Poppy White - and my tools for Digital Image editing!

Howdy and Welcome,

"'Poppy White's Passport to Europe - to sing bass in the new opera 'Porgy and Bess'"
Mixed media - Collage of inherited antique objects, Digital Montage
c mlh1 2009 - 2010

 

Would you be interested in the tools I use to accomplish my digital artwork? The following software products are in my digital toolbox. And also listed is my quick review of each product. These are loaded on the desktop PC I use in my upstairs 'office'. The top 2 are my most often used Faves, and these 2 are also loaded on my amateur photographer hubby's laptop PC in our living room. We both share the laptop for scanning:

MY DIGITAL TOOLBOX 

1. - Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) - opens slowly, huge learning curve, need to play with this almost daily - it has so much stuff to learn
2. - Microsoft Digital Image Suite Anniversary Edition Editor (DIE) - easy, very intuitive
3. - Corel Painter Essentials - easy borders
4. - HP Photosmart Essential - I prefer the old version for it's canned collage templates
5. - Microsoft Image Composer - easy effects but rarely use, limited functions
6. - Microsoft Paint - opens fast for quick check of images
7. - Microsoft Publisher - used for it's word art
8. - Microsoft Word - easy text
9. - Creating Keepsakes Creative clips and fonts for boys - rarely used, needs more variety
10. - Creating Keepsakes Digital Quick Pages by Ali Edwards - never used, but I want to!

COMING SOON

• I expect to be using my Wacom tablet and pen soon - I've only had them connected on the desktop for 4 years! :-) Isn't it about time I use them?!!!

WISH LIST SOFTWARE

• Would love to get 3D Studio Max, Bryce, Adobe Illustrator and Maya, too!

MORE ABOUT POPPY WHITE

 

What do you think of this image of my maternal grandfather, Lewis Victor White? My family all called him 'Poppy'. He was an English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools for over 20 years. 'By night' he and my grandmother were opera singers! He sang bass, she sang soprano. I inherited one of the record albums that he made - although I've never tried to play it...He sang in the opera 'Porgy and Bess' in NY and Europe when it first opened!!! Also he sang on WGN radio and in the chorus at the Civic Opera House here in Chicago! He sang in several languages. The first year I went to college at IIT was when he passed away. I remember him as a very quiet, gentle man with a good sense of humor. Just recenly I found out that he was an adventurer! Before the Great Depression, Poppy White 'rode the rails' for the experience.

 

HOW DID I DO IT?

 

This image combines scans of his passport, his record album, one of my original collages and some vintage advertising. I used transparencies, layers, erasing and gradients back and forth between Adobe PSE, MS Publisher and Microsoft DIE.

 

COMMENTS WELCOME!

I'd love your comments about this post - or any other post on my blog.

 

CHECKOUT MY GIVE-A-WAY

Also, I'm hosting a giveaway on my blog - to celebrate my 1st year blogoversary - yippee! If you are a mixed media artist or collage artist you don't want to miss this give-a-way! Ends Nov 27, 2010.

 

Thanks for stopping by - would love for you to come back for a visit - often!

Peace,
LuLu
Celebrating my 1st year Blogoversary with a give-a-way!
http://www.lulu-too-beaucoup.blogspot.com/2010/10/giveaway-giveaway-lulus-1st.html

Mina - Waiting

Please click image to enlarge - the detail is luscious!
"Waiting for my Ship to Come In - Mina"

Digital Collage for Challenge

3.5" x 5"

Howdy and Welcome,

My entry for a challenge from Art Creations Friday.

This image was created using Microsoft Digital Image Editor, PSE (Photoshop Elements), masking, layers, gradients, transparencies. 5 original photos and scans + the most lovely lady, whom I named, 'Mina' (component provided from challenge). Approx 2 hours.

Seems like Mina is a daydreamer, waiting for her ship to arrive from far off ports - loaded with exotic spices, luxurious textiles of silks and brocades, and ancient caskets overflowing with jewels the colors of the rainbow.

What do you think of the colors? Doesn't she have the most intriguing eyes?

Here's an overview of how I created 'Mina'.

Original image - 1 (from challenge)

 masking selected using 'magic wand'

Layers added of my original artwork into selected areas and background, with many levels of transparency

c copyright 2010 mlh1

Then I added a found frame, more backgrounds of found ephemera, added gradients and more levels of tranparencies. Final image ready for text

Thanks for stopping by - and don't forget to comment.

Peace,

LuLu