Retro

For the third exercise we played with changing the basic colors of the photo--red, green and blue.  And then we added a solid color over the top and blended that in.  These birds are probably wondering what happened to them.  Again, it was a photo of a downtown sculpture.  I've included the original photo so you can see the difference.  Hmmmm; maybe an emphasis of blue would have been a cool effect.

A Return to Vintage

We are an interesting species.  We welcomed technology to improve photos and we are pleased as punch with wonderful quality, great sharpness and vivid color.  And then the trend is a return to the vintage look.  My second photo blending lesson was just that.  I think I would like a bit more sepia color in my final photo but it's a learning process and I'll try the process again using a different photo.  The photo was a downtown sculpture.  I don't know if she liked returning to the 40's but it was an interesting experiment.

Moody

I'm taking another online class for photo blending.  This class is different from the first one in that it seems to be more in the line of creating mood and adding/changing color.  This was from the first lesson and I thought the end result was different that what I would normally do.  I'll also post the original photo so you can see the difference.  It was a gray sort of a day and that's the type of photo the instructor suggested works best with her techniques.  I've several more lessons to work through.  Stay tuned.

My Favorite

I tried another photo-sketch-painting and think this is my favorite so far.  Maybe the subject matter is better or maybe I have the hang of it.  May use this one on a scrapbook page.

Photo to Painting - Second Attempt

I again tried the technique for turning a photo into a sketch and then a painting.  I thought it was more successful than the attempt I posted before but think it would look better with the addition of blue sky.  I could have put some in the original photo but it was a gray day and I decided to keep it that way.  Maybe a different image would have worked better--one with fewer drawing lines.  Stay tuned for (hopefully) more progress.

Art Everywhere

Not all of the art on Main Street is on the corners or even on the street.  This clever and attractive piece is on display at La Rouge, a French restaurant.  You have to look high to see it as it is sits above the doorway and above the name of the restaurant.  I can't say that I will miss La Rouge because I've never eaten there.  Nor do I have any other experience with the restaurant except that I've heard the food is good.  It just hasn't drawn me in as did the now closed Dolce Vita and still open Bistro Italiano.  Guess I'm an Italian at heart.  It's in my blood, after all.

Bistro Italiano

Here's another item from my list of things I will miss after we move.  It's the Bistro Italiano on Main Street in Grand Junction and the food is among the best I've eaten.  It doesn't hurt that the recipes go back to Valle de Aosta in Northern Italy where my paternal grandparents were raised.  And the fact that we've celebrated there with local cousins has created fond memories, too.  I can see that I'll need to come back if only to visit my favorites.