Learning Photoshop {Again} #Touch

Upgraded the iPhone from PS-Express to the new PS-Touch App that was initially designed for iPad technology. Why?? Because it's Adobe!!

I thought it would be straight forward and me knowing PS like I do was not expecting having to look up tutorials. Surprise!! This old dog needs to know a few new tricks! And which icons represent my beloved methods of magic that I like to utilize on my art.

Yippee for online tutorials!

Creative Juices Flowing....

while researching for a design project and I found these words (rules) of creativity from:

John C Jay,

Executive Creative Director of Wieden + Kennedy.

He hits the nail right on the head. But... if'n one is a digital designer- then how do you step away from the computer??

But- these words needed to be on a piece somehow.

So... they are now.

And since I've gotten that outta my system- I will leave my iMac and run next door to the Art Haus with Miss Elsie and make something non-digital and messy.

Good Day... Better Design!

In prepping for the debut of my expedition into teaching art- I discover (once again like all the great masters) that an artist will never completely finish a design or lay-out.

There's ALWAYS something that can be

• tweaked,
• enhanced
• or omitted

to the Nth degree.

While the differences are subtle- they ARE what makes for

GOOD DESIGN!

In any piece of art (be it digital or traditional mediums) judicious use of

• space,
• color,
• imagery
• and text

can make all the difference and ultimately make or break the composition.

Thus... here's one of the early versions of the flyer and I plan on using this as a visual illustration for class participants.

Notice the word "Today". While I've mimicked the font-typeface of the word "Learn" it's not sending a commanding tone to the word and giving it the emphasis it needs to be a directive. I still have a slight misgiving about the choice of capitalizing only the first letter of the word and using lower case for the rest but since the word "Photoshop" needs to be all caps as a nod to the actual packaging of the software- it gets sort of lost when I do that. So- I increased the orange tones on the brushwork color underneath the word to make it stand out a little more.

In both versions I kept my name and the name of my Design Studio in the same font but altered the lines that they appear on and the spacing of the layer shadow to "unmuddy" the appearance and changed the inner glow to a favorite reddish-magenta color on my name only. The word "Instructor" is changed from the Chopin typeface to the more formal Georgia font because use of the more scroll"y" font is saved for just the more idealistic portion of the message. In other words the terms "Learn" and my name(s) are therefore showy but not the main emphasis.

Too the layer shadow-work on the text containing the WWHW info is spread wider and the inner glow of the letter work is increased to make it pop from the green paint spills underneath (in the lower right hand corner).

All this critique and dissecting of design is part and parcel of what I'll be touching on in the 6 week workshop. Spaces are limited- sign up now by calling Stephanie Smith at the SmithZonian Art Center, 612 Maine Street; 870.403.6936. Classes are on Wednesdays 11A-12:30P, March 30th-May4th, 2011.

Snowflake inspiration

Yes... it's winter precipitating again here in the foothills of the snOzark mountains. We're not accustomed to seeing quite this much snowfall but it does the creative juices good!

I revived an old illustrator piece I'd done for Mae a year or so ago... and it just makes me so happy to look at! Especially since Katrina-cat, our long-lost Siamese, has come home after nearly ten months. She's been sitting here happily in my lap as I work and we are cozy while watching another six inches pile up on the banks of Lake Barto.

The only thing could make this more purrfect? If our boys were home and we were drinking hot chocolate...

My artwork has gone international

Picked up sales off of CafePress and they want some more design work!

Therefore.... I'm not going to be blogging or checking internet accounts regularly. If you have an immediate need to reach me- please call. WARNING: Verizon/Altell service is still not delivering messages with any reliability (voice or text) so if you've not heard from me and are needing a response, call again.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

You know... sometimes I have these images in the files that don't really fit into any one category? Too random. Too ornate. Too whatever. They just sort of whisper at me everytime I'm shuffling through. I should start a flotsam jetsam file!

For some crazy reason- a couple demanded attention last night.

Thus was born: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."



And, today- was a really GREAT mail day!! I won, I won!! A box full of inspiration. ITALIAN flavored inspiration as well as rubber stamps- YES!!! And, a magazine chock full of altered images, woohoo!! Good thing I was a domestic diva yesterday and cooked roast, potatoes and "the best gravy I ever cooked in my entire life" as well as banana pudding! Byron saw that box of art supplies and just knew I was "out to lunch" for the rest of the weekend. HA!

Mosaic Meme and Blog Smog

All the artistic blogs I've been reading lately are so very inspirational that my head just spins with colors and images. The definition I came up with for this: Blog Smog.... but, it's a oh-so-much better than the traditional kind of smog one thinks of-- this is creative and innovative. A fun kind of brain pollution!! Maybe my coined phrase of blog-smog will be the next meme!! haha!

So... just what is a meme??

Meme:

Obscure Words: [fr. Gk mimema; shortening of mimeme]
an idea which spreads

According to Wikipedia: A meme (pronounced /miːm/) consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, gestures, practices, fashions, habits, songs, and dances. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus.

Richard Dawkins coined the word "meme" as a neologism [new word] in his book The Selfish Gene (1976) to describe how one might extend evolutionary principles to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. He gave as examples melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious belief, clothing/fashion, and the technology of building arches).

Me: I think ear-worms and trends are viral! How many times have you heard a snippit of a melody and hummed it for the rest of the dadgum day?? Or, saw a particularly fetching image in a magazine that inspired art for days to come?

Anywhoozies.... friend, Kellie, saw her friend, Ginger's blog and this is where I caught the bug. Apparently it's yet another blogger trend. Kinda fun. Tried it. LIked it. Glad I did it once. You should, too.

Without further ado-- here's my finished mosaic. Explanation and directions following.

• Sarah
• Quiche
• 1980
• Orange
• Colin Firth
• Water
• Italy
• Chocolate
• Artist
• Happy memories
• Flourish
• Cats


Here are the details just in case you'd like to join in.

~Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

~Using only the first page of search results, pick an image.

~Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s mosaic maker or this one from Photo Fun Lab.

~Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.

~The Questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What year did you graduate high school? or name of HS.

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One Word to describe you.

12. Your flickr name. (kid version: favorite animal?)

Now... go forth. Surf. Collect inspiration. Take the Mosaic Meme Challenge and LINK it to my post here!!