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Quiet Saturday
100 Helpful Photography Tips
A reminder to myself: Just found a good little site: http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/round-ups/100-helpful-photography-tutorials-for-beginners-and-professionals/
Lots of hints and tips. I found it while reviewing some excellent Photoshop work by Serena Malyon, a third-year art student. She used Photoshop to change the light and focus of some of Van Gogh's better known art pieces. Really brings a different perspective to photography software and potential oil painting from the resulting "created images". Check out her work at this location: http://mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/van-goghs-paintings-get
Over 65 !!!!!!!!
Well, it finally happened . . . .I got older. Time to put away the toys. Oh, but why? Actually I am quite happy. My dad did not make it to 65. And I did. Perhaps there is a reversal in the gene degradation in my family. I have yet to give myself a special birthday gift. Lord, I deserve it, or so I say. One thing I did and it will make me a much healthier person. I joined Stevie's Body Shop. After only a few weeks, a lot of the initial pain has gone away. I have reduced two belt holes. (looking for the old hole puncher now. If not, pants on the ground!!! It is now becoming a habit to get to the gym at 5:30 PM on M,W,F to work out for an hour and a half. And my M,W,F 8:15 AM morning's begin by attending a one hour brain training class at Still Hopes. I am taking the class because my high blood pressure continues to give me a problem. It seems that I too frequently just do not remember things. The long term memory is great. The short term memory is good too. It is that stuff in the middle that puzzles me. Maybe extra exercise will sweat the loose matter away. If not and you see me wandering around, just point me towards Cayce. I need the walking exercise anyway.
For those who have seen my self portrait, I have put two small coats of varnish on the painting. I look much better with a deep shine. Need to think about how many coats of varnish I need. If only Rembrandt could advise me.
Ok folks. Time to put down the electric pencil and make a muscle. Till next time!
Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Adobe, and Henry
What a life. No wonder I do not have time to paint. I seem to not have enough time to even procrastinate!! Over the summer, I established a Flickr account to store all the many photos that I do not have time to take. And a Facebook account that rapidly filled with Farmville crap. Unbelievable. There is certainly no time to wade through make-believe-land. Then I developed a strong Twitter account. Must I say that there is no way to keep up with the frequent postings of 200 Tweeting people.
What is a guy to do? Here it is the 1st of September (actually the last day in August). My birthday is just a few days away. And I have not decided which Hooters I will visit to celebrate. Actually, I thought about skipping Hooters and just buy a really big chocolate cake to take to my new workout sweat shop. (Stevie's Body Shop --- Sounds like a place to get your fender repaired!!) That will go over big!!
I did buy a new iPad. What a delightful little guy. (needs a name) The battery keeps working all day and into the evening. And I invested in a new monster PC from BOXX to give me the platform to create stronger videos and work on my photography. The workhorse software on this machine is Adobe Master Suit, Camtasia, and Corel Painter. I attached a 30 inch HP monitor and a Wacom Cintiq tablet display. (A dual display system is an ideal artist's platform.) If my dwindling time keeps shrinking at its current pace, I will need to to invest in a large dust cover for the system. The good thing is that due to its processing power and the heat it gives off, I can keep my feet warm on a cold winter day.
My current art project is to seal my award winning self portrait. The portrait was done in egg tempera. I am using a spray Damar varnish for the first cover coat. Then I will use a soft brush and a small jar of fresh Damar, accompanied by a shot of Henry McKenna bourbon. (ten year old single barrel.) If you have seen my old face or my self portrait, then you will appreciate the need for a shot or two of Henry. At this very moment, I am testing the shot glass with some Henry. I recently purchased the shot glass at an antique shop. It has colors that match the color of Henry. (very artistic!!) Here's to ya'.
Please, appreciate the moment and share it with a new friend. (The old friends die much too soon!)
Rubber Mulch
I purchased 20 stepper stones (somewhat oval shape) from Lowes. They cost much more than I wanted to originally pay. But I performed a simple analysis before I put the cheaper product on the cart. If the more costly item cost $1 more per stone, it would mean that I would be saving $20 by purchasing the cheaper product. Seveal month from now, I would look at the cheaper stone and say, "If I had only spent $20 more, I would be much happier with my walkway." So . . . . my walkway loooks great! Now and for months to come.
This week I placed each stone with artistic care, surrounded the entire path (and between stones) with a new dark brown rubber mulch. At the entry to the greenhouse, I placed pieces of slate from an old pool table and filled the spaces with rubber mulch. The slate covers an area about 6 feet by 6 feet. The dark mulch really adds a level of quality and character to my work area.
I also expanded my raised bed vegetable garden. Added 18 square feet of planting area. This raised garden is one concrete block deep (8 inches). The top edge of the concrete blocks is covered with 2 x 8 x 16 inch cap stones. I also emptied 10 bags of cypress mulch all around the raised bed. It covers the landscape fabric that I installed last year. Even if my tomatoes do not grow well, they will have an attractive home to grow in.
This morning, I went to the flower and vegetable show at the farmer's market. Took my green wagon and straw hat. Loaded my wagon with new veggies. The raised bed will make a nice home for those little guys. Garden Dad willl take photos for a subsequent article.
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