Gangster Life

The challenge for Art On the Darkside this week is Gangsters.  I've been working on this for a couple of days and couldn't quite get it to pop for me.  But I had a blast trying out different things for this..and finally decided to go with this one. 

I love this art on the darkside stuff, so thanks Vron and June for the challenge. :-)

The Seagull for Artarazzi

Vron at Artarazzi was was kind enough to ask me to be a guest designer for the challenge this week.  I chose this picture of a seagull that I took last year at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. I was snapping pictures like crazy hoping to get one like this that was clean and focused...and that's what I got..just one really good one. :-)  This is the first piece I made using the seagull from the above picture. I was going for a misty, kind of soulful atmosphere in this one:

I'm looking forward to seeing what others do with it.  I love seeing all the different and creative pieces that each person makes from one image.  The talent that is displayed by everyone in these challenges is amazing, and I think seeing the difference that develops from each artist's viewpoint of the image helps us all in our own thought process and creativity.

Thank you Vron, for inviting me to be a guest designer this week.  I hope everyone enjoys working with this seagull.

The Bench

This wonderful, eerie background with an empty bench is for the challenge from Art On The Darkside.  I thought it was a good place to put a startled and scared young woman with the shadow of a man (?) coming up behind her.   What had her thoughts been before this happened and why was she in this dark place alone? A mystery to be solved!  I love a good mystery. :-)

Thanks for a great background to work with, and thanks for looking. 

Silvinaqua

What a fun challenge from SoArtful this week.  We had to design a book cover using a title that June gave us which is "Silvinaqua, Queen of the Sea".  I had a blast with this..been playing with it all morning (so much for work!)  

The book cover is from Stock.xchng, and I added texture, changed the color and made it a little older;  the picture of the sea and rocks is one of mine of the California coast, and the other images are bits and pieces of PSP tubes from one of the groups that I belong to. A lot of layers, blend modes and fun. :-)  

Thanks so much June for a great challenge..and thanks for looking.

Dark Kiss

Here is my take on the new challenge for Art on the Darkside.  The subject is Kiss this week, and I did use the  lip image they provided..you must be careful who kisses you. :-)  

Thanks Vron and June for another great challenge.

Butterflies & Daisies

Here is my entry for the Artarazzi challenge.  Thanks for the great image to play with. :-) 

Beautiful Angel

Another gorgeous background for the challenge from Art Creations Friday to play with this week.  Thanks for the fun and thanks for looking. :-)

Ginger Rogers

The challenge from Art Freebies was a picture of Ginger Rogers..and this is what I did with it. I used a mask from CreaBarbouille  for the film reel etc; and was included in one of her tutorials for Paint Shop Pro.  I loved the mask and used it on this image. She also has some tutorials for Photoshop, so check it out.  She does great work.

Thanks, June..it was fun to play with. :-)

Night at the Cemetery

The portal into an old cemetery where they never rest.  Some actually get outside and roam for the night, some stay inside and watch what's going on and  some restless souls may be trying to get into this cemetery or just wreak havoc in the neighborhood. :-)

Vron has started up the Art on the Darkside challenges again until June is able to get back to them. Thank you, Vron!  The challenge this week is the cross, and this is the way I ended up interpreting this challenge.  This beautiful background is from Shabby Cottage Studio.  It is called Altered Portals and I had to play with one of the portals. :-) Gail's collage sheets are beautiful.

Echos

This is my entry for the Mind Wide Open challenge this month.  I had a lot of fun playing with this image, and the beautiful texture is from Flickr Photo Sharing.  I used the image and brushes for this one, along with this lovely background/texture from Flickr.  The voting starts March 8th, so hop on over to Mind Wide Open take a look at the beautiful entries and vote for your favorite.  Thanks for looking.

Breaking Free

The challenge from Artarazzi this week is Surrealism.  I had not done anything in that form before, so this was a fun project to try.  I googled images for ideas and and ended up doing two images for this.  This is my 2nd try at Surrealism.  As soon as I saw the broken light bulb, from Dreamstime I knew what I wanted to do with it.  The woman is from Mariel Graphic Tubes.  I had a lot of fun with this..thanks for the challenge. 

Yesterday

This lovely victorian girl was the challenge for Art Creations Friday this week.   I decided to do a digital scrap page for her as my mind just wasn't going anywhere else. :-)  The  scrap kit is from Melissa at Sentimental Style.  She used to have a Yahoo Group where she shared her lovely work, but closed it last January. The original mat with the flowers was from Brooke Kroeger Designs but I changed the original picture,  along with one of the bows. It was fun to put together.  

Coffee to go with the cake :-)

To go with the cake here is some coffee.  Pull up a chair, relax and have a cup of coffee.  This was actually done a couple of years ago during a blend class I was taking, but the coffee is fresh! :-) This has some chocolate color, so I'm adding it to SoArtful Challenges so we can have some with the cake. :-)  

Chocolate Cake

The theme from SoArtful Challenges this week is Chocolate.  So I decided to do this recipe card for a Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake.  I love this cake, and have fond memories of having it as a little girl. I haven't made it in years, and couldn't find my recipe passed down to me, (but I'm still looking) so this is one from All Recipes.   Thanks for looking. Now I have to get some coffee to go with this cake! :-)

Me, Myself & I

The challenge from Artarazzi was Me, Myself and I.  I had fun with this one;  showing some of my favorite things.  The picture of me is definately "photoshopped". :-)  The scrap kit is from Outlawsdesign  Thanks for looking.

Underwater Fantasy

Art Creations Friday gave us a beautiful background for our challenge this week.  It is so beautiful that I had to let most of it show through..just couldn't cover it up! :-) My first thought when I saw it was water..so here is my response to the challenge.  Thanks for looking.

Dark Carousel

Our challenge this week for Art on the Darkside is the Carousel. I love carousels, and enjoy taking my grandson on them, so this was not easy for me. LOL I persevered, and this is what I came up with. I was making backgrounds, decided this one was a keeper and then went from there for this image. I'm not sure I like it, but here it is. :-) Thanks again for a wonderful challenge.

Breaking Free

The challenge from SoArtful this week was to take the provided picture of this unicorn (Click on the link to see the original picture.)  and make him more exciting, add some magic to his world.  I changed his color and let him break free of all worldly constraints. :-)  A great challenge, June..thank you!

Time out for Tea

This is my take on the challenge from Art Creations Friday.   They gave us a lovely picture to use to make our own artwork from.  The white paper background is digitally "handmade" paper, accents and writing are brushes, and the flowers are a lovely tube.  Thanks for looking.

Night Life

The theme for the Art on the Darkside challenge this week is shadows. My mind went spinning with all the possibilities for that..actual shadows and how they can change a piece of art, or the more subliminal meanings...like this one,  with both.  There is so much that could be done with that one little word...the possiblities are endless.

Night life can have all kinds of shadows..some glamorous and fun; and then the darker shadows that night life in the city can bring.  With this piece you get to pick your own shadows..... :-)

Thanks June for another great challenge!