These are some kaleidoscopes I created from several of my ordinary photographs.
13
Oct
2011
2011
11
Sep
2011
2011
Portrait paintings always offer a new way of looking at a familiar face. This one of a real cowboy and a beloved grandfather was completed in acrylic paints and mediums. As he appears to come out of a ghostly heard of wild horses his smile beams across the canvas and turtle doves fly upward.
Category: Artful thoughts
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24
Apr
2011
2011
I often hear artists state that if the art piece is worked with digital software then it isn’t true art. Throughout history art experienced fluctuations between intense Realism to extreme Abstraction. All art styles endured their own critics. Yet, the chasm between “purest” artist and those who combine digital art with tradtional mediums or work completely in the digital realm remains wide. While simply opening Photoshop and adding some “cool” effects to a shape may not be someone’s idea of art, neither were many of the art pieces that came out of the Dada era. However, creativity can apply computerized techniques to art with fantastic results. It takes skill and a talented eye to see the possibilities. For me, digital software is simply an added tool in my arsenal of art equipment. It can breath fresh air into stale ideas and give life to ideas that would otherwise remain hidden in the recesses of my imagination. 
Category: Artful thoughts, Photoshop
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07
Mar
2011
2011
The birds are building their nests and dropping some feathers along the way. Here a single long feather is the only clue left behind. I think a bird had to have been searching for food and building materials along the ground. It looked perfect against the grass and dirt, so I snapped photograph of the feather. Now where’s the bird hiding who owns it hiding?
Category: Nikon Photos
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07
Jan
2011
2011
With classes beginning very soon at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online after a nice long break i felt the urge to play with some photographs I had sitting in my files. This one of my grandson Colin was sent to me by my daughter. You’ll notice Colin is wearing the correct jersey:-) By using some simple steps in Photoshop I took a very nice photo and took it up a notch sharpening it and bringoing out Colin’s blue eyes. A soft vinette also draws attention to his smile. These are the steps I took:
1. Duplicate your layer…always your first step.
2. Layer>new adjustment layer>levels>minor changes 0 0.73 keep 255. Pick up the dark tones with the “dark” eyedropper (top one). Grab the darkest black for a nice tonal range on the photo.
3. Layer>new adjustment layer>color balance> very subtle> highlights -6 +8 -3; mid-tones 0, 0, +10; shadows 0, 0, -3
4. Fun stuff now….go to photograph and Select>color range>+eyedropper>grab up the eye color on the photo and watch the black and white “negative” eyes glow>click ok
5. Magic wand the blue eyes copy via new cut and set blue eyes to overlay with a fill at 64%
6. Filter>sharpen>unsharp mask fade unsharp mask> scroll down and select luminosity for a neat and sharp as a pin image without halos.
7. Some final steps are an oval on its own layer (choose a feather of around 7 first) above the photograph>select>inverse >fill with a nice brown gradient>filter>blur> strong Gaussian blur around 18 for a very soft appearance.
And here are the results:
Category: Photoshop
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30
Dec
2010
2010
This photo was an experiment with special effects as well as experimenting to insert images into the post. It worked…this time. It seems newer versions of WordPress need some “fiddling” between real HTML coding and the quick insert. 
Category: Artful thoughts
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