A bit of painting fun

Ariel didn't find the yarn she was looking for but we did find some 'pouring' paints that were on discount. We decided to try our hands at pouring colors together over some plastic ornaments.

It wasn't as messy as we thought it would be and we just used an old plastic cup that we could wash the paint out of.

Ariel layered the first colors and did the pour.

She wasn't quite happy with the colors, so she added some more deep dark purple and a little bit of turquoise along with light purple.

We both loved this look which are a combination of her favorite colors.
 

Ariel did this mix also. I held the ornament on a butter knife horizontally, while she poured. I turned it as she poured and we got this. We experimented using regular acrylic paint with the pour paint and it rally worked out beautifully.

This was my attempt. I added red drops after the pour to get more 'red' on the ornament. I used regular acrylic paints as they are far cheaper than the pour ready ones. 

They actually dried a bit dull so I will have to add a gloss spray or paint  after they are fully dried.

 

Instead of using a ton of paint we decided to put the paint inside the ornaments and then shake it up and see what happened.

They turned out very different but also pretty and subtle. We used some yellow, pinks, and reds for a different type of look.

The paint usage was much much less as were the results.

The ornaments will probably sit for about 3 days to make sure they are all super dry before I finish them with a spray gloss or clear coat.

It was a nice quiet activity to do while we listened to Ariel's picks of music and had conversation.

She had made supper in the crock pot and we had turkey and gravy over stuffing. 

What a great day. 

Warning. This painting fun was very addictive and I could have gone on and on! I have some old glass ornaments that could use a face lift so I may try this pour method on one or two later.  

We'd also hit up Barnes and Noble to look at books. I found a Hiking Guide Book for Wisconsin that seemed pretty complete with directions and reviews of State Parks, and interesting hiking trails. 

Some Infrared Photography

 Of all the paths you take in life,

make sure some of them are dirt...

John Muir

I love all sorts of photography. Some people can play instruments, some people can sing. Others can draw or paint.

I enjoy the power of the camera's creativity. I started exploring Infrared years ago when I got a filter and stuck it on my camera.

At that time I had no idea what I was doing. The filter made everything so dark and off color. The 720nm filter I purchased created super long exposures with a black and pinkish tint to everything. I soon learned that the way to go Infrared was to have a camera modified.

I found a place where they sold a used pocket camera that was modified. I figured it wouldn't be overly expensive and I could try it out.

For the first several weeks that I had the camera, I carried it everywhere turning it on just to look at the back screen and enjoy the view of seeing everything in a different light spectrum. I didn't understand how it worked really, but it was fascinating to see green turn to white in the camera. Or greens turn blue and skies turn orange.

The Infrared works best on very sunny days with foliage. These are the times when a regular camera in our visible light spectrum doesn't work as well. Suddenly I found myself taking the pocket IR camera everywhere and trying it out on everything I could find.

I admit, shooting in a different light spectrum can be very challenging. The photos come out with a strange color to them. The photographer can choose to edit the photo or leave the strange colors in. No matter what, the photos become an experiment in magical, mystical, and artistic formats.

My first Canon ELPH shots were of everything and anything around the farm.

The grass looked like snow, the sky had some incredible depth to it. 

I read that IR photography was popular only in the spring and summer. Yet I found that I could have fun with it in the winter.
What was a boring mid afternoon photo turned into something a bit different.

Eventually I took my old Olympus camera and had it converted to 'Full Spectrum'. That meant I could use different filters for Infrared on the lens.

The most amazing thing about infrared and its different light spectrums is that sky details are more intense. The shot above was taken in the winter. The trees and some of the dead plants had a tint to them. The spectrum of light picked up clouds I could not see with the naked eye.

Last year, I sort of left my IR camera at home and didn't pick it up very much. I was really focusing on toy photography and macro photography. Besides, with our drought, everything was so dull and uninteresting.

Then this past week, the weather proved remarkable. 

Another foggy morning with sunbeams shining through the light fog. 

A storm approaching...

This was when we had a severe storm warning, with possible gusty winds and hail coming in with the front.

The last shot was done inside on a rainy day. I took a photo of a red geranium. I lit up the geranium with an Infrared Flashlight and got this beautiful ghostly blue tinted flower portrait.

Infrared Photography to me is an outlet for creative art. 
Watch out...I'm finding my groove again in IR.

Trees trees trees...

In years past, I've always concentrated on what is below the trees. For some reason this past year, I've been looking at trees with more interest.
I still adore fungi, moss, and bugs but right now there are none of those things available to look at under the snow.

The skies have been overcast and dull or it has been bright as all get out! 

Birch Trees 

edited to look artsy

Boxelder
seriously...
I wasn't smoking anything!

I found myself looking for objects that lend themselves to almost an abstract and artistic flair.

If nothing else, it is fun to hike our deep woods to find something interesting. I need to figure out what these trees are. They hang on to little orange leaves. They catch my eye while walking on the deer trails.

I used a ribbon that was attached to a deflated Mylar balloon I found to one of these trees so I can try and ID this tree type in the spring.

Snow storm!

The view across the neighbor's meadow to the east. 

Super duper zoom in

on a crooked tree branch

A friend of mine said it looked like neural brain synapses...
Hmmm, my brain was just enjoying the snowfall.

Another view of the same 

branch...
Amazing how a different shot and color edits

can make it look:

I thought of Aurora when I found this tree---> pointing down. 

Sorry it is such a poor photo, with the snow fall I had a hard time getting any proper exposure against the snowy sky.

However it is one awesome -cool -bizarre -wild cherry tree. I know last summer I never saw what it looked like up in the branches.

This bizarro tree lives near my favorite boxelder and the smushed face tree I spotted last June:

That makes 4 favorite odd and strange trees in one small area.

Winter is a good time to examine branches and shapes. I found some other wicked and strange trees on my walk around the meadow in yesterday's snowfall. 

Man Eating Tree?

*Edit 3 10 2022: Old Hawthorn Tree*

I'm enjoying the bare bones of the trees in the forest around me...but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the forest and all of its glorious colors.

After all, trees rule the land around us.

Artsie Fartsy

The tree above is a real mess, but in some ways I sort of like it. I enjoyed the process so much I decided to try it again on the tree below.
I added the birds with a brush.

I used to love drawing with pen and ink. I wasn't very good at it. I was more of a Picasso artist and drew a 'interpretation' of what I saw. It tried being accurate and real, and always failed miserably.

Maybe this is why this sort of photo-draw-art-interpretation thing works for me. 

The funny thing is, this 'art' had some rave reviews with a certain subset of folks in
an art group on social media. 

However ~ can a person really trust social media these days? Rhetorical question, obviously.

This yearling deer was photographed through the back door window with my long lens. The original is here:

My 'vision' of what I imagined is here:

And then a wild interpretation that included textures and colors are here:
 

I hike or snowshoe daily with camera in hand and wonder what I can do artistically with the same ol' scenes over and over. How can I see the same tree yet interpret it differently? 

[Hey now, that would make an interesting comparison wouldn't it? This tree and scene over the years? Hmmmm....]

Below is a photo of an apple tree that I've photographed hundreds of times in all sorts of circumstances. This is the version I came up with.

This is the original:

The black and white version is more like a drawing. I like that. It really says a lot about winter. Though winter is not that dull and unexciting.

I enjoy finding out who has been lurking around by their tracks. Mr. or Mrs. Bobcat have been making a trail from one neighbor's property across our place and towards the neighbors west of us.

These shots were taken before the last snowfall. 

We haven't been going anywhere lately. Hubby stays at home and I hike out to the ridge or into the valley to get fresh air and see what is going on in our forest. 

Charlie has not been too excited over the latest cold temperatures and snowfalls. I have to make some trails so he won't have to snow swim.

For Art's Sake

I'll just jump right in on this. I had a lot of tangents I went on first ... then I hit the delete button and started over.

Edits for Art's Sake:

Original

Edit

This is a 'double exposure'. I didn't do it in the camera but used a plugin from DxO labs. 

Here is the entrance to the summer pasture with the brilliant red oak leaves glistening in the  late fall sun:

Original

It is pretty. But ...this is how it felt. I use a paint program to 'paint' portions of the photo. Topaz Studio, an old program from a few years ago. 

Edited

Fall offered so many opportunities. I walked once a week past a Sumac Tree as it changed. On this foggy morning I struggled to find the proper way to present this scene. 

Original

Edit

Update In 

December

I like to dabble in things. I like to 'create' sometimes. I enjoy trying new things and challenging myself.

I can't draw even though I used to draw cartoon critters as a teenager. 

Me as a Naturalist 

looking for creatures in the

creek

When I used to write for a magazine,

I also tried my hand 

at cartoons again

Once in a while I get creatively stuck. 

After the snow had melted last week, I took my Infrared camera and went for a walk along the creek. Infrared shots work best with the reflection of light off from leaves with chlorophyll in them.

Most of what I shot turned out to be trash.

I used a 550nm filter which horrifies me each time I try to do anything with it. I felt since I disliked it so much, I should try and make it work. Do something out of my comfort zone.

Original

Edit

This shot turned out so 'otherworldly' that I like it. Note to self. This filter still is very hard to work with. 

My next shot is another IR shot. No fancy camera, a point and shoot.

I rather like the challenges that October and November bring with IR.  The sky and the pond ice reflected blue when I 'channel swapped' the colors.

The pines on the other side of the pond did appear slightly different shades of white and grey.

The birds were added.

 October hike in KVR in a washout above Weister Creek.

Original

Edit

I'm not even sure why I like this one, but I do and it was fun to work with. I painted in brush strokes and then erased them from the zig zag of the wash. I guess this is really how this particular spot 'felt' to me.

The only thing more fun would have been to see a unicorn, a dinosaur, or woodland creature hanging out in the back!

The fog on Christmas Eve was fantastic. Charlie and I couldn't get enough of it. Okay, Charlie really only went out with me for the first time.

I wanted to do something different and try some High Key work.

I dig fog, I really do!

Original

Edited

The photo above was used as the base for Charlie in the double exposure in that first edit!