The Great Adventures of the Brothers Fruit

I wrote a little story about two fruits who go on a great adventure to find a new home. The book stars and is inspired by Apple and Pear, who are extremely cute, handmade "hot and cold" fruits made by Silver Lining's very own Gwen. She is a very talented local artist, and is my husband friend from high school. Check out her other stuff here, and read the story about the brothers here. They are seen above in the middle of the snow storm that hit the east coast last week.

A Beautiful Kentucky Wedding

Congratulations to Keith and Kristen!
I had the pleasure of attending their wedding this November, and it was absolutely beautiful. They even graciously tolerated me being total paparazzi. Keep an eye out for more photos to come!

Happy Holidays!

After a couple-month-long hiatus, I am making my way back into the groove. I produced some new work while gone, specifically a new book, some wedding photography, and some fun photoshop-ing. First the fun stuff...

Please note some of these images were created using original images that are under copyright, and are not intended for sale or advertisement, simply amusement. I created these pictures to function as Christmas cards for my assorted nieces and nephews. Their faces have been morphed onto various images, and the images altered to suit the purpose. Enjoy!

Marching

This is the first shot of the commissioned animal parade painting for my friend. I am trying to match it to this bedding http://www.serenaandlily.com/Rooms/Nursery-Lucy , so I am keeping the colors to the more mellow end of the spectrum. The flamingo and the turtle should tie it in nicely with the color scheme, without being too girly. Thus far, I am enjoying this painting and it is moving along quickly.

New Wedding Album

I have another sample album ready for viewing, and can be seen here. It is bound using ZookBinders, my new preferred company. They are extremely beautiful in terms of style and craftsmanship.

Getting Back Into It?

With all the holidays, vacations, and my overall busy schedule, I have not been painting. So I am trying to get back into the swing of things, first by attempting to complete this already half-finished painting. I am to the point of flourishes, in the form of little insects and birds, and occasionally tails that I had previously forgotten to paint in. There are still a few things lacking, and please pardon the white spots where the light glared on the still-wet paint. A little more cartoonish than usual in terms of style, but stacking up the animals is always fun.

I am still on hiatus from the alphabet, and definitely needing to complete that little series, especially now that I have all the canvases and really have no excuse any longer. Otherwise, I am going to get started on a commissioned painting for a friend of an animal parade, should be fun.

Exciting Adventures

Snipers on the White House roof, White House press room, and bowling in the White House basement!

July In Coronado

To celebrate Fourth of July the way it is meant to be celebrated, my husband and I flew to San Diego to rejoice like "Real Americans." My husband did not understand how it can be MORE patriotic or MORE American to celebrate Independence Day away from the nation's capital, but he was naive to the joy of beaches, barbecues, and bicycles... and chili cook-offs! He was a convert by the end of the day, of course. We watched the fireworks over the bay, and above is the shot culminating the evening.

Feeling Frustrated by Internal and External Limitations

Observe exhibits A and B above. I have been feeling frustrated for the past few days by a few different causes. One is a lack of the particular size canvas I like best, specifically one that is long and narrow, with a 1"-2" thick frame. The primary art store in the district, Utrecht, does not carry this particular sized canvas. I could order it off the internet, or venture to Virginia, but at the moment, with all the other things going on, that is a very daunting task. So I will just whine instead.
This lack of canvas is the partial cause of exhibit A. I wanted to make another totem pole, but given the no-canvas situation, I improvised. And now I am feeling frustrated by not knowing where to go next, because no animal seems to fit nicely atop the ones I have. I am thinking about giving the lion and the duck the boot.
The next frustrating thing is Exhibit B. While I am really liking this painting (which is clearly missing eyes and tails), I am stumped about where I want it to go too. I like the simplicity, and am worried that if I keep messing with it (beyond tails and eyes, of course) that I may ruin its whole vibe.
The last frustrating thing is featured in Exhibits C, D, E, and F, not pictured here. The reason they are not pictured here is because I am not pleased where they are going, and at this moment, cannot stand the sight of them. C is the firetruck with the dalmation, D is the pink pig, E is the tree with the three animals under it, and F is the letter F for which I have yet to decide an animal counterpart. And F, at this moment is for Failure. UGH.

New Album

Took the new camera out on the town, then took the photos for a whirl through photoshop...
Check out the new album here.

Economic Strategies?

Is anyone else disturbed by the way car companies keep trying to get people who think they may lose their jobs buy new cars?

Thunderstorms

D.C. has nearly been washed away in recent weeks. The flash flooding has made me very pleased that we live on a non-basement level, and are safe and dry. I tried to shoot the rain in all its glory, but it was raining so much that it was next to impossible. I got this shot out the window of our house, but it doesn't really convey the wonder of the storm. Next time I am going for the lightening.

That Lovely Glow Effect

I recently upgraded to the newest version of photoshop, and was having a good time learning its twists and turns. My new favorite trick is that "lovely glow effect" so often employed by wedding photographers to highlight certain aspects of a photo. It can also be used to make a normal photo more edgy by darkening the shadows and highlighting the highlights that much more. Silly me, I used to think photographers achieved these looks with cameras!
Thanks to Jon Armstrong for helpful hints via his blog: blurbomat.com

Totally Unrelated to Painting

Random thoughts I am having today:

Do the girls on America's Next Top Model think they are smart, or that acting dumb will win them the competition?

How many different types of mascara brush can there really be? You think you have seen them all, and then they come out with yet another style.

Why does it seem everything is about vampires these days?

Hitched or Ditched is a really bad idea.

Why have I signed up in so many places to get emails for clothes I can't afford?

Why do paints have to be so toxic?

The picture has nothing to do with anything except my excitement for my new camera.

Elephants Again?

My husband came home last night and discovered me in a painting flurry, inspired by breaking out of my usual style and reverting back to my college approach to painting. After working on a couple of children's paintings, I decided I was going to do a big canvas for myself/our house. So I sat down and started painting, and of course it turned out to be an elephant. When my husband saw it, he said, "I just thought if you were painting for yourself, you wouldn't go for an animal." I guess I just can't help myself. I swear, the elephants find me. After I thought about it, I think I do have too many elephants in my life, and so I put this one up on my website for sale. Check it out here http://www.betsynoel.com/On_My_OWN.html or here http://www.betsynoel.com/Artwork/Pages/Paintings.html

Trips to the Zoo

Weather is warming up again and I have re-started my frequent outings to the zoo. Today the sun was overly hot and the humidity oppressive, but I seized the off-work opportunity to go for a long walk with my fancy new camera that I am still learning to use. Most animals were hiding from the heat, but not the red pandas, who were out for treats. There was also a woman who knew a freakish amount about the pandas, referring to them by name and referencing their siblings at other zoos, siting birth places and dates. So I snapped these shots and scurried away... The little guy is looking quite majestic in his artificial habitat, darting around in the mist.

Whale

Sometimes I try to break the mold and paint in a style different that my usual hyper controlled style.

Fancy New Camera

I have been on hiatus for awhile because my non-painting life has been extremely busy, and not in a way that leads to interesting photos. As a result, there has not been much to post. But now! I have just inherited a brand-new-to-me fancy camera that takes amazing photos and has a great long lens! So get excited, there will be lots of fun new pictures to post and much great new inspiration to fuel new paintings.

On the painting front, the alphabet is completed through to the letter H, but has been on hold because my supplier ran out of the size canvas I had been using. They finally have more, and they are in the mail on their way to me. In the meantime, I completed the lorikeets and am still working on the dalmation on the firetruck and a couple others that are floating around my studio. Speaking of inspiration, I am looking for suggestions for new paintings, so if anyone has anything they want to see, shoot those ideas my way.

New Blog!

The old site stopped allowing comments when I switched to GoDaddy.com, so I had to change my blog to a more conventional site. After several weeks of shopping, I settled on Blogger, and am now working on figuring out how to use it most efficiently.

Album Reviews

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Painting Reviews

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