"land.scape.un.titled"

Click to enlarge, subtle. Babaloo trees always come to the rescue when other muses remain silent.

Less time to create these days....time of year, etc.

"in.a.barrel.two"

I lightened up the fish - home monitor is lighter and saw details there missing on other monitor.


"in.a.barrel"

I am scaling back, no?

"pollen.days"

Three MS Paint snippets of larger paint.net piece.

Working just in paint is becoming a bit limiting. See post directly below.

"cave.man"

Study, back in Paint.

More peachey version that I had set aside - had a busy weekend with little time before the ol' computer.

Lisa's daughter will be having surgery. I send her my best wishes and also my prayers.

"larger.one"

A large image above, reduced in file size here, and two Paint snippets, below.




"cherry.days"

Earth Day photo was used here and also a cherry tree photograph emailed by Sue. The Earth Day photograph is so complete that it was hard to use, meaning the original is just perfect as is. So, I used a snippet and might do so again.

Sue's photograph was a close-up of a large cherry bud, very similar to the one in our front yard. This cherry was in top form today on Long Island, the yellow forsythias receding. This is the first year our newer redbud has blossomed adequately.

Hope you are all doing well - my best.

"once.clean.slate"

An image pulled out of my leftovers, a file "saved as" then forgotten - potential lint elevated here. Somehow the basement is getting stale. Need to go down there soon and empty the dehumidifier.

Outside my sun room windows is a dogwood. White buds barely unfurling. Been warm here and spring has stepped up its parade. Daffodils are half spent and we await aromatic wonders such as lilacs.

"new.berries"

Back to Lisa, to a semi-tropical world where plumbers see water go down the drain counter clockwise. Back to MS Paint - quick and dirty but I also dabbled here with Paint.net, for layers.

Small image file off the Internet. Poacher that I am.

This one combines the more painterly illusions I get with "net" and the geometry of "paint." Complimentary.

Today is "bring your kids to work day" - I am hoping not to be embarrassed - twelve and seven are here and twelve preys on seven, on occasion.

To see an amazing Earth Day homage photograph click here.

I am always drawn to two dimensional photos - I used to photograph sidewalks and walls and stair cases with long lenses so they pan.caked.

Pan.cakes. yum yum.

"three.and.two"

Excerpts from a Paint.net image a post or two below. Thank you, again, for all your kind words and also for your inspiration.

"up.then.down"




"under.bright.light"

The gaudiest I have gotten, no? Tranquility, interrupted. MS Paint excerpts form a Paint.net original alteration, rowdy cousins of the posts below.

I recently read in a comment how Andrea loves change - craves it. I am most comfortable with the familiar. My cell phone looks like it is ten years old - a Nokia oldie but goodie. No Razor in my pocket.

Need to install PS....I know I will learn to love it , as I do my BlackBerry and iPod. Have a warm day.

Two more, again smaller versions. My larger file compositions seem more peaceful.

Winter branches and goldfish based. First attempts to play with "layers."

"blue.moon.dusk"

The post below are MS Paint snippets of a further altered version of the above image. This is a Paint.net image, reduced in size here for display.

Had a "lovely" plumbing weekend until this morning- a toilet leaking at the base - a poor man's royal flush. Fixed. We hope. Plumbing seems to be a lot like the story of that Dutch boy who put his finger in the dike. And more expensive.

"winter.spring.blossom"

"blue.fish"

Smaller version of large paint.net image - made from a photo I took of goldfish in a tank in upscale plant nursery - fish for sale to end up in serene garden pools and then possibly a midnight raccoon snack.

Raccoons are our neighborhood rats, actually wintering in our sewers. They really like our family's garbage cans, but do not touch the ones directly across the street.

I no longer like raccoons, but as a pre-teen loved a book called Rascal. That and Old Yeller.

I once saw an Osprey at Cape May migrating south carrying a two foot goldfish carp in its talons. If it was a Japaneese poi it was a huyndred dollar meal, easy.

"up.scale"

Saturday morning - the wearther was so beautiful here yesterday. No soccer games this weekend - a Passover break here.

"late.again"

Retro image, just created, but more of a throwback to when I used font as a major compositional element.

I hope to load Photoshop 7 this weekend. I look forward to learning how to use it.

Have a great Friday and glorious weekend. Thanks, again, for visiting and for your comments.

"near.starlings"

I have been getting home from work at nine at night, or later, so I pulled this image from my archive - based on Sue's palm fronds, now teased and weaved. I think she told me starlings lived in the palm, hence the name.

Image saved from the lint trap and placed here, folded like a starched crisp relatively new dress shirt.

Like the bumper sticker states - no originality here - "I owe, I owe, so it's off to work I go."

My best on a bright Thursday morning.

PS I think it also has a bit of NZ sky. Hence, Lisa also contributed.

"easier.one"

Tight close up of a heron draft composition. Smaller parts of the "photograph" fill the frame. A tiny detail becomes a slash. Spam in a can.

"clear.ly"

Paint.net again. Smaller version. So much easier to work with MS Paint size of graphics. Larger is much harder since cannot rely on experience or trained instinct. Icons become smaller details. But that is the nature of larger work. That which is larger than 11 by 14 inches.

A splendid Lisa heron - roof.top sighting. Presence of herons near your domicile indicates a healthy ecosystem. Predators are the first to go. Think about the Bald Eagle.

Also has bits of Sue's flowers. I might post subset parts of this image (Paint sized rectangles), possibly in my lint.trap - maybe here. Sort of what I did with the monarch. Te sampling will come from an earlier modification.

Work that I like does end up in the lint.trap. I am drawn to the basement because images there stand alone - wordless but for title (when posted). A friendly discount outlet for small finds, and leftovers in the creative process worth salvaging.

I posted the image above here because it is what I am struggling with now - working with larger files. This image is okay. Better than how I worked with MS Paint a year ago, when I relied on a model's grace more than on my experience.

Basemnent bargain hunting. Something for everyone, a comedy tonight.

Have a great day and week.

"sea.ford"

Smaller version of a Paint.net image based on Andrea's tree, with a bit of Lisa's dog on a hot tin hut. A learning process.

Have gotten a copy of PhotoShop 7 as a generous present, but have not loaded it. I am cautious, looking at a book.

Yesterday, Saturday, spring was abundant - daffodils, magnolia and fairy laced light pink cherry trees were in high bloom. Forsythia was at its height - golden yellow flames against the still brown landscape. But, as we drove home, getting on an Expressway we saw long stand of common large bushes with just a strong hint of grayish green. It was the most subtle perfect sight within a gloriously beautiful day.

It was the first day we were out without jackets. No one should suffer on a day like that.

"au.tumn.joy"

My fear of a world temporarily devoid of bare limbed trees is unfounded. We have Lisa in NZ documenting her fall as we spring, forward.

A number of images were added to recycled.lint - rediscovered old images saved on way to further transformations. Hope you enjoy some.

Have a great weekend.

"test.ed"

Life is full of tests and this one is dedicated to a friend in Holland whose life is adrift. I am thinking of her today.

Made from a pop up ad I see too often when venturing to a blog.friend's sites:



I have never filled out the questions out fearing a virus. How smart is anyone?

"time.stamp"

A Lisa chicken basted and curried lightly.

"harrier.flight.one"

I got permission to use the harrier photograph- this is the original shot. The blog is here. This is my least favorite of the three so I hope no one expected very much.

The linked blog has excellent bird photography with a stiff botany bent. Photographing birds in the wild is difficult. You have long lens, moving birds, branches, bad light - in the "old days" it resulted in a lot of wasted film. It is worth investigating this Flickr site. Go here for some nice shots of birds organized by type.

Southern California is a natural paradise.

Sweet Irene gave me another award - gratitude.attitude. I return it to to acknowledge her her constant encouragement, wit and courage. Thank you, Irene. My best.



I also pass it on to Andrea and to Lisa and to Sue. Kind and gifted artists.

Gracias, amigas, siempre.

"harrier.flight.two"


"harrier.flight.three"

I made three images that sampled a beautiful photograph of a northern harrier hawk in flight over Southern California scrub - the two images here are complete abstractions and bear almost no resemblance to the original photograph. The third is a bit much closer to the photo, so I will not post it unless given permission.

So, maybe this is a bit of delayed gratification for me.

Irene commented that I was intrigued by nature - that is true. I find nothing more uplifting than being at a marsh before a sunrise. Mosquitoes are tolerated. Alligators or poisonous snakes nearby, less so.

I have never seen as many snakes as I have near Houston, Texas in April. On that trip I had my rental car stuck in the sand next to a bunch of weeds with a huge sign - "Warning Rattlesnakes." I think it was placed there to keep people out. This was on the coast near Aransas Wildlife Refuge where we saw the endangered whooping cranes dancing afar.

One in ten people in Houston also drive quite crazy. This makes it very dangerous since you are apt to let your guard down.

"pond"

Found and manipulated photograph of a beaver pond. I like the sensibilities of this blog, created by a naturalist who focuses on botany. Botanists are usually smart. It is always my job to generalize.

Joan's blog will lead you to a nice community of naturalists - one is a birder from southern California. Thanks, Joan, for allowing me to post this image.

"mon.arch.102"

"butter.flew"