A Chance To Play....

It was so good to get a lie in this morning and a chance to have a play around with Photoshop. ACF this week have a background to be used to create a piece of art. I chose to use a photograph I took of myself recently with leopard print facepaint and combined it with the background using layering techniques and digital brushes.

I have also had a chance to photograph some of my scrapbooking and altered art pieces which I have created over the year and just not had the time to share, so hopefully I will get a few of these uploaded this weekend. I hope you all have a relaxing time.

Dark Marie...

Great take on Marie Antoinette over at SPA this week, taking her as a theme and turning her into something spooky...... I guess halloween is just around the corner!

Art Nouveau...

is one of my favourite art movements, I love the detail artists got into their work and their fabulous portrayal of portraits and organic swirls. ACF this week have a great image of one of Mucha's portraits to create a piece of art with. I have created the following piece of digital art, using layers, opacity filters and brushes:

Autumn Glory

It has definitely been more of a winter day today than an Autumn day - lots of wind and rain. I even had to put the heating on! So it was good to do a 6x4 postcard for SPA on Autumn. I chose to use a photo I took this time last year of the orange berries in my garden, added digital brushes and changed the opacity of the layers. Hope you like it.

Vintage Mix

It has been a long time since I have had the chance or the creative flair to complete a challenge. So it has been good to do this one to start the New Year. I have used the vintage photograph given at ACF and have created a digital picture with it. Enjoy.....

Vintage Easter

ACF this week have provided a great vintage image to use for their challenge. I was a bit stuck as to how to use or alter it, but after much faffing and playing with Photoshop, I finally achieved something I am happy to share! This is created by layering the given image with another vintage image of bird eggs, layering with photoshop brushes and a frame mask.

I hope you all have a great Easter break and that the sunshine holds!

Who Owns....

a teddy bear?

I think that most of us have had at least one great teddy bear in our lives. My sister loved hers to death and he is the most handsome threadbare teddy bear of them all! He even has his own paisley pyjamas and a pair of gold rimmed glasses!

The bear image provided by ACF for their challenge was great, so I created this digital piece making her the focal point.

Passing of time....

This last week has just gone by so fast, I cannot believe a week has already passed since I was away for my weekend retreat! It already feels like an eon since I had a holiday.......

The image provided by ACF this week seems appropriate then, of a sweet 'granny' figure. I created this digital piece using a sunset photograph, complete with wooden rocker I took while away, along with the horse image. I combined these with the photograph provided and used a number of layering techniques and Photoshop brushes to pull the whole look together, a respected figure remembering all those good times and younger days....

Heartfelt

Another Valentines has come and gone, and the end of another run of themed challenges. I have combined the background image provided by ACF this week and the theme of hearts for SPA to produce this digital postcard. I have used a range of layering, lighting, and brush effects to create this piece. I hope you all had a great Valentines.

Chairs

are the theme over at SPA this week and I have decided to create a digital piece. I used a variety of digital techniques in Photoshop to create my winged gent reading in his royal chair.....

Dreaming of Better Days

What a week! I am so glad that it is Friday, this has been a very long week. It started with our share of the snow and a snow day for me on Monday. Back to work on Tuesday, but the end got worse, with a break in to my house. Thankfully no one was hurt, my little black shadow - Hugo was unhurt, just scared, the duvet showing evidence of his hurry to hide from the intruders, and only a few possessions gone. Last night was spent contacting the police, waiting for their visit, then securing the door and property and today contacting insurance, getting quotes for repairs, etc.

So For ACF this week using the wonderful image provided I have chosen to direct my energies into believing in better days to come, and created this digital montage - Dreaming of Carefree Days........... Here's hoping! I wish you all a great happy weekend.

Bathing Beauty

This is slightly late in the day, but I wanted to share this digital image I created using the image provided by ACF last Friday. The photograph of the lady just spoke to me of seaside, and in particular a Victorian bathing beauty with the rolling bathing huts! Hope you like the end result.

I dream.....

of so many things.......

The image provided by ACF this week leant itself to a composition on dreaming. The image of the little girl has such a thoughtful look on her face that dreaming just sprung to mind. This is a digital piece using a variety of techniques.

Knowledge...

is a wonderful thing if used to its full potential, and that theme fit well with the image provided by ACF this week. This is a digital piece created by layering images and changing the lighting and opacity of each layer. Hope you like it.

9 Lives....

ACF again provided a fantastic background to use this week and below is my digital composition, showcasing my handsome feline friend - Hugo and some of how he spends his 9 lives.....

Moonlight...

It has been extremely foggy here today and this very misty, surreal landscape inspired my piece for MMM on the theme of Moon. I created the background using crackle paints in two shades of blue and pewter. Once dry I rubbed walnut stain distress ink over the top to bring the crackles out and then stamped the image of the moon and trees onto acetate and placed over the top. I scanned this into my computer and then completed by digitally adding the white mist using the brush tool, and added the quote to the left side. Hope you like it, sweet dreams.......

It just spoke to me.....

as soon as I saw the new background for ACF this week that I had to put butterflies and flourishes with it. It has taken me till now to decide how and what to actually do. This also fits the theme for CBH too. I have used various different brushes, layering, opacity and lighting effects to create this digital montage. I hope you like the end result and get drawn into my world a little.....

Happy New Year

It's been a while since I posted - I have been away on holiday, to the sunny Algarve. What a great way to spend Christmas - in the sun with family and friends. I returned to the UK to very cold and frosty weather, which I am still trying to get used to again!! And now it is a new year - may 2009 bring you all joy and good fortune.

This is the first bit of creating I have done in a while, and it is for ACF - what a great background they provided us with. I combined it with a photograph I took in my garden last summer of a dragonfly that landed for a spot of sun! Hope you like the end result.

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar

A great image is up to use on Art Creations Friday this week. Gelukkig Nieuwjaar means Happy New Year and I created this digital piece using the photograph provided, fireworks, text and different brushes on Photoshop. I layered the images, cutting away areas to show parts of some layers in more detail, then used different lighting effects to pull it all together.

Creating With....

a beautiful image from Art Creations Friday is a lovely way to spend some time. I created this digital image using the image of the lady provided and a photograph of a rose in my garden from this summer. I used layering, opacity filters, flourish masks and colour balance techniques to create this piece. Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.