Our challenge from Bonnie this week, was to use 3 different photos and one of her textures (glorious free to use – DO try them!), to create an abstract of our own… Here’s my before with the pics and texture layer I used:

And here is, (quite fittingly),  my result:

I think it’s brilliant that my eye remains there – can’t just be a coincidence, can it? Nah!

Here’s another reason to remain fit and well… Nick’s condition (degenerative osteo-arthritis, a crumbling spine and a hiatus hernia) is not improving so we are going to strive for a healthier lifestyle, better diet and more swimming.  We have a new grandchild on the way and it is so important that we are around to be able to enjoy this new chapter when he/she arrives!

Plus – think of all the photo opportunities!!!!!!

Thanks to Bonnie for the awesome textures. Do take a look/join in at Photo Art Friday - Pixel Dust Photo Art – Bonnie’s wonderful site.

However, in view of VD drawing nearer, I have been manipulating my own original artwork in Photoshop today…

This is the “rebellious” version… okay?!

And this one is possibly an “Underworld” version… I really love the colour purple, so this one works for me! I used some new grungey textures that Nancy sent us to try out, and they’re really grimey, wonderfully dirty! Strange that rust and dirt should bring such pleasure, isn’t it?

Here’s what Wiki has to say about V.Day… CLICK.

And here’s a link to the Unconditional Love print in my Etsy. I can even modify it for you is you’d prefer a grimier version!!

This is abstraction reached using Bonnie’s off_kilter texture… ( 1st. layer(s) difference @100% x2, then saturation @100%)… Lovely and vivid, isn’t it? Yum!

Another photo, using chinks_of_light this time… Blend modes – hue x2 @100%; hard mix @47%; altered the colour/balance; used pin light @100% and posterized edges!) Voila!

Bonnie’s approach, like that of Nancy Donaldson, is so playful and adventurous, I just love it! She also has some really cool stuff to photograph in her garden…

Join in the fun by following my links above.

Lancaster’s red rose

Far from my fav’rite colour -

Too cheesy by far!

I have not always disliked red roses, but I’d never buy them or be happy to receive them. It harks back to a distant episode in my past… White roses, however, are amongst my favourites and I bought myself a bunch a few weeks ago, purely to photograph, though they gave me much, much more. They had the most delightful, heady bouquet, which was so unexpected and they lingered on, slowly unfurling their waxy petals, for a couple of weeks – far longer than I had expected!

I did cheat and colour one of the roses for the purposes of illustration!!

Textures are courtesy of Nancy Donaldson – thanks so much =)

War of the roses link HERE (while Wikipedia is open, anyway…)

Haiku my Heart, hosted by Rebecca every Friday, over at Recuerda mi corazon.

I used a photo of some white roses opening for the prompt, and like my pal Johanna, I found an appropriate quote, using the word “open”.

Who’d have thought Ben Franklin would say that? Lol! (Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards…)

I used Kim’s confidence [colour burn @100%, then copied with multiply @21%]

Then I took the paper texture evolve_2 [multiply @100% & copied with colour burn @100%]

I used a mask on the last layer to remove some of the texture from the central rose…

Lots of inspiring photos to be found HERE.

This is the first one I did, probably with colour burn (my fave blend mode…)

This one uses Pole 6 & 7 textures and the last mode was exclusion! Love this one – it’s so dramatic!

These are 2 photos of my white roses, superimposed one over the base layer. The top layer was added with soft light and if I can find the “recipe”, I’ll pop it in here!!

If you click on the link, you can join in with this challenge – Nancy has her textures on Flickr, free to use! She’s also blogged how she created her own stunning photos… Enjoy!

Gizmo does DeNiro! For this week’s Photo Art Friday…

Using Bonnie’s Free to you textures – Faded Fresco (changed the hue/saturation on this one for a better fit), and Sweet Secret – 1 x vivid light (100%) and 1 x soft light (100%). I put Faded Fresco over the top, using hard light blend mode and removed the texture from the birdie!

Giz is a 6 year old Conure African Grey parrot – pure female, with hormones to match. She adores my husband and considers him to be HER husband! She detests me and gets along with our DD. We’ve had her since she was 4 month old and she talks beautifully (mostly!). Of course she swears, sings, imitates the phone’s ring tone, barks like the dogs and can even mimic the gurgling noise of the fridge… She’s a lot of fun and her “comic timing” is impeccable!

She’ll be left to DD in our wills, as she is likely to live some 60-70 years! From beyond the grave, eh?!!

Using Kim’s Embrace texture and a French postcards brush…

Same texture, Victorian frame brush, same vase of white roses… Lots of lovely photo-art to be found here. =D

I opened the Page in Photoshop and then layered my photo behind the frame, having made it a bit smaller first. I copied the flowers to add accents and added the text, matching one of the colours in the striped paper. Quick and neat, eh?

This second Page also started out with a yellow (matching) background, which I changed with hue/saturation, to green… 

I added layers of brushes and resized and duplicated the flower embellies! She does look good behind bars, doesn’t she? Hehehe!!!

To grab yourselves a set of these FREEBIES, click HERE.

To win 2 more sets of FREEBIES, just use them to create your own quick and fun pet portrait and leave a comment on my blog with a link to them/it! This is just for fun and I’ll give the link to the other sets to you if you join in!!

My Memories is such a fun and easy way to scrap(book) or enhance your photos digitally. You can always print them out afterwards… If you decide to buy the My Memories Suite v.3, please take advantage of the special saver code in my sidebar when you go to checkout… STMMMS23226 – get yourself some $$$ off!

We both agree though, that our current, now old, dog, is the best of his breed that we have ever owned. Thor was the largest in his litter, and the last to be sold because of his size. We called him Thor, after the Norse God of Thunder, because of the size of his paws. He was an armful at only 10 weeks old when we bought him.

We met his parents – mother a long-haired, black and tan GSD – and his father was a pure white GSD. Thor has an undercoat of pure white hair in places and he has the sweetest nature, plus the loudest, most aggressive bark! He even has a night-time bark – more like the baying of a bloodhound…

He does have the heart of a cowardly lion – hates thunderstorms, wind howling down the chimney, loud noises in general and he weighs around 80lbs! Despite all that, when he passes, he’ll be sorely missed and fondly remembered.

This is one of my fave photos from 2011, edited as follows (in an effort to hide the washing machine and the ugly kitchen floor!!):

• Bonnie’s intensify – colour dodge @100%; multiply @100% with a mask for himself…
• Blue me away – hue changed to yellows – soft light @100%
• Old linen skirt – overlay (100%) twice; then soft light @100%
• Added a layer for the disc brush and wrote directly onto that.

For PAF now we’re starting again…