EDM 252 Draw Pine Trees - Autumn Trees and Pines

It was -9 degrees when I got up this morning so I went for the oranges and yellows.

It's amazing how warm colors make you feel toasty.

The Macbook Genie

I said to my DH "I wish I didn't have class tonight but Bill never cancels so that's not going to happen."

I opened my computer and there was an email from the college; Shazam, my class was canceled.

I didn't know that Apple had an app that granted wishes.

How Did Today Become So Gray?

I really didn't plan on today's journal entry to be almost entirely gray.

-I got dressed in gray and black
-put on a black coat
-got in a gray Jeep
-dropped my gray and black clad daughter at school
-went to sculpture class to work on a gray figure
-did a black and white print of penguins jumping off a cliff
-ate takeout from Panda express (I actually dream about orange chicken)
-and worked on a gray MacBook Pro while listening to my gray and black iPod.

EDM 258 - Draw the inside of your closet

This shelving unit is in the back of my closet, I think of it as the island of misfit clothes and vacation items.

The top has a couple of swim suits that were last used at the gym pool about (cough) months ago.

The cubbies also have various containers for travel use
* unworn belts that don't merit a more prominent location
* sandals that I bought on vacation and discovered that they can not be worn without getting blisters and I can't bear to toss since they were $95
* an amazingly comfy and cute pair of aqua sandals
* red espadrilles
* spring green sandals that always get complements
* more aqua blue shoes
* some overpriced water/hiking shoes that you can supposedly hike in and wear in the water. They dry slowly, give you blisters when wet, and collect little rocks and sand as though they were saving it for a memory jar. I keep hoping if I wear them around the house they will magically become comfortable.

EDM 15 Draw a Tree or Trees - Paper Birch Watercolor

I called these birch trees and my daughter who recently took a Minnesota botany class reminded me they are paper birch trees, betula papyifera. I enjoy knowing the correct names for things and it gives me a chance to use my 9th grade Latin skills.

Actually, all I remember is how to delineate verbs and most of the Latin words for Christmas carols

Aquatic Visitor

I have a fondness for frogs and this gorgeous fellow visited our flower beds last summer. He was the largest frog we've ever hosted, about as large as my fist.

You can find directions for how to add spot of color to a black and white photo using photoshop here.

Abstract Design Interpretations

I was recently assigned an interesting challenge, take a small portion of 2 different photos, simplify them and recombine them to make a new pattern that could be used in a print. The designs are fun but my favorite part is how different they look depending on how they are rotated.





















Elephant and mangrove






















Fern and silt






















Hemp rope and a satellite photo






















Crumbling wall and flowing water

EDM 223 Draw A Favorite Sound - A Running Stream

I can't think of any sound more soothing than water—the ocean, a brook, rain...

Snow Shadows

I like the graphic quality of the shadows across the fresh snow.

EDM #247 Draw Something Creepy

When my children were young we hung a tire swing in the backyard from this tree. Alethea loved to spin and would wind the swing and let it go, spinning madly. She was startled when she saw a young girl watching her and by the time she managed to stop, the girl was gone.

Iceberg For Sale

I was listening to a story about selling icebergs for their water content and was inspired to put a UPC bar code on the side of the ice berg.

Back To School

EDM #78 - Draw a Souvenir

I bought this alligator head at a gas station in Louisiana while on a road trip with my daughters. He's happily menacing an antique fish tank ornament.

EDM #40 Draw Something With Folds

Charcoal drawing of a folded, wrinkled paper bag.

Identifying Prismacolor Marker Colors

I enjoy Prismacolor markers but the end caps are frequently not accurate for color. The one of the left has a white color swatch but the color is actually blue. I was becoming tired of testing colors to confirm shades while using the markers so I colored blank return address labels and wrapped them around the cap. No more mystery colors.

EDM #13 Draw Your Telephone

I've had a cell phone for well over a decade but it seems longer. When I got my first cell phone my DH thought it was silly to carry a phone, he got one of his own a few days later. I photoshoped out my current cell phone number.

The tropical scene is the phone's wallpaper.

It's Cold and I Don't Particularly Feel Industrious

It's a bit of a crafty, get another cup of coffee day. Maybe I'll make cookies.

Zentangle Bubbles

Purple Rose Zentangle

I was thinking about the movie the Purple Rose of Cairo; I always meant to see it since I like the name but this is the closest I've come.

How To Make A Text Clipping Mask In Photoshop

Open your background image; this will be what you see inside the text.

command j to duplicate the layer

type your text in a new layer

move the background duplicate layer over the top of the text layer, the text will disappear.

turn off the original background layer

Place your mouse cursor between the background layer and the text layer in the layers palette. Option click (the appearance of the cursor will change)












You'll see a change in the background copy thumbnail indicating the clipping mask.

You can press the v key to activate the move tool and shift the text over the image so that you can find the best placement for the visible image in your text.










I put a white background under the text but you can have whatever you want there.

How To Overlay A Photo In Photoshop To Add Texture

This is a local lake














This is algae on the edge of the same lake. Place this image on a new layer.

















image->adjustment->desaturate. If you don't desaturate the image the colors will effect the background image















You want to bump up the contrast. image->adjustment->levels. Move the sliders under the graph until you are pleased with the image














Try different blend modes. I start with overlay and this one is soft light. You can lower the opacity to make the blend more subtle.

How To Sharpen A Photo In Photoshop Using Overlay

You don't have to use sharpen filters to sharpen a photo. This photo has a small blur and I just want to do a simple sharpen.













command j to make a new layer



















right click on the new layer and click convert to smart object




















Go to filter->other->high pass

High pass is an edge detection filter; anything not edge becomes 50% grey. I have the radius set to 2.5 as a starting point. Click OK



















The smart filter has it's own blend mode dialog box. Click on the icon to the right of the word high pass (it looks like a teeter totter)





















Choose overlay as the blending mode and the grey screen disappears. Click OK.

The nice thing about this being a smart object is if you are not happy with the results you can double click the word high pass and it will bring up te high pass screen and you can readjust the amount from the previous 2.5 pixel radius.




















Here are the pencils after sharpening; no pun intended, well maybe...












Left is before, right after

Colored Pencil Art Photograph

I keep my colored pencils in an old ceramic dog dish. They were in my way so I set them on the floor and thought; they look pretty.

The one on the left was photographed on a wood floor; the other 2 images were done on a white background.

How To Make Lightning in Photoshop

I got this nice rainy photo from the Morgue File.

make a new layer

press the d key to make the foreground/background black and white.
















filter->render->clouds
















filter->render->difference clouds















command L to bring up levels

move the white slider to the left















The middle grey slider is your glow. When you are happy with the effect click OK.
















You want the lightning to be white so invert the image using command i











change the blending mode to screen

add a layer mask by clicking on the rectangle with a circle in the middle
















The lightning will cover the entire image so use the v key to activate the move key and use your mouse to shift the lighting until you are happy with the placement.

Press the d key, if the black color box is not on top, press x and they will exchange it with the white and bring it on top.

You need the paint brush to paint out the unwanted lightning so click the b key, use the left and right [ ] to get the brush to the size you want. The black will remove the unwanted elements. The opacity should be at 100%

If the desired lightning is too bright, paint over it with a lowered opacity. I used the 5 key to make it 50% and then lightened it more close to the clouds to help it blend in.