Coneflower

I've found something that I really love about photo editing..... the colour-changing modes are wonderful! There's something called 'difference' in the layers section and 'hue/saturation' in the adjustments. If you have Photoshop, I recommend you check them out.
I used Lynn's lovely coneflower seedhead photo (its an amazing image even before you do anything to it!), added a fine layer of one of my waxed papers, then started playing around with the colours.
I can see this becoming an embroidered picture...just as soon as I can get good quality prints onto fabric (still experimenting with that).

Lynn's original photo

Another name for these flowers is Echinacea. Not only are they beautiful, but of course they are used in supplements to boost immunity against colds and flu. Clever things......

Thank You

Mum and I have been so touched by all your lovely messages, poems, cards and quotes....they have meant such a lot to us. Thank you very, very much........
We still have to wait another week for the funeral; apparently it's a busy time of year :-(

I'm still playing and discovering with Photoshop Elements and have found it to be a great distraction this week.
Here are just a few examples.....
The first three were done on a background given to us by DJ (white chrysanthemums) I have used masks and brushes. I haven't quite got the hang of masks yet...but I'm getting there.
This is an old photo of me....
For the next three I used a copyright-free image of a painting by Henry Pickering. You can see the beautiful original here. The painting belongs to Nottingham City Museums and Galleries (my home town).


I'll keep practising!!

Rest in Peace Dad.......

Me, Dad and Mum.

My lovely Dad died today at 10.00am. In many ways he left us 2 and a half years ago when he had a brain haemorrhage and the dementia started. We've been through a tough time and I'm so grateful that he's now at peace and Mum can finally have some kind of closure. He epitomised the term 'family man'; he totally adored us all.....and that is what I will remember most about him.

My Dad..........

More Versions of the Tree....

I'm still messing around with this tree (original image given to us by DJ can be seen at the bottom). I've added other layers, made my own 'brushes' and changed colour filters.
Have to say I'm absolutely loving this class now I've spent some time reading and learning things properly!
Thank you for all the supportive comments.......
Dragged an old postcard on top and altered the colour mode.

Wrote the words on paper, scanned them and made a brush from them.

DJ's original photo.

Just Playing.....

Playing around with Exercise 2 and colour saturation. Its not finished yet because I haven't read the chapter on brushes! We'll see how much difference that makes tomorrow......

(Click to read the text - which is by Nelson Henderson)

Digital Collage - First Attempts

As I said on Tuesday - I've found the Digital workshop quite difficult up to now (because of my own limitations). Photoshop is such a huge program; it must take a very long time to master it! But I'm going to persevere and things are starting to get clearer.......and I'm begining to enjoy it (which is always a good sign!)
Here are my first attempts......and the photo above was our very first exercise. DJ gave us a picture with minor flaws that we were shown how to correct - so this isn't a layered piece.

This one is a result of me playing...and not really knowing what I'm doing! I used one of my paintings (the face) and layered a photo of a clematis from my garden plus a colourful piece of embroidery. Finally I added some leaves using the brush tool.
I may print this onto fabric and embellish it with stitches, beads etc.
Another fumbling experiment! Three photos here; a graveyard angel, blossom from my garden and a picture I took of Port Soller in Majorca. Someone kindly commented that it looks like an angel watching over a city by night.


This is the result of a little tutorial I tried to follow (kindly given by one of the talented students on the course). I lost my way a quarter of the way through but it sort of turned out ok-ish.
Today I am going to sit down and READ! Now I have some knowledge of the way the program works I think I'm going to find it easier to read the lesson notes. We can but hope......

Oh where did those last few weeks go........

A slightly late but very sincere Happy New Year everyone. I'm hoping to get back to some kind of normality now.... Mum is making great progress following her operation and we've even been able to take her to see Dad in the nursing home. She'll soon be running marathons..... ;-)
Yesterday I taught a class at the Beetroot Tree and we decorated tiny 6cm boxes. These are a few of my examples.
I had lots of lovely Christmas presents but just wanted to show you my new Troll bead - its a little silver flounder; so cute! My bracelet is full now....and full of memories too. Every bead is special and meaningful. So I told DH.....its time for me to start a new one in a different colour!! :-)

I also had a stamp carving kit and have been going crazy with it (no injuries to report as yet...)
.......and I also received four gorgeous art books which I haven't read yet because I've been so busy with my DJ Pettitt Digital workshop.
I've never used Photoshop before so I've struggled quite a bit but I think there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'll show you some results in the next couple of days.

Here's a little preview....my first practice piece (only 3 layers). I used my Maria painting for the base.