Beyond Layers: Day 24
My darling daughter Gabriella took this shot of me… does that make it a self-portrait if I don’t actually take it myself? Kim (my Beyond Layers instructor) challenged us to take our self-portrait; be in front of the lens instead of behind it. So I thought I’d be a little playful and hide behind some delightful tiger lilies and have my little Gabbatron shoot me with my Nikon. (I used MCP’s Vintage Throwback action, btw.)
I loved this little guy. He was named Cougar after me (story for another day)… and left this earth after six short months. He was tiny, but he filled our hearts. I created this image this last weekend, but am posting it late as I forgot all about it when Texture Tuesday opened for me at 22:00 hours last night. I used Kim Klassen’s Little Things texture (kinda fitting, don’tcha think?), and performed the MCP action Pecan Pie as well as my favorite Snap, Crackle, Pop actions from MCP as well.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time this week to create the picture I’d wanted to for Texture Tuesday’s “Soft” theme. So I pulled this rose out of my stash, and it actually turned out pretty good. I went hunting for quotes, and found this one by Tupac Shakur. Man that guy had so many awesome quotes and lyrics. I’ve used so many of them in my art. I’m exhausted, so here’s the main scoop. I basically used my favorite Snap, Crackle, Pop actions by MCP. Then I created an adjustment layer to really bring out the white in the rose. Of course, I had to add a curves adjustment layer. A must whenever I process any of my photos. I then added Kim Klassen’s “ArtJoy” texture and surprisingly used the Color Dodge blend mode at 25% opacity. I know, the Color Dodge blending mode? Crazy. I also masked out the rose itself and deleted the texture from the rose altogether. And with that, I’m ready to pass out. Night all!
Photo taken in 2008 at the Botanical Gardens in Kauai. I added a black & white adjustments layer, & dropped the opacity to about 80%, then masked the flower color back in. Textures used: “the veil” and “flourish” by Kim Klassen.
