Wake-up Coffee…

Pre-Raphaelite Style ;)

This past week I had the privledge of house-sitting my Aunt’s beautifully fabulous home and her luxurious garden. With so much privacy I thought it would be fun to indulge in some dreamy shots, especially since her home is so full of enchanting and inspiring pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Computer woes are a thing of the past, but a new challenge has raised it’s ugly head. We have to move. If I haven’t told you, and you’re reading this, I’m sorry. We won’t move far, and after January I’m SURE things will be half-way back to normal.  2012 has only just begun and already some big chnages are in oder!

Oh, and Auntie, if you’re reading this, I hope you don’t mind I used this bedskirt I found… ;)

A Painting, Computer Woes, and Some Snaps…

Shelter Cove is one of my favorite spots in Pacifica and the location of several photos that I have posted at one time or another. I think one could never find it, unless a local pointed the way… and it overlooks a tucked away beach filled with the modest homes of a small isolated community. I just love it. This here is a little postcard I recently painted and sent to my folks.

My computer hast been undergoing a rebuild this week… It seems to take forever to update everything and get all my programs and settings back right. I’ve been putting this off for far too long and now it has caught up with me. I still have yet to get all of my actions and plugins back into Photoshop… and where are my customized brushes??? … sigh.

In lieu of photos to post, here are some snapshots from daily life :)

     

 

Curious :)

The adorable puppy belongs to my sister-in-law. When they popped by my home recently there was no question that some puppy portraits were in order. I made a little make-shift studio on the floor with white posterboard.  Puppies are so wiggly though, so it wasn’t until later, when he was plum tuckered out, that we were able to get him to hold still on the paper. The seemless background of the setting lended itself quite nicely to a little photoshopping. Adding the texture was easy, as was this butterfly that I photograpped previously by a river.

Fly Free…

Window seat for me, please. I simply MUST see everything…  :)

The Bouquet…

My friend gave me this lovely softly colored bouquet.  There was only one catch…

“Can you take a few pictures of the whole bouquet for me? “   Sure thing :)

I was aiming for a catelog-type of shot to showcase the arrangement, rather than the individual flowers. Seemless backgrounds are easy with simple white posterboard and some lighting. :)

The last of Autumn…

Flashback: These few scenes were photographed one year ago today in the city park of Hamburg, Germany.

Autumn was fading away and the smell of winter hung in the air. I loved the stillness, and the reflections in the water… and the solitary man enjoying a quiet walk under the trees.

 

 

Fall Flowers and an Etch-a-Sketch

Die leuchtenden Farben des Herbstes Zeit… The glowing colors of Autumn time. Yes, the  final shine, before wintertime…

There are not many leaves here to enjoy, but I have found some pretty wild flowers :)

And, an etch-a-sketch drawing, once again of Neuschwanstein, because the image was in my mind and I wanted to try it ;)

Excuse the quality of the image. It was taken with my phone.

 

For the love of the road

 

 

Ahhh…. twisty turny windy roads! I love to drive….through the mountains, along the ocean cliffs, even through the streets of San Francisco (except during rush hour, or when a high number of pedestrians are dominating the streets,  NOT using crosswalks or obeying the lights, which is all the time. Ok, perhaps I don’t like SF driving all that much! lol) …Anyhow, it is the thrill of the drive that moves me to shoot the road whenever I’m on a trip.

I’m not particularly drawn to roads themselves. Sometimes I wish that cars could hover without the use of them. But nevertheless, a road shot inspires in me a feeling of adventure.

Who doesn’t like an adventure?

Train Country & the Union Pacific

My Dad and I explored trains and bridges on our recent trip to train country in Plumas County :) It amazes me how long these trains are. They seem to go on forever!

       

Alone in the city…

…and in the rain. 

Not sure I like this, but it is something different. The pics are tiny… just trading card size (2.5 x 3.5).  I don’t know why, but these little ATC sized paintings are rather addicting. Their small size makes for a quick creative indulgence.  Happy Friday everyone :)

A fuzzy wuzzy I found today!