Swim! -Rachel

So my summer, so far, is all about swimming. The kids are on swim team, I take photos and I post them for the team families... today I was playing with photos and was enjoying the posterized effect that I got when I cranked up the contrast to full tilt boogie; so here it is.

Self Portrait - must be viewed large - Robin

Check out this mosaic self portrait I created. I used family photos I have taken (except those that I'm in) and the self portrait as the main image. So much fun!

This quarter is almost history!!!!!

Oil Spill - Robin

I have been really busy lately, unlike Rachel who has oodles of time.  ;-)
You really scare me Rach, with all that energy. Your dedication is an inspiration to me.

I am attaching one of my recent works that I did for class. I am very proud of it but so very sorry that the subject of the oil spill even exists. I feel that we all have some responsibility due to our voracious need for oil. Let's all try and conserve wherever we can. This is a great time to get out that dusty old bike for local errands....

Let me know what you think. Thanks a billion!

Before and After - Rachel

Last evening was my daughter's promotion from 4th grade. A dear friend was kind enough to snap a family photo for us (thanks Mere!) and here's the before and after photoshop. I cropped it, removed some of the fencing and gave the background a gaussian blur. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Number 36 - Rachel

It was another very busy day, and one where I didn't have an opportunity to get creative. I did take a lot of photos at our local parade, and I was drawn to this old car. My pals Scott or Carolyn could, no doubt, tell me more about it (they are old car people, having their own model T), but for now I'll just let number 36 speak for itself.

Photo with PS ink outlines.

Time away from time - Robin

I'm letting my hand colored Time project dry and so I decided to get some stuff ready to print for my little show/sale coming up. Here are a couple I really like with the watercolor filter. What do you think?

Now I'm going to try and get a decent scan of my 11x 17 Time project. Back later.

Time Project Part 2 - Robin

You never saw part one but this is part 2. The project is to show a progression through 12 small artworks. Mine is obviously done using photo collage.  My favorites are the 2nd, 4th, 9th and 11th. Tomorrow I am going to hand color a black and white version. I hope I like that better.
I think it will create some needed cohesiveness. I'll let you see how it goes.

Gardening for hours over the last few days. My back is loudly screaming, "You bitch! You BITCH!". Luckily it will rain tomorrow and wash away the nasty pollen and give my back a day off. G'night!

Pop Poppies - Rachel

Today I was having a conversation with my daughter about words, specifically about how words seem to warp and sound strange if you say them enough. Any word can move from the realm of "That's a word I use it all the time" to "Wow, what a strange set of syllables" with enough spoken repetitions. Go ahead, try it.
The word which began this conversation was poppy. We were passing fields and hills abloom in California golden poppies and she kept repeating the word until it began to sound strange to her ear; eventually it began to deteriorate for me as well and I got stuck on the word pop, which made me think of pop art, which made me think I should see what kind of pop art homage I could create with Photoshop and one of my recent poppy pictures. Here's the result.

I'm back! - Robin

I love succulents and how a bit get's broken off and you just stick it in water or dirt and away it goes!
This is the shoot coming off of just such a succulent. It feels very Dr. Suess-y to me. I bet a whole little world is existing there right now.
I did a selective color in Photoshop as the background was neutral anyway. I helped it along to make the plant stand out.

Electric Blue - Rachel

Over the years I have been frustrated by the number of power and phone lines interfering with my photos: I'll have a stunning sunset before me, but then there are the damnable power lines. This year I have decided to embrace them, bring them into the fold; give them their moment to shine. I will not be stymied by those intrusive poles and lines, rather I will find their inner beauty (or at the very least inner visual and graphic interest). So, here is another of my power pole and line series (also another of my drive by pics because it's only when I am driving that the clouds put on their shows).

Drive-by Sky - Rachel

Just having some fun with my latest drive by photos.

A Darker View - Rachel

I took some interesting drive by photos I drove across the Bay Bridge on Tuesday, unfortunately my windows were FILTHY and the lighting was challenging (particularly while driving). I had one photo (see above) which held a strong skyline and some amazing clouds, and as I was cleaning it up in Photoshop I realized that I didn't actually want to clean it up at all, rather I wanted to do something completely different with it. Perhaps it's all those billboards for Tim Burton's spin on "Alice in Wonderland", or perhaps it's our crumbling state infrastructure and collapsing educational system, but I was drawn to elicit the darker view: A rusting bridge and skyline under an ominous sky.

Signs of Spring - Rachel

I found these blossoms laying on the sidewalk and rather than letting them get stepped on I picked them up and put them on my dashboard. Riding down the freeway I decided they needed their picture taken (I was the passenger, FYI) so I snapped a couple quick pics; tonight I did a bit of editing and applied a palate knife in Photoshop.

Crimson Flowers - Rachel

I thought that these little flowers were beautiful, this is a true representation of their color. Digital image processed in Photoshop. Brush detail visible on the large image.

The Kitty Who Grows in the Pot by My Door - Rachel

Boots isn't officially "our" cat, but he's made us "his" people. For the last year or so Boots has been having regular sleepovers, he knocks on the screen asking to come in, cozies down in a lap or at the foot of a bed and settles in. Oh, and he has recently taken to laying down in the flowerless flowerpot by our front door when we aren't home. It's really quite absurd, this big grey cat cozied down in an abandoned flowerpot, but I find it charming.
Today I got it in my head to try reproducing a photo of Boots in the flowerpot using charcoal pencils. Charcoal and sketching are new for me and I wasn't entirely displeased with the result, but neither was I entirely satisfied. He seemed so scowly and angry, which wasn't really at all his mood.
I then decided to try another approach, using photoshop to "sketch" him. I've posted both.