Anatomy Lesson

This month's theme, Anatomy Lesson, was inspired by old biology books and the transparent pages that allow you to see through multiple layers of the body.
This ATC is constructed in book format and opens up to show the important "inner works."
Ten individual images from Deviant Scrap, were downloaded, arranged and altered in photoshop layers to create these compositions.

Wonder Now

This month's ATC.... a Wild Card.   Individual images from Tumblefish Studios, altered and assembled by yours truly in photoshop.   7 layers of imagery in all.
Wonder Now.

Interior

  If you ask them, about 98% of children will say they are artists and approach art making with joy and self assurance.   Sadly, by the time they become young adults, that number is about 2%.   Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, the gift of playfulness is too often traded for self criticism.   The large and free flowing paintings proudly displayed in childhood become small tight drawnings hidden under hands and turned face down.   

  There are many theories as to why this happens.  I believe that without nurturing it, we lose the ability to access that playful, creative part of our selves.    What do you think?

  Play is a means of discovery.    This is how I typically approach a theme: intuitively and with open possibilities, playing with immediate response, moving and removing images, arranging and rearranging.  I rarely know ahead of time what the end result will be until it is "discovered."
  The theme for this month's art exchange was "interior."  
  Starting with bare walls and floor, I filled the room with unexpected images rather than furniture.   Working intuitively up to this point,  the quote by Claude Debussy came to mind and the child's hand was added reaching into the space.
   "I wish to sing of my interior visions with the naive candor of a child."  
    Honor your creative spirit and make time to play and discover something new every day.
  
  
 

3 Funny Bunnies

Another digital illustration with a "numbers" theme.
Once again I began with a vintage toy as the focal point.
This one seemed appropriate for the season.
Happy Easter!

One

Numbers.  That's the theme of this month's exchange.  I used the image of a vintage toy robot and the lyrics from an old song by Three Dog Night.  "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do..."

Fun with Photoshop

Five different images were used to create this 16 layer work in Photoshop.  My inspiration came in the form of an email from my dear friend and kindred spirit, Terry Garrett. Yesterday he sent me several links of artist's work that he thought I might like.  After spending time looking at all the eye-candy,  I was so inspired, I could hardly wait to get started on some work of my own.  This is often how it begins.
The image of my cat Chance was the starting point and the composition grew intuitively from there.
There is still so much to learn about image manipulation in photoshop, but it is always an adventure to see what will happen.  Don't be afraid to experiment.  Go where the muse takes you and above all, have fun with your imagination.

Number Please....

  I've been recalling the days when you picked up the telephone to hear an operator politely say "Number Please."  A real person on the other end, instant gratification and no waiting... someone just sitting there ready to help.  Simply speak a 4 digit number and the operator would connect you.  That's right, 4 digits.

   The telephone I grew up with as a child was an instrument of wonder, massive and imposing with a table of it's own.  When it rang, the whole house shook and everyone fell silent with anticipation to see who could be calling.  

  Party lines were shared among neighbors and on occasion you would pick up the phone to unexpectedly hear someone else's conversation and listen for a moment before carefully, guiltily returning the heavy receiver to it's cradle.  There was always a loud audible click in hanging up.

  When the rotary dial was put into use, the phone company gave out instructions advising folks how to use the thing.  You can see one of those public service messages (here).  Somewhere, an operator was displaced and "Number Please" became obsolete.   

  I can clearly recall the sound of the telephone of my childhood, and the one at my grandparent's house that had a different, more baritone ring.   Who knew this would be a sound I would someday miss?  

  I wonder what will the children of the present recall about the telephone?   

  These were the thoughts that inspired my visual journal pages for the month.  Above is my first version, and below is it's evil twin.  

And now, if you will excuse me, the phone is ringing.........

Migration 2

Another digital collage with a "migration" theme.   The image of the men is from a vintage catalog, and don't they look nice in their sweaters?   All ready for a crisp autumn day and watching the monarchs begin their migration.  Here comes fall.... get your sweaters ready!

Migration

   It's that time of year....  migration is in progress.   Here in the midwest we watch the monarch butterflies gather and begin their journey away from the colder weather.   Many of the birds leave for the winter months and we look forward to their return in the spring.    

   I thought about the quote from Dan Eldon's journal  "The Journey is the Destination" and it seemed fitting here.  

   A side note:  Many years ago, by chance, I picked up a copy of Dan Eldon's book and like many others, was profoundly influenced by it.  If you are not familiar with him, you may want to go to the website (click here) and explore.  

Steampunk Man

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction set in the 19th century Victorian era when steam power was still widely used.  It features futuristic technology as people of this historical period would have envisioned it.  

It contains fictional machines like those found in the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.

Below is the original cabinet card I found in a local antique shop.   It had $5 printed in pencil on the back and, not having my reading glasses on, I though it read $8.   I nicely asked the owner of the shop if he would take $6 for it and he said "Sure!"   Later as my friend Katie and I were having lunch I took it out and with reading glasses on, realized my mistake and we had a good laugh about it.    For the rest of the afternoon as we explored local shops, it became our joke that whatever the price tag said, maybe I could offer a bit more.   As we get older we really need to keep our sense of humor and just roll with it.

The man in the photo seemed the perfect candidate to become "Steampunk Man" for this month's ATC exchange.    I had fun transforming him and really think it was worth the extra dollar paid.
If you are not familiar with Steampunk, do a little Google image search..... there is some amazing creative stuff going on in this genre!

Robin's Egg Blue

A few weeks ago I was out geocaching and came across a robin's nest with 3 perfect blue eggs.   I was immediately reminded of the quote from one of my favorite little books "The Rabbit Box" by Joseph Pintauro and Norman Laliberte and knew this would be the prompt for my second blue-themed journal page.
"Robins, how can you tell the difference between your eggs and the sky?"  Something to wonder about.

The Blues

The theme is "Blue" and this was the first idea that came to mind.  One of the things I enjoy about our art exchange is that we are free to interpret the decided-upon themes in any way we choose.
Billie Holiday (1915-1959) was one of the most notable blues and jazz singers of the 1930s and 40s.
You can read her biography and see the timeline of her life here.
For this image, I started with a plain black and white photograph and added the color variations and graphic designs in photoshop.   Below is the original photo.....

Sometimes it's fun to take a stock photo and experiment with color variations, filters and use different brushes to create layers of texture and interest.   Just remember to save a copy of your original in case you want to start over or use it again.

Dreams

Here is another visual journal page using red as a dominant color.   I have used images from a vintage field book about fish.... they have also appeared in many of my past works.     I like the way fish imply fluid movement and the ability to swim through a setting.
Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams.

Theme Red

This month's art exchange is all about red.   My instincts were to explore the theme in relation to antique anatomy illustrations. The psychological influence of color creates a surreal and somewhat menacing picture.  
I have been influenced here by the works of collage artist Hope Kroll who often evokes intriguing and disturbing results through juxtaposition of images.
Choose a color.... any color.... and play.  Don't be alarmed if the results are a bit unsettling.  We all have nightmares.

She Who Loves Butterflies

Here is another of this  month's exchange based on 'words.'    In this case, I just like the way it sounds.

The Crabbiest Man in Town

"Word Play" was the theme of this month's art exchange.   As you can see, I took a light hearted approach to the subject.
Everyone agreed that he was the crabbiest man in town.

Cheshire Cat Revisited

I'm revisiting the Cheshire Cat image one more time.   Who can resist this character!
Again I am using the altered photo of my cat Roy, and the digital image created for the ATC (posted below).
This time he appears floating above the woods, which I find a bit more unsettling and suited to the original concept.
The original photo of Roy appears in the right hand column of this blog and he is waiting to sign autographs for his starring role....
Meanwhile, I would like to mention a new book titled The Mystery of Lewis Carroll: Discovering the Whimsical, Thoughtful and Sometimes Lonely Man Who Created "Alice In Wonderland"  by author Jenny Woolf.   It is getting rave reviews and I am ordering my copy today.
There is also a Facebook page dedicated to the book.    If you are a fan of Lewis Carroll and Alice, it is definitely worth a look.

Alice

The "Alice" stories were written for the young daughter of the Liddell family with whom Charles Dodgson was friends in the mid 1850s.            

Having told the story and been begged by Alice Liddell to write it down, Dodgson eventually presented her with a handwritten, hand illustrated copy of the manuscript entitled Alice's Adventures Under Ground in November 1864.
The work was later published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 under the pen name Lewis Carroll which Dodgson had begun using some years before.  The illustrations this time were by Sir John Tenniel as Dodgson thought that a published book would need the skills of a professional artist.   
There are several interesting speculations about the relationship between author and muse, and the later split between Dodgson and the Liddell family.  You can learn more about the intriguing story from the many online resources.
The original book ends with a poem titled A Boat Beneath Sunny Skies.  The first letter of each line of the poem spells out Alice Pleasance Liddell.   


A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky 

by Lewis Carroll

A boat beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echoes fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —

Lingering in the golden gleam —

Life, what is it but a dream?

Cheshire Cat

This month's ATC exchange was so much fun with it's "Alice" theme.  I knew immediately that I wanted to do something featuring the Cheshire Cat, and my own cat Roy begged for a starring role.
I started with a photograph of him (you can see the original on the right hand column of this blog).
His handsome little face was isolated in photoshop and eyes were enlarged and slanted slightly upward.
Next I found a photo of a fashion model's mouth and morphed it to make the well known Cheshire Cat Grin.    The chin and upper lip of Roy's face needed to be redrawn to accommodate the new mouth, and more whiskers and fur details were added.
Once the face was made, it became an object to play with in various settings.
The quote is from the original Alice story.  It's what the Cheshire Cat replied when Alice asked for directions.    "It really doesn't matter which way you go....."
Roy was pleased with the results..... it made him grin.

Heart Upon Sleeve

February's theme is 'hearts' of course.  I chose this line from Othello as my prompt....  "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am."
The bird Shakespeare referred to is a Jackdaw, an annoying species of black bird.   Here it looms larger than life, ready and no doubt eager to take a peck at the heart in question.
Love is in the air.....