imagination tip-in

this tip-in page was done in response to "imagination" and i chose to focus on the works of leonardo di vinci. i found pictures of his drawings from his inventions and sketchbooks and cut/pasted them together on a page. then i printed the page out on paper that looked like aged vellum -- to make it look like paper from his journal.

i used a quote from albert einstien that says "imagination is more important than knowledge." that quote encourages me to believe that a person's knowledge is limited or finite while a person's imagination, if stimulated, is unlimited or infinite. if a person can imagine it, he or she can create it and/or make it happen.

i think that quote fits in perfect w/ di vinci, who had designed and documented things far ahead of his time, such as a helicopter or a robot or airplanes. he was intelligent, creative, and uncensored in his creations. i wonder how different the world would be if di vinci had not created the things that he had done and/or had not kept notes of the things that he imagined?

the difference of macro

in the time that i've used digital cameras, i've been disappointed in that i couldn't take "close up" shots of my subjects. every time i tried it, the pictures turned out blurry and were not useful. rather than "waste" my pictures, i took pictures from further back and then spent time on the computer editing. i always ended up w/ good pictures, but not as good or as easy as i would've liked!

the amazing difference that macro photography provides is just shocking at first notice. this pictures was taken by my sony 10.1 megapixel cybershot at about 10 inches from this leaf. this was just a snapshot with no tripod used, but many nature or natural shots will not have the time for a tripod. live things don't stop long enough for tripod placement and adjustment!

the leaf is obviously blurry and basically not usable for a scientific drawing or closeup study of the leaf. if this were a picture of someone's face, where i wanted details to show, the blur would've ruined the picture.

by learning how to use the macro function on the camera, the same picture from the same distance taken as "macro" looks totally different. the blur is gone and now this picture is usable as a reference photo for a scientific illustration, a record of growth, or a part of your photography collection.

macro is definitely a function on your camera that you NEED to learn how to use and should use in your photography sessions. it makes a huge difference -- especially when you can compare the pictures side by side to see the amazing differences!

MY first ATC created - pow-wow dancer

my first ATC created for the ATC exchange at drawingtogether2 yahoo group.

i was mainly enticed into the project because i saw the wonderful examples of artwork that these artists in this group are capable of -- so i wanted to get into the exchange so i could own a beautiful piece of artwork.

to do that, i had to create a piece of artwork to put into the exchange. i also signed up for the "prints exchange" where artists make prints of their own original works and send them to the other people on the list.

it turned out to be a great experience, but i was very intimidate by the quality of art that i had seen produced by these group members. i was afraid that whoever were to get my ATC would be disappointed in that my artwork wasn't as good as everyone else's artwork -- but it all worked out good.

this ATC was done on white Bristol Vellum paper with prismacolor colored pencils and sprayed w/ matte finish sealant to protect the colors from smearing. the picture was based on a photo that i had taken at a pow-wow near miami, ok a couple years ago.

ATC exchange - raccoon from rita

first ATC received, done in graphite by rita from the drawingtogether2 group at yahoo.

each month, the members have an ATC exchange where you can sign up to create an original ATC and exchange with another member of the group. you can also sign up to make prints of your original and exchange with other members of the group for prints of their original works of art.

this was the first ATC i have ever received and i just LOVE it. the detail and the quality of this work of art are just amazing overall. i can't wait to shop for a special frame for it and put it on display at home!

what color crayon would i be???

You Are a Red Crayon

Your world is colored with bright, vivid, wild colors. You have a deep, complex personality - and you are always expressing something about yourself. Bold and dominant, you are a natural leader. You have an energy that is intense... and sometimes overwhelming. Your reaction to everything tends to be strong. You are the master of love-hate relationships. Your color wheel opposite is green. Green people are way too mellow to understand what drives your energy.

What Color Crayon Are You?

if i had my choice, i think i would be a purple crayon -- as purple tends to be one of my favorite colors. but, red is not far from purple, and i guess my personality tends to be "red"! h-m-m-m, we'll see about that!