'Forest of Middle Earth' - Find the Fish!

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome,

How many fish can you find?

'Few are found in the far flung Forest of Middle Earth...'

Collage and Digital montage of

original drawing and original background -

layers and transparencies using MS Digital Image Editor

M.L. Haynes   c 2011

Would love to see your comments about this little fantasy piece I just whipped up from two pieces of my original artwork.

Thanks for stopping by - and please stay tuned for my 100th post giveaway - coming soon!

Peace,

LuLu

List It Tuesday - The Cages and Roadtrip Ideas!

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

'The Cage and Roadtrip Ideas'

digital collage - approx .30 minutes

Howdy and welcome,

This week for List It Tuesday, I layered one of my practice sketches of bird cages with my 2 lists of improvements hubby and I compiled for next year's NY roadtrip. Used layers, effects, transparencies and inversions in Adobe PSE (Photoshop Elements) and MS DIE (Digital Image Editor). 

I just love the look of handwriting, art lettering and Leonardo Da Vinci's sketchbooks. I'm going for texture - not necessarily legibility. Just to try something different. What do you think? Pretty wild, eh? Would love your comments on this one!

Thanks for stopping by to visit - and don't forget to chekout my give-a-way!

Peace,
LuLu

'Tonight' poem excerpt

Howdy and Welcome!

Here are closeups from some pages from my 'Art Journal #2 Never Give Up - Never Surrender!'.

Enjoy!

Closeups of pages from Art Journal #2 -

 'Never Give Up - Never surrender!'

The italics calligraphy text is an excerpt from 'Tonight', one of my original published poems.

Ingredients: each page of sketch paper covered in 2"wide masking tape both sides, white gesso, tinted gessos, various paints, mediums, techniques, watercolor, acrylic, pens, mesh tape (from hardware store), inks, ZIG calligrapy marker, gel pens, glitter, 14k gold paint.

What do you think of thses closeups? I love the abract quality of these pages. I specifically tried to turn off the analytical side of my brain and let the artwork create it self with little thought or design.

What do you think of the textures, and various layers peeking in and out?

The title of this journal 'Never give up, never surrender!' is a motto from the sci-fi movie 'GALAXY QUEST' with Tim Allen!

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment if you have a moment or 2 - and visit again soon!

Peace,

LuLu

'Never give up - Never surrender!' Art Journal #2 - with ribbon fringes and texture!

Howdy and Welcome!

I'm back for a hot minute...
Been feverishly working on pieces for my September 2010 art show and haven't posted for a while.

Here are some pix of my first art journal. Started it a year ago in July 2009. It contains a mish-mash of pages. Tests of paints and image transfers, calligraphy, zendoodles, gel pens, Sharpie paint pens - just a lot of different things. The subsequent journals I've started have themes so I can focus on specific processes.

For example, I now have another  moleskine journal dedicated exclusviely to practicing my calligraphy. I love, love, love calligraphy - ever since I took penmanship class in grammar school, I've enjoyed writing, pens and stationery. I'm one of those throwbacks who enjoys writing long 10 page letters with a fountain pen and sending them off to friends in the post. Must be the poet in me!

Closeup of cover of journal #2.

Ingredients: white gesso, tinted gesso, gold and other colors of acrylic dabbers applied via monoprint from deli wrap paper, Golden fluid acrylic (Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold), italics calligraphy font using purple ZIG calligrapy pen,  Ranger Distress Crackle 'Clear Rock Candy', various acrylic washes, diluted Liquitex matte medium between layers, diluted Modge Podge gloss to seal.

Cover of journal #2

Art Journal #2 - with ribbon fringes and texture!
Photo showing ribbons on coil binding of journal #2.

Really had fun adding the ribbons. Up until now, didn't think I was a ribbon lover - but they have grown on me.

Technique: cut ribbons in advance 6"-10". Tied ribbons mixing colors randomly. Fyi, I no longer keep ribbons on spools. While watching TV, I unravel the spools, cut to shorter strips and affix them to those little plastic ribbon cards. Spools take up too much space in my studio and crop bags...

What do you think of this cover. Aren't the textures yummy? That clear Rock Candy is an incredible crackle product. Have you ever used clear Rock Candy crackle paint?

Thanks for visiting - please leave a comment and stop by again soon!

Peace,
LuLu

So Artful Challenge - Bouquet

'Les Fleurs - Bouquet'

Digital image

7" x 7"

approx. 20 mins

Here's my entry for a So Artful Challenge for Bouquet. My original photo that I'd played with in Photoshop (PSE) a few months back. Then I added some filters, gradients edges and transparent layers in MS Digital Image Editor (DIE).

This image was quick to make using the default edges in DIE on my flower photo.

What do you think of this one? Email me here

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

Peace,

LuLu

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

Doodle-bugs

Here is a zentangle I drew in February - using a Sakura Pigma Micron pen set in Sepia. I drew and painted the color version first. Then scanned it. I used Photoshop to remove color resulting in black and white version. Please leave a comment, and come back to visit often!

'We're not in Kansas anymore' - 3" x 5"

Ingredients: ink, watercolor crayon, on watercolor paper

'Zetti-tangle'

Digital scan: Adobe Photoshop