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.

use your wings

Kim Klassen's challenge was to use her image and texture in your own way. I cropped and lightened the image, added the texture at multiply, 45%, then added stamps, text, and a frame.

I've been in love with love....

LeAnne, of Photos by LeAnne, thought up this great idea of sharing an image and tying it to a song. I'm always up for finding new music, so jumped on this one. I love exploring San Francisco and capturing moments, so I printed this bridge shot on a vintage postcard which I painted with white acrylic and a digital ground by Golden. The song that I've connected with this image is San Francisco by Mowgli's. My favorite line in the song: "I've been in love with love and the idea of something binding us together...."