Cay Denise

The top image is a blind contour drawing done earlier this year.  Yes, the facial elements are totally askew and as a result the -- image is quite distorted. Tonight, I worked in Photoshop Elements to move the facial elements to their proper locations.  Had that been done originally, this is what the drawing could have looked like. For comparison, this is the source photo.   In the original drawing, I think I lost my bearings in terms of where I thought I was.  This can easily happen when the pen is lifted off the paper - even for a moment - and ends up being lowered into a totally different place.  Doing that kind of thing can have a very obvious effect, as you see above.  If you look closely at the first drawing, it is curious how the eye and mind still manage to convey the information/form even if it results in distortion.  That is pretty amazing!  

From the photo of a small stained glass window to an edited 4-patch of that window to an inverted, extruded, and color- and filter-manipulated image...using Photoshop Elements.  It was playtime today!   The images are in reverse chronological order from the description above. 

If you don't know what a Concertina Sketchbook is, it is folded paper (back and forth) that looks like the bellows of an accordion when done.  Concertinas can be home-made or purchased, and they are fun to work in.     The photos above are of three continuous two-page spreads from my own Concertina (the one on the right - the latest). The mark-making was done with Sharpie markers, Posca pens, Micron pens and Sakura PenTouch markers.   All the shapes and color choices in the images above were spontaneous as well as the details.  There was no plan.  What I like about these is that each two-page spread collaborates with the next one and so on (as the designs spill over from one spread to the next). As new ones are created, they  add to the wonderful visual feast. One of the things I love doing with these also -- is to crop sections and digitally mirror them to form symmetrical designs. The results are occasionally delightful.  In fact, this one was m...

I've had fun experimenting with a repeating pattern made from a quick sketch adjusted with an offset filter.  Then a mix of gradations, blending modes, filters, and various adjustment layers have been applied.  The result is certainly eye-catching!  Can you guess what the repeating pattern is?

My fellow classmates and I are in the final project phase of the PSE3 class led by instructors Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki, The Pixeladies.  It has been a terrific course! For the final project, I've designed a repeating pattern (below) to print as a long scarf.  I'm not sure yet whether to make the scarf myself or have it printed and finished by a vendor.  I'm in the process of obtaining fabric samples, color charts, and size and cost information from vendors that will help me decide what company to order from. This will affect whether it will involve full-service or fabric printing only.      I'm very pleased with this design plus amazed with the capability of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023.  I like the program so much better than the cloud version of Photoshop. I haven't mentioned picture editing, but we've done some of that in PSE3 though it isn't a focus of the course because most of the participants are quilters and visual artists.   If you w...

Nearing the end of Class 3 on Photoshop Elements, we continue learning more about the program -- now we're into repeating patterns and masking.  I can see where a constant practice will be needed to maintain the program knowledge I've learned plus explore the many other options we haven't had time for. Love this one!

Aside from the work, I'm having such fun learning Photoshop Elements with the Pixeladies! With the program's tools, there is nothing like pushing one's imagination to see what can emerge.  So, I used two drawings as source images for project work yesterday.  One is an abstract, the other is a face.  Because I love symmetry and mandalas, I like creating 4-patch patterns that are symmetrical.  Through the course, I've now learned how to use the program to create a repeating design with 4-patches.   Here is the abstract source image that was color-edited followed by the resulting 4-patch: I know it's hard to believe, but the bottom image is four of the upper images arranged in a symmetrical pattern.   Next is a face I drew earlier in the year that has been color-edited plus multiple filters and a gradient applied.  The second photo is of the 4-patch created from it, and the third is the repeating pattern of the 4-patch.  In the last photo, through an...

Using the image in from yesterday's post, I've cropped the edited version to make into scarf size.  Then I've played with colors and filters to transform the cropped portion into something with bright patterning and far from being as recognizable as in the mandala.   If you were shopping for a scarf, would this design delight your eye?  

Photoshop Elements can do sooo much, and I love it! I'm learning so many capabilities and shortcuts in the program from The Pixeladies!  In one of our assignments, I've digitally edited a photo of a mandala done earlier this year.  The digital alterations include: Changing the oval frame into a gradation between two colors Filling in the streamers with turquoise and yellow at a reduced opacity level Filling in the faces using a darken blending mode to keep the shading visible from the drawing beneath Filling in the hair, the collar, etc. with color - also using the darken blend mode to ensure lines from the drawing beneath are still visible Darkening the maroon center embellishment What a huge difference these changes make.  It has so much more energy with the enhanced color...especially the faces that have come alive as well.  Do you use a mobile app or program to alter your art work -- whether for fun or for business?  Do you normally know what you want to do ...

The PSE 2 class is coming to a close while my head is full of information plus possibilities are brewing. Photoshop Elements is an amazing program!  For me, it has so much untapped capability that I'm only beginning to better understand and utilize. The Guided functions are very helpful (though not always intuitive) for doing basic and fun alterations to a single or multiple images.  For example, you can add frames around images, you can move a face in one image to another image, you can create text that has photos in the letters rather than colors (great thing for a trip scrapbook cover).   In the program itself, there are fun filters to play with to see how 'far out' you can push images.  Images may begin dull, but they can end up being unrecognizable and totally awesome!! Layers are the KEY to the program's capability.  The user's ability to use the platform to customize and uniquely alter photographs and other images really comes down to learning layers, how...

I haven't done one of these in some time and usually really like colorful ones.  But I had decided recently to use print-outs of one of my pen/pencil sketches in a mandala.  I knew I wanted dark around the edges to help those sketches pop.  The rest was unplanned.  Most of the paint used was leftover heavy-body acrylics from a palette used for another project, and the decorative part was done with Posca pens. Mindless creations are a form of relaxation -- especially when approached without worrying about the outcome. This is one of those kinds of pieces. What kind of creative work do you do for pure enjoyment with no goal in mind?

As Pixeladies Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki prepare to retire at the end of 2023, they're teaching their last Photoshop Elements instructional series.  Level 1 is just concluding.  Level 2 starts in February followed by Level 3 in March. I've had Adobe's Photoshop CS (a cloud application) for some time and recently became aware that Adobe's Photoshop Elements was available for download at a one-time cost.  (It's not actively marketed on the Adobe site. You have to search for it.)  So, I jumped at the opportunity to buy Elements and cancel the cloud app.  Note:  The cloud app is not intuitive to learn or use, and for me -- the monthly fee was too high for the value/use I got from it. In order to make sure I'm learning how to use the creative capabilities of Elements, I thought it would be great to learn from The Pixeladies who have a great reputation in the quilt world for their work with printing on fabrics and making quilts.  That means they know the im...

The Week 10 lesson was from Jennifer Bonneteau titled Silly Selfies.  In working from an altered selfie (photo below), I used Sharpie permanent markers and alcohol inks primarily to have fun -- attempting to capture the essence of that altered colorful selfie.  The second photo is the result.  There is a lot of cross-hatch and stipple line work in it, and it is the first time I've worked with Yupo paper in this way.  This brand of paper has a very nice and smooth surface - great for alcohol inks.  

I haven't yet figured out how to change a background in Zoom from a picture to a video while you're own image is seen in real time in the foreground.  But I did make a 2D avatar based on the parameters of a recent creative challenge.  The challenge was to wear a costume and have a different background complementing it. This was done by combining multiple photos in Photoshop and using other tools to fun-it-up!

Working with some of my images taken this morning in different Photoshop ways (cropping, filters, layers, and combining photos).  In some cases the photos didn't come out all that well, but playing with them gives them new and inventive life!

Having some fun time doing photo manipulation tonight with Photoshop...filters and several layers.

Yesterday, I completed the drawing on the right using Caran d-Ache Supracolor II Soft pencils. The drawing was then used as the base for the digitally-edited/-enhanced version on the left.  The finished image was painted and areas blended, and it includes two of my photo images for the background/effects. I'm learning about face shading and layering by using Photoshop.  The pencils are challenging to get the layering effects I want...could be my limited experience using the pencils too. In any case, I'm liking the results.  The finished image has more human character than the digital drawings I've done over the last few years (as you can sell a selection of along the left side of this blog)!   This piece was inspired through work done in class work offered by Tamara Laporte from Willing Arts Ltd. For more information, visit this link:  www.willowing.org .

These photos, from a weekend adventure, have been combined and altered. What a fun piece...lots of movement!

It has been some time since I did any digital drawings.  Because of that, I forgot to check the size of the drawing when I started.  So, this piece ended up being much smaller than imagined. The male face is new subject matter for me and takes more shading and other qualities to build a sense of image, since men typically don't wear make-up, etc. I admit, stubble is missing--but it looked better without it. This post also linked to  http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com .

I've been having some fun tonight altering a photo recently taken.  I don't know who the artist is that drew this bear street art.  Otherwise, there would be an attribution.