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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Searching, Always Searching.....

peacescan2
They can take this trendy house and put it where the sun don't shine..lol. I just can't give up
on my little series, not yet. I am expanding on my Carolina Blue series which all sold out except for my large, 24 x 48 piece (which is available to see at Swank Hand Made Market in Southern Pines, NC) I don't think they have a website but if you are ever in the area, be sure to stop by the Belvedere Plaza and have a look around at this shop as well as the handful of other super cool locally owned shops there!

serenityscan2
Anyway, here are two more 4 x 6 pieces now available in my Etsy shop.
"Serenity" and "Peace"
I think that those are two things I constantly am seeking. On the outside, I'm a very calm, cool, and collected person. But, on the inside...my mind is constantly racing, worrying, jumping from one thing to the next, thinking ahead, thinking 'behind', good things, bad things, anyway....I constantly need to find that place that gives me a sense of peace and a place of calmness.
peaceandserenity2
My day job does attribute to my highs and lows. I've spent many years as a manager and the stress of that position can be overwhelming at times. Especially this year. Especially working in the financial industry. Being needed by so many people every day can drain one. I'm ready to move on, but at the same time not ready if that makes sense. I'm ready to manage myself, and move in a direction that will give me peace and serenity. I suppose the grass is always greener. If I did move on, my worries and anxieties would be transcended in a new direction. However, life is too short not to chase after your dreams, and so to that, I say if this is my dream, then I need to find a way to make it happen.
snowonmyhair
On to my photo experiments......now, I've been playing around with photo shop these last two weeks, but don't underestimate the power of the easy to use and FREE program, Picasa (3). I used that to change the look, crop and edit a few self taken portraits. This first one I took yesterday after going out in the snow...yes we had snow yesterday in NC!!!! I just simply cropped it, and tuned it up a bit by softening the color, not quite bw but moving towards a soft contrast with a yellowish hue.
blurredme
When I first uploaded this pic, I said...'crap' it's all blurry. I won't be able to do anything with this picture. Ha. Well, gotta love black and white with tint.
charcoallikeme
Looky here, I made this more charcoally looking and warmified it. Cool, huh.
bwcropped
On to just a regular bw, I look younger in BW..lol..going forward I demand all photos of me be in BW. Kinda timeless in a way.
browneyedsusans5_edited-2
Lastly, I did do this one in photoshop. I took a color picture of some lovely brown eyed susans and turned it black and white, sharpened it. Then added a layer of soft yellow. Next, I added a cool course grain onto it, merged the layers, then finished with another layer of charcoal gray to add a bit of shadow.

So much you can do with one picture. You could literally take a few photos and turn them into a body of work that is in the hundreds, all fascinating in and of themselves.

You can see more of my pics on flickr.
Go ahead and play with your photo program, even if you don't have photoshop--you can download Picasa and do NUMEROUS things...they even added the ability to put text on the picture (that's how I did my blog banner the last couple of months). I double dog dare ya!

**Anyone on face book? Join my art business page HERE and become a fan! I hope to offer specials in the future to my followers, so definitely join in!

9 comments :

risa said...

Beautiful work...the paintings and photo work...there seems to be endless ways to play with our photos...exhausting and fun at the same time.

Cathie said...

yes, yes..... black and white is certainly MY color! Beautiful photos Jodi.

pinkglitterfae said...

Jodi you can get lost in the photoshop programs, lol! Are you using a book or just experimenting? I have it, tried to do some stuff with it and just got overwhelmed. I think I need the dummies guide to photoshop :-)
It sounds like you are thinking of making art your full time job. That is such a scary step, you lose security, but really, these days there is no such thing as a secure job. And life is too short to be spending so much time stressed, in a job you have outgrown. Keep working at your craft, and you never know what is coming your way :-D

Jennifer Williams said...

Your "stick it" comment cracked me up! Good for you not letting them get you down.

Penny L Weaver said...

Onward and upward, girlie! Great attitude, great work and super photos! Is there anything you can't do? *me thinks NOT!*

Artsnark said...

Your enthusiasm & art always inspires :D

Margaret said...

Thanks so much for your comments Jodi, fab to have landed on your Blog! especially as I'd only managed to find your Etsy store via CPS.
v. sweet of you to offer the wood pieces but I'm a gal with a mission to check out the local DIY shop!
Your article was so inspiring and I really had one of those 'have to do this now' moments as the idea leapt off the page at me! :)M

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the Photoshop tips. I'm always looking for interesting things to do in that application.

Your blue series is lovely. (You're so talented!) I can't tell you how often I look at the piece you made for me. I enjoy it every day.

Teresa aka Tess said...

Well hon, If your Carolina Blues series sold out then you must be finding a niche for them. Who cares if they are trendy, people like trendy things, it's a fact. I love your self portraits. I agree b/w and sepia photos do tend to make one look yurger. But hah, you look great for 40 sweetie, gees to think I'm almost 9 years older, ahhh. I use Picasa also and love it. I've been playing a bit more with PSElements too. altered a photo of my niece. Shes' on my blog. Enjoy your day and think weekend, weekend, weekend, It's Friday!