PSE

Playing with PSE is my way of doodling. The more I look at this result the more I want to tweak it by making the whites brighter, but for now I'll leave it alone. Using a photo of an abstract painting that I did last year I cropped a section of it and when the color was removed I started playing with filters and levels. It helps that the abstract painting is deeply textured.

This is not only fun to watch and listen to but inspiring. It's an old YouTube that is making the rounds again.

Not much new on the home front, just plugging along.

Outtake #2

This still life is another one that didn't make the cut for Seth's "Pulse." I love the wispy ethereal nest but so far the photos I've taken of it make the fragile nest look more like a blob, even with a marble egg in it. My neighbor found the nest on a lawn after one of the windstorms that recently blasted through the desert. She immediately thought of me when she couldn't figure out where it might have come from. It's rare when someone thinks that I might love something like a bird nest; I felt understood and that's such a marvelous feeling. The nest is definitely a treasure and even though it was never used as intended perhaps I can use it in my art.

I have difficulty enough creating art but this guy has created 100 different personalities and artwork to go with each one. check it out here.

For my dad, 1918-2000. Happy Father's Day.
 "If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right." -- Bill Cosby

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be."   Unknown

Outtake

Tomorrow is the deadline for submissions for Seth Apter's next "Pulse." And of course I'm no where near done with the my submission. This is a photo that I played with today while attempting to create a still life. I lean more toward found-art that I discover rather than setting up a scene. I did end up with something, completely different from this outtake, that I'm pleased with. In case you can't tell what this is, it's a brown egg placed on top of a weathered candlestick pillar.

I received an expected phone call yesterday, mom will be discharged on the 14th from the nursing home. She's run out of insurance; am I ready for this? The respite has been a blessing.

Sally Huss: Resolving to be happy resolves a multitude of unhappy circumstances.

June, so far.

In case you haven't seen the latest youtube phenom:  Course, you'll be singing the song for the rest of the day, but it's worth it. Kudos to Grand Rapids for this 8+ minute video.

Quite a few cactus, or cacti (plural) are blooming. This one is at the top of a barrel cactus that sort of looks like a nest from the angle I photographed it.

 The grapes are daily ripening and if I don't bring in bunches of them, and if the birds don't feast on them, the grapes dry into delicious raisins; lower right in the photo. I found a recipe for a Grape Cake that I hope to try, if the birds leave me enough grapes.

And for fun I cut the long sleeves off an old denim shirt to about elbow length and then dipped the shirt into bleach. Viola! A new shirt to wear. I've considered using some fabric paint on the shirt, but what colors, coverage, design, etc? So for now I'll leave it alone unless someone offers a really good idea. Outside of Stacy going through the joys of a root canal June is okay, so far. I hope that everyone is having an exceptional June.

I'll end with this inspiring youtube piece.