Sunday, January 31, 2010

encaustic class

this month i had 2 extra encaustic classes
which worked out great for me
i've had all this extra creativity
and the full moon has really helped
-------------
above , one of my photos,
over an old book page
layers of wax, corrugated cardboard
wall paper, cheesecloth
and a crocheted doily

a similar project
using the same materials and
another one of my photos
----------------
and below
i finished by adding the rusted metal
and changed one of the photo transfers

Friday, January 29, 2010

creativity howls

There are nights when
the wolves are silent
and only the moon howls.
~George Carlin~

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

encaustic class

all this week
i've had a creative surge
it must be the full moon coming
--------
above, the second of a series i started a few weeks ago
layers of blue, green and ochre
a photo transfer of one of my many trees
some branches and rusted metal

this one was inspired by
one of my recent followers
who has this wonderful style with collage
----------
layers of old book pages, paper, wax
corrugated cardboard, cork , tree branches
little bit of rusted metal
and a sketch i scanned and used as a photo transfer
------
this sunday i have an all day class
i hope the moon is still full!!

Monday, January 25, 2010

one world, one heart

well today is the day
where bloggers get to meet new friends
get inspired and feel the love!
so to all my new friends
thanks for stopping by
and i hope you enjoy
please add a comment below
with your link so i can visit you
last year i made 200 cards
(50 of the ones above)
plus 50 mini collages
and gave away 5 necklaces
------------
the photo was taken in owen sound
and has inspired me everyday

i've created this necklace
with owoh in mind

this is the prize to drawn on feb.15th
so please leave a comment
to enter the draw
i will add a new prize for every 100 comments

so far i've made these three
---------------
anyone who becomes a follower
will receive
a R.A.K. gift
you must e-mail me privately
at
nancy_allpulpedout(at)yahoo(dot)com

------------------
link back to my main page
link to my photos
link to my encaustic
link to my jewelry

Sunday, January 24, 2010

flee market finds

my latest
flee market finds
when i first got to the market i found a kodak camera
the vendor was asking $110
and i thought if i don't find anything else
i will get it on the way out
well......
i ended up finding lots of things
for the same amount of money
a kodak camera for $25
a brownie bull's-eye for $15
(the first in my collection of 7)
some old documents and receipts $15
and lots of hardware$55
door handles and plates
hinges and window clasps
and an old lock
all in all
it was a great time spent at the market!!!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

i love texture

it's amazing
a few simple photos combined
can make a great project in photoshop

i took a photo of some queen anne lace
overlooking the bluffs near my house
plain and simple


this photo of a lamp base in nyc
i think i take more photos of texture, grunge ,billboards,
metal, stone, the street etc............
than anything else

i cropped the photo
made it black and white
i'm sure i will use this texture again
and again





some text, inverted



and some stitches
-------------
i layered the queen anne lace ontop of the lamp base texture
used the "hard light" blending mode
i gave the photo some texture but it wasn't enough
so i added the text, it got lost , so i inverted it,
a little too harsh, so i use my eraser at 50% opacity
and it lighted some of the text
and for the finishing touch i added the stitches
--------------
simple but effective
nothing fancy
just layers and blending modes
and a little eraser
i've been working with ps for 5 years now
the first few years i just played with
the enhancements and filters
but once i found "layers" and the "blending modes"
i was hooked!!!!
like anything the more you "play"
the more you learn!!
that
and a little help from my friends
i've slowly been learning
"tips and tricks"
-----------
someone asked me recently
"where do you get your ideas?"
well.....
they just happen
really
i promised myself a few years ago that
i would make it a routine to sit every day
for 15 minutes at the computer
and if you know me --that's a long time for me to sit!!!
but i did, everyday
not knowing what to do
i just open a photo and play
and the next thing you know
something is created
sometimes it's good and sometimes
well, lets just say i learn from my mistakes!
but mostly it just evolves!
so....... take some time to play!




Wednesday, January 20, 2010

encaustic class


today i worked on a piece for one of my clients
she was kind enough to give me a whole book
of charts and cruising guides
over 120 pages, 12 x 16
great for backgrounds
which i used above
it shows their yacht club

and a photo i had taken of the "bluffs"
last year while on a boat trip from the same club

i used clear wax
cheese cloth


and rubbed in sienna oil paint
to highlight the texture
--------------
i hope she likes it!


Monday, January 18, 2010

countdown to OWOH

it's that time of year again
next monday is the start of owoh
an event started a few years ago in the blog world
by lisa swifka
and was featured in artful blogger
it a great way to meet other bloggers and
there are prizes!
i will have a great giveaway posted on the 25th
all you will have to do is leave a comment to enter the draw
and the winner will be drawn on feb. 15th
-----------------
last year i was overwhelmed by the response
i thought maybe a 100 or so people would participate
well to my surprise, over 900 did
and i received
i gave away 150 handmade cards
and the main giveaway
---------------
i hope you will stop by
hint, hint
my prizes, yes, there will be more than one
my prizes will be wearable art

Sunday, January 17, 2010

shadow shot sunday

saturday nite
get together at heather's
lots of photos for
shadow shot sunday


too pretty






Thursday, January 14, 2010

encaustic class

usually i work with micro crystalline wax
but for the above work i switched to bees wax
which has a natural yellow hue
i think it works well with the color palette
not sure if i noticed any other differences
but i'm sure i will try using it again
-------
above, one of my photos
transferred onto the wax
several layers of ochre, green and blue
and a few sesame seeds to add a little texture
i'm not finished with it yet
not sure what to add down the left side
maybe some gold leaf?

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

post card from spring

i miss you!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

playing with backgrounds

after re-discovering my
backgrounds folder
(experimental collages i made 2 years ago)
i decided to see what they would look
like as layers in some photoshop projects
---------
above a photo taken on new years day
(converted it to a b/w photo)
one of my backgrounds (middle, below)
some text and a ttv found on flickr
i used "hard light" and" color burn"
blending modes on the different layers

on the left alternating layers of
magazines strips and masking tape
in the middle random shapes of magazine pages
and masking tape with a layer of gesso on top
and on the right ,
layers of masking tape colored with walnut ink
very simple to create
i scanned and saved for future use
then just forgot about them
until last week
i altered them in ps
converting to black and white,
inverting and adding different filters
just to see what they would look like


the used same original photo as above
and added the dry brush filter
i used the background on the left
and converted it to b/w
then used the overlay blending mode

again the same photo
the background on the right
which i inverted and got the blue tone
added a ttv and used the linear burn blending mode
-------------
i came up with dozens of alternatives
i posted the ones i like so far
it's been fun discovering different looks to just one photo
using three of my backgrounds
i'm so glad i found this folder!

Friday, January 8, 2010

dreaming.....

i like to hibernate
stay inside
clean out my studio
purge my closets
organize my taxes
read a lot
watch old movies
and day dream...............

how many more days 'til spring??
i can't wait to get out there
i love the feel of the dirt in my hands

the winter gives me a chance to rest up,
plan a new layout for part of my garden
it gives me something to focus on
which gets me through the next few months
that
and i'm forced to sit at the computer
the rest of the year i always have an excuse
to be outside
but now i find myself sitting every few hours
playing with my photos

---------

above, one it took up north while
visiting some friends
layered over some texture

the original photo

cropped and added the poster edge filter


a background i made of old book pages and sheet music
covered with gesso
--------
once i layered the two in photoshop
it was fun to try out all the blending modes


Wednesday, January 6, 2010

encaustic class

after a few months off
it felt great to get back into working with wax
-------
inspired by the "winter white"
and a painting by susan wallis
it was nice to work in a monochromatic
colour scheme
the nest needs a little more work
but i'm happy with it so far
details from the corners





Tuesday, January 5, 2010

finally, some snow!

a little snow is nice
everything looks so pretty and white
something very serene about it
wondering through my backyard
the birds are singing
it's not too cold
snow is light and fluffy
i like how it stacks up on the smallest of things
i wish it could stay like this
but back to reality--the front yard
have to shovel the walk and driveway
listening to the commuters
the white blanket turning to black
when i done i will definitely go through the backyard again!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

a night at the museum

this week at the royal ontario museum
they featured late nites and half price admission
my friend ron and i
braved the cold
and stood in line to see the
vanity fair exhibit (above a photo taken outside the rom)

portrait photographers included
Helmut Newton, Nan Goldin, Herb Ritts,
Harry Benson, Mario Testino, Bruce Weber
and Annie Leibovitz


walkways through the r.o.m.


on our way out
we wondered through
the natural history gallery
-----------
i thought this shot would be great for
shadow shot sunday







the giant japanese spider crab
they have a leg span of 3 to 7 meters!!!
how much butter would i need?

 
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