanadu, I have to admit that I knew basically nothing about gallery sales or even fine art sales. I was looking in totally different directions at the time. So, even knowing how much I hate the business side of art, I knew I needed to do something to help me grow and learn more. This is one thing that Fine Art America is already helping me with. When I set my prices, I only have to figure out what I want to get out of each sale that is mine to keep (before taxes, of course.) When setting my prices for art galleries, I need to know what their commission is, as well as all the other things like the cost of production, etc. But with Fine Art America, you set the amount you want for yourself, and they show you the mark-up and the final cost to the buyer.
Another thing that totally shocked me as I looked over Anne Geddes profile was her low prices. I found her own website and her prices are very low for her beautiful photographs. I clicked on her puzzles link and that took me to Amazon which also has her items priced very reasonably. I was very impressed.
Oh! I have to add this side note which is really quite exciting for me and that is that during my recent trip back down genealogy lane this past week, I "met" a long distant cousin and we have been emailing back and forth ever since. And get this...she is a photographer!!! Truly amazing and wonderful. It seems that art is in our genes as we both know others in the same lineage that are artistic in nature.
One of the parts of this fine art sales that bothers me is the business side of things. In fact, this was what I was researching so I could learn more about it. When I first submitted to Xanadu, I have to admit that I knew basically nothing about gallery sales or even fine art sales. I was looking in totally different directions at the time. So, even knowing how much I hate the business side of art, I knew I needed to do something to help me grow and learn more. This is one thing that Fine Art America is already helping me with. When I set my prices, I only have to figure out what I want to get out of each sale that is mine to keep (before taxes, of course.) When setting my prices for art galleries, I need to know what their commission is, as well as all the other things like the cost of production, etc. But with Fine Art America, you set the amount you want for yourself, and they show you the mark-up and the final cost to the buyer.
Another thing that totally shocked me as I looked over Anne Geddes profile was her low prices. I found her own website and her prices are very low for her beautiful photographs. I clicked on her puzzles link and that took me to Amazon which also has her items priced very reasonably. I was very impressed.
Oh! I have to add this side note which is really quite exciting for me and that is that during my recent trip back down genealogy lane this past week, I "met" a long distant cousin and we have been emailing back and forth ever since. And get this...she is a photographer!!! Truly amazing and wonderful. It seems that art is in our genes as we both know others in the same lineage that are artistic in nature.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Digital Fusion With a Pineapple, a Camera, and a Computer
Pineapple is so good to eat. But have you ever photographed a pineapple? Okay, so what's so special about photographing a pineapple? And what is this thing called "Digital Fusion?"
Well, let's start with the last question first. "Digital Fusion" is what I call the art that I create using my camera and my computer, specifically my Corel Paint Shop X5 photo editing program. Over the past years as I have progressed in this specialty, I have felt hard pressed to know what to call what I do. It's photography, yet once I am finished creating, it doesn't look much like photography anymore. It's not actually digital painting either. I really enjoy cooking shows, especially Gordon Ramsay's shows, and one of the things I have learned from those shows is that when you mix different styles of cooking together, say Indian and Mexican for example, it is called "fusion." So, one day I was thinking that what I do is totally digital since I use a digital camera and everything else is done on my computer, and I am definitely fusing different things together. Hence, the name "Digital Fusion" came to my mind. I don't know if anyone else has ever used that terminology before or not, but I know for myself, I finally feel that I have found the right name and description of my art.
So, okay then, what about this pineapple and what are you going to do with it? Well, I 'm glad you asked. Let me show you.
Starting with these 4 photos, let's see what happens when I start using Paint Shop with them. First let me say that I have added a great many more filters that you can find online for free just by looking. The filters are plug-ins that help me create the art I so enjoy. I didn't really do anything with the photo of the actual pineapple...yet anyway. But I wanted to show you the different colors available from the pineapple itself. Mostly I worked with the photo of the leaves, and the bottom photo of the single segment of the side of the pineapple. You can see more here.
These 3 examples above show the vast amount of color that was provided just by the one photo of the pineapple leaves. Be sure to click on each photo to see it enlarged for better detail. My favorite among these is the center one, which I call "Florets"
Next, let's take a look at examples of digital fusion using the single segments of the pineapple skin. With the first one, I got these final pieces of art.
The second of the above examples is actually the cropped version of the first one so that the cross itself is the main focus. I have been using a Kaleidoscope plug-in to try to come up with different styles of crosses, and this is just one of many examples.
Now let's move on to the final individual segment of pineapple skin. It is more in focus and also has a larger variety of colors in the palette.
As you can see from these 4 examples above, the colors can be changed during processing. All of these kept the brick texture simply because I liked the look it presented.
So, there you have it. What I call "Digital Fusion" and why I call it that. It doesn't matter what I might find to photograph to start with. Everything has options to be used as a final digital fusion piece of art. With God as the Master Painter, the color palette provided by nature cannot be topped.
Well, let's start with the last question first. "Digital Fusion" is what I call the art that I create using my camera and my computer, specifically my Corel Paint Shop X5 photo editing program. Over the past years as I have progressed in this specialty, I have felt hard pressed to know what to call what I do. It's photography, yet once I am finished creating, it doesn't look much like photography anymore. It's not actually digital painting either. I really enjoy cooking shows, especially Gordon Ramsay's shows, and one of the things I have learned from those shows is that when you mix different styles of cooking together, say Indian and Mexican for example, it is called "fusion." So, one day I was thinking that what I do is totally digital since I use a digital camera and everything else is done on my computer, and I am definitely fusing different things together. Hence, the name "Digital Fusion" came to my mind. I don't know if anyone else has ever used that terminology before or not, but I know for myself, I finally feel that I have found the right name and description of my art.
So, okay then, what about this pineapple and what are you going to do with it? Well, I 'm glad you asked. Let me show you.
Starting with these 4 photos, let's see what happens when I start using Paint Shop with them. First let me say that I have added a great many more filters that you can find online for free just by looking. The filters are plug-ins that help me create the art I so enjoy. I didn't really do anything with the photo of the actual pineapple...yet anyway. But I wanted to show you the different colors available from the pineapple itself. Mostly I worked with the photo of the leaves, and the bottom photo of the single segment of the side of the pineapple. You can see more here.
These 3 examples above show the vast amount of color that was provided just by the one photo of the pineapple leaves. Be sure to click on each photo to see it enlarged for better detail. My favorite among these is the center one, which I call "Florets"
Next, let's take a look at examples of digital fusion using the single segments of the pineapple skin. With the first one, I got these final pieces of art.
The second of the above examples is actually the cropped version of the first one so that the cross itself is the main focus. I have been using a Kaleidoscope plug-in to try to come up with different styles of crosses, and this is just one of many examples.
Now let's move on to the final individual segment of pineapple skin. It is more in focus and also has a larger variety of colors in the palette.
As you can see from these 4 examples above, the colors can be changed during processing. All of these kept the brick texture simply because I liked the look it presented.
So, there you have it. What I call "Digital Fusion" and why I call it that. It doesn't matter what I might find to photograph to start with. Everything has options to be used as a final digital fusion piece of art. With God as the Master Painter, the color palette provided by nature cannot be topped.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
It's Always Fun to Experiment
Today I am trying to learn different ways to make a photograph black and white but still leave a specific element of it in the original color. Before anything else, I have to say that I am not using layers. I don't know how. Yeh I know, not good for a photographer, right? Neither am I using photographs in RAW. Why? Well, so far, I haven't needed to do either one. Every edited change I have made in any of my photographs have been done with an original JPEG file. One day I hope to learn how to work with both RAW and layers, but that isn't today.
First a reminder that I am using Corel Paint Shop Photo Pro X5, or Paint Shop 15 as some prefer.
Second, whenever I am attempting to try something new, I still find my way into experimentation with other things along the way.
So, today, here is my step-by-step process.
Oh, another thing that is very important. These are not my photos. They are my 12 year old granddaughter's photo. She and I often work together as I am teaching her photography and as I learn new things, I show her too.
For this next set, I cleaned up the focus of the original photo. This time I wanted to try other options to see what would happen. I am sure what I did on this one would have worked best using layers, as I never was able to come out with the original flower color. But I did like the results just as they turned out.
This one above was green.
This one above was blue.
After this I tried several other filters still trying to come up with my desired results. But as usual, I got distracted by the other experimental results as I tried the various filters. I am still working with the Luminares filter group. This first photo is Luminares: A Bit of Left Over Gradient.
Because I loved how these colors turned out, I wanted to do some other things. All I did so far with this is to create several kaleidoscope variances from the Mehdi effects group. These are the results.
I couldn't resist. The colors are so beautiful. I'm far from finished with learning how to change a photo from color to black and white while keeping one object in the photo the original color. But for now, I'm being distracted by a dog that wants to go outside badly, and other family members wanting my attention. Have a great day! Or evening, whichever it may be for you where you live.
First a reminder that I am using Corel Paint Shop Photo Pro X5, or Paint Shop 15 as some prefer.
Second, whenever I am attempting to try something new, I still find my way into experimentation with other things along the way.
So, today, here is my step-by-step process.
Oh, another thing that is very important. These are not my photos. They are my 12 year old granddaughter's photo. She and I often work together as I am teaching her photography and as I learn new things, I show her too.
For this photo, I did not clear up the focus as I was merely attempting to see if I could remove all of the color except for the original color of the flower. It worked somewhat, but it left the highlights in the black and white, or grey scale, rather than keeping them the original color.
For this next set, I cleaned up the focus of the original photo. This time I wanted to try other options to see what would happen. I am sure what I did on this one would have worked best using layers, as I never was able to come out with the original flower color. But I did like the results just as they turned out.
These next three results are interesting and show what happens when you separate the RBG color channels. For these I stayed within the original Paint Shop 15 program, clicking on the Image tab. Then I chose the Channel Splitter option and came up with these three photos at once.
This one above was red.
This one above was green.
This one above was blue.
After this I tried several other filters still trying to come up with my desired results. But as usual, I got distracted by the other experimental results as I tried the various filters. I am still working with the Luminares filter group. This first photo is Luminares: A Bit of Left Over Gradient.
Because I loved how these colors turned out, I wanted to do some other things. All I did so far with this is to create several kaleidoscope variances from the Mehdi effects group. These are the results.
I couldn't resist. The colors are so beautiful. I'm far from finished with learning how to change a photo from color to black and white while keeping one object in the photo the original color. But for now, I'm being distracted by a dog that wants to go outside badly, and other family members wanting my attention. Have a great day! Or evening, whichever it may be for you where you live.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Kaleidoscopes, Abstracts, and Understanding It All
Why so many kaleidoscopes?
When I was a young child, I was totally fascinated by the magic of kaleidoscopes. Knowing how much I use kaleidoscope filter effects in my art, I would have to say that I probably never outgrew my fascination. When I first got online back in the late 1990s I found different websites that let you play around making your own kaleidoscope designs, but it was only on the screen. You could not keep your designs. Once I found that there was a possibility to create my own kaleidoscopes either with photos or from scratch designs on my editor program, I just kept going, and going, and going...
From kaleidoscopes I started branching out into other filter effects, sometimes finding things I really liked and other times not being able to connect to the designs at all. As I have grown into more and more designs, I have also branched out to find as many more filters as I can to work with.
But I don't understand your artwork!
I've been asked by some who follow me online why I do what I do because they just don't understand my art. In all honesty, I've never been one who cares if I understand someone's art or not. If I like what I see, that is all that concerns me. My only real response to those who do not understand my art is that I just like it. I especially like using flowers, especially in the kaleidoscopes. I love seeing how the various styles of petals move around the screen making totally new designs. Just like when I was a child, I still find the way kaleidoscopes work magical.
If you look closely at my work, you can often see exactly what I was using as the base before I edited it. Others you might not be able to tell anything about it. One that has a pretty light blue color also has raindrops in the design because it originally was a photo of a light blue car after it had rained. That was in my earlier years and it amazed me that I could see the raindrops. Other photos may have words in them from road signs, or cd covers, or even books.
In high school art classes we were taught to try to figure out what the artist was trying to say in their abstract work. I never could do that. Actually I often thought it was a waste of time to try to figure out a meaning in a piece of art from some artist who was not alive anymore to speak out what they really thought. It was the same in English Literature classes when we were to dissect a story to try to figure out what hidden meanings were tucked away in the otherwise simple story. What was the purpose for that? I remember a trip to a museum where people were looking at the huge paintings on the wall and doing this same thing. What did the artist want to say when he painted it? In my mind the real question was, why did we think he was trying to say anything at all? And in Lit classes why did we think the author wanted to say anything more than what was already said?
So, I am now saying that for me, you don't have to try to understand my art. Either it draws you in and you like it, or your eyes pass over it and on to the next piece. There are no hidden messages or meanings other than this. I like it. I like the way the colors play off of each other. I like how one picture can turn into many other pictures. I like how blurry bad photographs can end up being gorgeous abstract art. Hopefully that will make it easier for you to enjoy my artwork. But if you are of the kind who has to find some hidden meaning, you will be disappointed, I am sure. And you will continue to not be able to understand my work.
No Hidden Messages
Although I have not put any hidden messages in my artwork, I would be very happy if through my art, people would somehow see the glory of God shining through because each one of us is His creation. He made us in His image, and there is none more creative than our Heavenly Creator. I also would like my art to be an encouragement to others who are disabled and find it difficult to do what other people do. When you see a landscape of mine, you will know that the efforts involved in my getting that photo took more planning and the assistance of others to not only get me to the location, but maybe even to help with setting things up for me. My abstract work comes out of my disabilities because of the limitations I have for getting out to do the landscapes and nature photography that I love. Abstract work keeps me busy in the off weeks and months when getting out is more difficult for me due to the weather.
Being disabled, I live on a very limited income at this present time. Should the sales of my artwork grow into something I can live on, there should be a lot more opportunity for me to get out to do the landscape and nature photography I want to do. For now I am still learning more and more each day and hope to be able to sell more as time goes on. In the meantime, if you are interested in purchasing anything I have done, please let me know. You can leave me a message here and I will contact you. Or you can go directly to my website, or you can go see my work at Xanadu Gallery. Once there, you can purchase my work through the gallery.
When I was a young child, I was totally fascinated by the magic of kaleidoscopes. Knowing how much I use kaleidoscope filter effects in my art, I would have to say that I probably never outgrew my fascination. When I first got online back in the late 1990s I found different websites that let you play around making your own kaleidoscope designs, but it was only on the screen. You could not keep your designs. Once I found that there was a possibility to create my own kaleidoscopes either with photos or from scratch designs on my editor program, I just kept going, and going, and going...
From kaleidoscopes I started branching out into other filter effects, sometimes finding things I really liked and other times not being able to connect to the designs at all. As I have grown into more and more designs, I have also branched out to find as many more filters as I can to work with.
But I don't understand your artwork!
I've been asked by some who follow me online why I do what I do because they just don't understand my art. In all honesty, I've never been one who cares if I understand someone's art or not. If I like what I see, that is all that concerns me. My only real response to those who do not understand my art is that I just like it. I especially like using flowers, especially in the kaleidoscopes. I love seeing how the various styles of petals move around the screen making totally new designs. Just like when I was a child, I still find the way kaleidoscopes work magical.
If you look closely at my work, you can often see exactly what I was using as the base before I edited it. Others you might not be able to tell anything about it. One that has a pretty light blue color also has raindrops in the design because it originally was a photo of a light blue car after it had rained. That was in my earlier years and it amazed me that I could see the raindrops. Other photos may have words in them from road signs, or cd covers, or even books.
In high school art classes we were taught to try to figure out what the artist was trying to say in their abstract work. I never could do that. Actually I often thought it was a waste of time to try to figure out a meaning in a piece of art from some artist who was not alive anymore to speak out what they really thought. It was the same in English Literature classes when we were to dissect a story to try to figure out what hidden meanings were tucked away in the otherwise simple story. What was the purpose for that? I remember a trip to a museum where people were looking at the huge paintings on the wall and doing this same thing. What did the artist want to say when he painted it? In my mind the real question was, why did we think he was trying to say anything at all? And in Lit classes why did we think the author wanted to say anything more than what was already said?
So, I am now saying that for me, you don't have to try to understand my art. Either it draws you in and you like it, or your eyes pass over it and on to the next piece. There are no hidden messages or meanings other than this. I like it. I like the way the colors play off of each other. I like how one picture can turn into many other pictures. I like how blurry bad photographs can end up being gorgeous abstract art. Hopefully that will make it easier for you to enjoy my artwork. But if you are of the kind who has to find some hidden meaning, you will be disappointed, I am sure. And you will continue to not be able to understand my work.
No Hidden Messages
Although I have not put any hidden messages in my artwork, I would be very happy if through my art, people would somehow see the glory of God shining through because each one of us is His creation. He made us in His image, and there is none more creative than our Heavenly Creator. I also would like my art to be an encouragement to others who are disabled and find it difficult to do what other people do. When you see a landscape of mine, you will know that the efforts involved in my getting that photo took more planning and the assistance of others to not only get me to the location, but maybe even to help with setting things up for me. My abstract work comes out of my disabilities because of the limitations I have for getting out to do the landscapes and nature photography that I love. Abstract work keeps me busy in the off weeks and months when getting out is more difficult for me due to the weather.
Being disabled, I live on a very limited income at this present time. Should the sales of my artwork grow into something I can live on, there should be a lot more opportunity for me to get out to do the landscape and nature photography I want to do. For now I am still learning more and more each day and hope to be able to sell more as time goes on. In the meantime, if you are interested in purchasing anything I have done, please let me know. You can leave me a message here and I will contact you. Or you can go directly to my website, or you can go see my work at Xanadu Gallery. Once there, you can purchase my work through the gallery.
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