On the Road to Callaway Gardens

Ok, well, some painted photos turn out better then others. For some reason this one doesn't send me ...and I think that the more detail I have the more tendency I have to paint it exact and actually I am trying to alter it as I paint. I really don't know what I am doing but when I find out I will let you know. I will post a few of these I have been working on. Some are better than others but they are all fun to do.

This scene is very dear to me. It is on the same road as the Crossroads Store going to Callaway Gardens and I went by it almost everyday because I used to ride horses out that way when I was younger. I use to ride Hunter Seat, fox hunt and jump over very high jumps. We rode these fabulous Connemara Ponies that would jump over the moon if you let them. They were beautiful horses, not really ponies, some dappled, some mulitcolored---oh, what fun I had back then out in the open field and in the ring, carefree and feeling powerful on top of these beautiful horses. Ok, I am back to earth now...thanks for letting me daydream and reminisce out loud...maybe someday I will see my "Rosie,"again, the wonderful horse that I trained when I was 15.  

It's a beautiful GARDEN-in the journal

When I grew up in West Point, Georgia, Callaway Gardens was only 25 minutes away and I grew up on that "beach" watching my older brother be the clown in the ski show. He was very good back then! And as I grew older I learned to appreciate the gardens and went there often. This is from my last trip before I sold the house to my nephew and knew that my travels to this place would be very few and far between--or if ever again. I am not sure if this picture is right side up or not but it doesn't really matter. They were the most beautiful Irises growing out from a rock wall with a waterfall. In Photoshop I added poster edges filter and kicked the hue and saturation way up. It just happened to blend with this watercolor page that I had done so !voila!...easy page...done!

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PS I was informed that these are Orchids. I love flowers but I'm not good at identifying them!

Lazertran fun

I used Lazertran  Inkjet and some Kim Klassen textures for my original photograph and printed it on Lazertran. It really works. This is on an Ampersand panel 5x7. This is a picture of Jones Crossroad store close to Callaway Gardens. It is dear to my heart because I used to ride by it so often to go horse back riding when I was younger.

A little Springtime in the Winter Blast

Man, it's cold outside but we are warm and toasty inside. We might even get a little snow. Just a slight dusting might shut this city down! So I thought I would bring just a little bit more of springtime from Callaway Gardens. These are Geraniums and.....yep... and I am sure of it! I might not know my Orchids from Irises but I do know Geraniums. I took the picture and added some poster edges and hue and saturation and it makes it look like a painting...then the hard part..sticking it on. :)

Crossroads Store

Well, I have to confess, I am a DJ Pettitt wannabe. I have never met her and have never seen how she does all of her beautiful, to-die-for art, but one thing that really intrigues me is how she does her altered photographs--among lots of other art she creates. Does she paint directly over the art....just what does she do? Hopefully one day I will find out but in the meantime I think I will try altering the photographs by painting directly over the printed photo. This was a trial run and I think that next time I will put mat medium on first---I don't really know why---I just like to use acrylic over mat medium. And maybe I will make the next one a bit more painterly.

This is a little store that is just outside of West Point, GA, my old stomping grounds, on Hwy 18 on the way to Callaway Gardens. It is like stepping into the 19th century when you go in and it has probably been there that long. They are still open for business in the middle of no-where land and the neatest antiquities you have ever seen. The people who work there are antiquities also with the most southern of southern accents ---actually-- probably just like mine.

Above is the altered after photo that I painted and below is the real before photograph I took several years ago. I think I started with a rather difficult one but it was really fun. I think I will do some more! Next time---maybe a bird.