awe

I chose this photo from the month of September for Kat's "photo-heart connection" link. Open spaces in nature speak to me. Whether it's a richly colored scene, or  monochromatic desolation, my heart swells with appreciation and awe.



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My Brownie

Here's a fun app for you: Koloid. At first, I was amused by the novelty of setting the amount of colloidion (alternative to egg white on photographic plates to reduce exposure time) and then physically moving the phone around to spread the (simulated) chemical where you wanted the development. Then, after admiring the results of some of this play, I decided to use a photo with a texture. Here, I tried out another app, Brushes, to paint my own texture so I could get the colors and placement for this particular photo. When layered (in Blender), I then can use a mask to remove the color, as on the vase and the front of the camera. I like the hazy, nostalgic look one can achieve when combining these techniques and the physical act of moving the phone assures that each shot is a one-of-a-kind.

roses of summer

The roses are in full bloom and I'm enjoying watching them unfurl, each stage a beauty. Here, I've layered the photo with a printed paper. This was taken and processed with my iPhone with the app Blender. This allows you to control which layer is emphasized and make a mask. Now if there were only an app to pass on the fragrance :)  Make time to stop and smell the roses today.

Explore

As much as I love photoshop, I love processing in my iPhone. Layering different apps is so quick and satisfying and I adore having endless combinations of treatments. Here, I've done a selfie trying to get that storybook look of exploring an unknown place. Happy Solstice, and take time to explore.

Big Basin

Went on a little walk into Big Basin from the coast today. You can see how the fog began to crawl over the landscape.

garden tour with the macro

 

Exploring the garden with the macro lens is so revealing. I normally would be interested in the colorful blooms and light, but today I clipped on my little olloclip and moved more slowly, looked more closely. This amazing guy with the pollen-covered legs was on the pistil of a calla lily. I went from flower to flower, finding surprises at each, whether insect or new bud, delighted with each. Today was a reminder to slow the pace, look more closely, and enjoy deeply.

Postcard Swap

Participating in Kat Sloma's 'Liberate Your Art' postcard swap was so fun. It's the first time I've done it, and it was exciting to prepare the cards I wanted to send and then receive others' art in the mail, one at a time. It's a lovely way to connect with other artists and enjoy the wide variety of art being produced. Thanks, Kat. I'll be sure to play again next year.

white poppies

I'm having fun painting some acrylic on canvas textures to use with my photos. There's so much color theory to consider when layering ( or just keep playing 'till you like it). I first layered a turquoise painting to add contrast in the petals and cut down the intensity of the surrounding greens. A butter-cream layer went over that to warm it up and on 'hard light' blend mode, the distant flowers and foliage began to pop out again. Experimenting definitely has value when creating.

Colors of Spring

When Carol, at 'Focusing on Life' asked, " What are the colors of your Spring?" I started looking through my recent photos of flowers. The season began with the pale pinks of plum blossoms. I then had the pink, yellow, and red of tulips popping up. Violets followed as the irises grew tall and added that lucious lavender to the mix. Oh, I must not forget the lavendar itself. Roses are unfurling their petals of red and yellow now, adding that sweet fragrance to my cut bouquets. My current favorites are the poppies dressed in hot orange and elegant white. Regardless of what is blooming at the moment, I usually paint a texture of contrasting, but similar colors, and lay that over the image to bring in even more color. So, what are the colors of my spring? I want to celebrate the season by having them all, please.

snapdragons

The little girl I give art lessons to brought me these flowers from her garden last week, so I had to photograph them. Snapdragons have an antique feel for me, so I chose Melissa Gallo's texture 'Green Lakes' to lay over the intense blue-violets. The tray, I found at a yard sale. I sanded some of the paint off so it would look antique also. I hope I've captured the sweetness of a child's smile as they proudly present the flowers they've picked.

Hooping

Playing with animation again. Thanks for the tutorial, Kim Klassen ( in BeyondBeyond). This is really fun.

motion

For 52 of You this week we have the challenge to show motion. I created this simple animation from 12 stills. Now I'm anxious to try others.

white roses

Roses are beginning to bloom. I'm fascinated with the layers of petals, the variations of colors, and with some, the lovely scent. Even amidst vibrant colors, I'm attracted to the whites with the oh-so-subtle tinge of pink or yellow.  Here, I've used "embossed fabric/cool" by Melissa Gallo to provide the necessary contrast to highlight their delicacy. I'm stopping "to smell the roses" as much as possible these pleasant spring days and of course, snapping photos too. Enjoy the scents of spring.

last tulips

I cut a few of the last tulips of the season today. Their lovely colors brought hope for the warmer days which are finally here. Now, the irises are taking center stage unfurling some spectacular, vibrant colors which I'll be sure to show you next week. With the tulips, I first added one of my painted textures in pinks. This intensified the color more than I intended, so the next layer was turquoise and green. The image was taken with my phone and processed in photoshop.

Life is Good

It's warm, the birds are singing, the flowers are in bloom, I got this new bag, and it's my birthday. Life is good.

Memories

It seems my mom has saved all the roses ever sent - a nice remembrance of occasions. This last time I was visiting, I decided to put some of those memories into digital form. I chose a cake plate she received as a wedding gift sixty years ago to place the roses on. The photo was taken and processed with my iPhone5. Snapseed is the first app I go to for exposure, contrast, and saturation. I then played in Laminar to achieve the crackled, antique look. All the processing choices available in apps makes for a lot of fun play and a huge variety of possibilities.

Bouquet on the Counter

I have a favorite bakery/deli that always has the prettiest flowers on the counter. I'd take a photo each time I visited, but didn't really know how to use them until discovering gaussian blur. You can obliterate conflicting backgrounds by applying a blur to a duplicate layer, creating a layer mask, and painting back the subject you want clear. This also allows you to alter the opacity so as to create soft edges. Colored and textured layers can then be added to get that painterly look and the contrast needed. Now, I not only admire the flowers while there, but have fun creating an image that I can look back to.

withering rose

I'm experimenting with layers that I paint and am having fun making the image look like a painting. This one has three layers of the same violet painting, each with a different blend mode and opacity. I sometimes use a gaussian blur for the background if I didn't do it with the camera. This is an image from last summer that I've reworked.

plum blossoms#3

The harbinger for spring in my backyard is the ornamental plum tree. It's the first plant to blossom and sends me running for the macro lens. I'll have a variety of bulbs opening within a week, but I always have to have lots of photos of those delicate pink flowers clustered among still-tight buds with their contrasting plum-colored leaves. Although I'm still bundled in thick sweater and boots, these sweet blooms make me smile warmly.

books, books, books

I'm always moving stacks of books: photography books, historical fiction, art books, books on creativity. I've filled my bookcases, lugged boxes of books to the used book store, and now, I resort to making stacks (by category, of course). The stack I'm currently working on includes iPhone Artistry by Dan Burkholder, Dan Marcolina's iPhone Obsessed, Viviene Maier: Out of the Shadows, the current copy of UPPERCASE, and Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto. I highly recommend  all of them. I'm finding inspiration to create all around me these days. I guess I can live with stacks of books.

watercolor succulent

These colorful succulents make the perfect subjects for the app Aquarella. I love playing with the color washes and bloom that can be manipulated. It's like painting but in high speed.

succulent

I'm loving the app Aquarella for changing photographs into watercolors. You can make so many adjustments, making your work resemble a painting: style, color intensity, bloom, wet edge strength, wash, and paper type to name a few. I work daily with my iPhone these days because of the immediacy of the processing and variety of apps. I'll be posting examples of photos processed in the phone, but to see daily posts, follow me on instagram @deevlasak

postcard swap

Want a fun way to connect with other artists while receiving artistic mail? Check out the postcard swap.