Inktober 2024 - 14 Lighthouse

Inktober 2024 Challenge

14 - Lighthouse

I penciled my composition on the 5x7 inch piece of Mixed Media 154lb paper.  Went over it with a fine black marker.

Watercolored the sky warm blue then the sea cooler.  Mixed a brown color for the rocks in the foreground.

Darkened the dome and lantern house. Added light to the upper windows. Painted the glass of the gallery. I added a bit of shading to the windows in the tower. I thought it needed a red door with a smidge of grass at the foot. 

 Birds in the sky is a must.

Allied Arts Council - Juried Member Show

It's that time again!  Our Juried Member Show is being hosted on-line and we hope to have the gallery open to patrons as well.  We will see.  It was reviewed on Wednesday and winners selected.

These are the pieces I have prepared and submitted for this show.  The Zoom reception is tonight where we will learn which pieces have placed.

 

 

Title: Streaming
Size: 14.00 x 14.00 inches
Mats: Double archival mats in white
Frame: Black wood
Print: 8x8 inches

This is a black and white abstract.  It has beautiful texture and layers in the image.  It was converted to B&W and had some textured filter applied in post production.

I chose the title Streaming because it applies be it water, traffic, on-line, conversations and much more.

What do you see?

 

Title: Fabulous Fungi
Size: 12.00 x 16.00 inches
Mats: Single archival white mat
Frame: Black wood
Print: 8x10 inches 

These are Ink Cap Mushrooms which I found in the park. 

I loved how the morning sun was highlighting their gills and black edges. 

Of course, our wonderful summer blue sky is showing through in places.

Taken at a very low angle.

Title: Follow Your Heart
Size: 16.00 x 16.00 inches
Mats: Double archival with grey and white mats
Frame: Black wood
Print: 16x16 inches 

I just love this heart stone.  I placed several stones in front getting bigger as they reach the heart.

It has a great bokeh background which makes the heart the focal point.

So many of us this year have and to re-evaluate our priorities and pare down our expectations.

I encourage you to follow your heart so the important wins out.

 

I will update the post should any of these be selected for prizes.

Pastel Background into cards

I made this background the other day for a photo challenge because it was too cold to go outside and take a horizon photograph.

This is the first time I have used chalk pastels in recent years.  I quite enjoyed it.  They blend beautifully.

This piece was a half sheet measuring 5.5 inches T by 8.5 inches Wide.  I did have to spray it with fixative to ensure the pastels did not rub off.

I made 2 cards with this background.

For the one on the right I cut the background to 4.00 x 5.25 inches and adhered it to a white card with double sided tape.

I then cut a tree with the Sizzix Pine Tree small from black card stock and adhered it to the pastel layer with quick dry adhesive.

I applied a bit of pastel to the piece of brown card stock.  I ripped the top edge and trimmed it to the bottom of the background layer.  Before adhering it I crunched it up to give it texture to represent a rough and rock foreground.  It was adhered with double sided tape.

On this card and chose to you the background in the other orientation which makes it an abstract.

I cut the greeting in black with the Memory Box Thanks thinlit which adhered to strip of vellum. This was then adhered to the background with black eyelets inserted with my Crop a Dile.

I added the exclamation point by hand cutting it and adhering it with quick dry adhesive.

These are going to my sisters!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have been back to the front yard in the neighbourhood which is FULL of beautiful tulips.

I took another shot to show how many there are.  They are mostly red, orange and yellow.  I watched a video the other day where a well known photographer was explaining about seeing different compositions in a garden rather than the one everyone takes.  So I took an unusual shot for me.


The house is on the Historic Resources list - The Mountifield Residence which was originally built in the early 1900s.

On my walk to other morning I took a path I had not been down before.  It was in a ravine and just after a good rain I was expecting it to be muddy but it was pretty good.  It was great to be under the canopy of very large and old trees.  Green everywhere.  

I came across this patch of Forget-Me-Nots. A bunch of beautiful small blue flowers.  It was hard to decide which ones to photograph.

Forget-me-nots are perennials that regrow themselves year after year, which can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you don't have to plant them every year to keep your garden looking great. On the other, they can easily get out of control.
Later I found some in the front yards.

I found the Gray Catbird in its regular bush in the river valley recently.  I had seen one in a tree near the path last week.   

I expect that baby birds are in the making and it was sticking close to bush.  I have seen them near that bush in other years.  It is far enough from the path to allow that a nest would not be disturbed.

It was singing it's heart out that morning enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather.

You can check out it's song.

The lilacs are in bloom.  After the rain on Saturday they were in full bloom this morning.

Their scent is so wonderful.   The color is beautiful.

I was thinking of the Fill the Frame challenge when I took this one.  With a bit of the background showing I was afraid that it would be disqualified so I entered something else.

Look at what I found at Beaumaris Lake on Sunday morning.   This is the best shot I got which I was not too happy with.  He just would not budge.  I did not see him in the water.

I love the big orange eye.  I saw one last year at a different lake.   I got closer to this one.  

No iconic photograph unfortunately!

Here his neck is quite compressed.  When he stands tall it so impressive but it seemed quite a small bird other than the long neck.

Love that white head feather!  




These are painted rocks created by kids in the neighborhoods surrounding the Heritage Hills Wetlands in Sherwood Park.  

I took my first walk around last Thursday.  There were at least a hundred rocks tuck in the trees, grass and logs in the area. 

It put a huge smile on my face I have to tell you! 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #82.

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #242.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was Fill in the Frame.  There can be no background showing.  I have had a photo disqualified in the past.  I found some African Daisies in a flower bed which worked really well to get close enough.

You can check my Flickr Photo Stream SMDPics to see the photo I submitted this week.  It got pretty good comments.

Be safe and have a good week!

The Craft Kingdom - Project 2 - Decorating Rocks

This is my second project from the book - The Craft Kingdom.  Check out my second post.  Find a link to the book here.






I hope that you are inspired to do art today. Check out the book at your local book store.
 
I chose Decorating Pebbles on page 32 of the book.
 

First I picked my rocks.

I chose smooth rocks with flat surfaces where I could paint.

I wanted to make one a Thank You one and others to just paint something interesting.

Pick shapes that appeal to you and sizes that fit with the art you are planning to paint onto it.

I chose a turquoise color named Laguna, a green called Yellow Citron, my favorite Cadmium Yellow and Kelly Green.

I chose acrylic paint in a variety of colors and brands.  Make sure you have an opaque paint.  I have glazes and semi transparent colors.

I did not prime the rocks with white but it may have been a good idea.

I  did make a couple coats of color so that turned out okay.

I chose a plastic lid for a palette for the dollops of paint.  The middle rock is a mixture of the dollops once I was done with the others.

I chose a medium sized paint brush.

You have to plan because you will have unpainted spots where you are holding it.  Two times by 2 coats.  The acrylic paint dries very quickly.

Check out page 32 in the book titled decorated pebbles.

As you can see a pile of rocks was included in the book.  Lots of color and pattern was used.

Here are my rocks.  Spattering paint with a toothbrush is always a easy process for anyone to try.

I used a smaller brush to paint my flowers.  I love the shape and color in the turquoise one!

Card Club - Fall 2017 - Incentive

I always prepare a bit of a gift for those ladies who paid for all the fall classes in full.  Saves me having to chase fees.

This is my Thank You card.  A photo card with a 3.5x4.75 inch photo of rocks near my house adhered to the card front.  It was nice to have a bit of greenery on the bottom right hand corner.

Below are the set of Nifty Note cards I made which are color printed on white card stock.

Mosaic Monday - Nature Mix

I chose a mixture of nature photos this morning.  In the top left hand is a speckled rock I found in a retaining wall with a nice green leave sprig in the top left corner which provides a bit of contrast.  In the center, the fine dew on the multi leaf sprig was delicate.  The red elder berries in the top right give a nod to the dare I say it the Christmas season. Bottom left, is the black mature seed pods of Cicer Milkvetch which I found very intriguing.  Center, a purple sweet pea bloom and last the spiky looking dandelion again covered with very fine dew.   These were placed on a photo of vines on the rock wall to which I applied a filter to try to separate it from the photos on it.

Submitting this to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.

Photo - Years of Memories

These are a few of things I brought home after clearing my office this week.

The top left is a painted rock which represents the Northern Lights which I received from a friend in Yellowknife.  The THANKS rock was a gift from my boss on Admin Support day a few years ago.  The hand painted vase I don't recall where it came from but I filled with silk flowers.  The yellow balls came from a bouquet of flowers I received from another boss for appreciation of my work.  There's another yellow mug which will be no surprise from those who know me. This one is a bit on the small size for my taste but it's just the right color. You will find another in this post.  The star 3D puzzle was a prize for our team who raised the most dollars for world missions a few years ago.