Photoshopping

Not sure if I've posted this one before but I found a little time last week to catch up with Kim Klassen's Art of Texture class.  This peonie photo (courtesy of Kim) above started out as a bright, bold image and has been softened into this subtle, delicate flower.

This is a Thai Buddha statue that I have in my conservatory that I have been wanting to have a play with in Photoshop for ages.  I cropped the original image down and inverted it before applying some colour adjustment layers and a texture.

This 'Speedy Sheep' was a quick, fun project from Kim and was very easy to achieve with just a few adjustments.

Next, this is the famous 'Roger's Door' in St Ives which is actually a lovely flaking green colour.  With Kim's help the door has been changed to red, although I think I prefer the original patina.

This little angel came from a graveyard  near us and is my own effort.  I cropped the image, blurred the background, added a texture and text and stamped a few flowers.   The possibilities with Photoshop are endless.

I'd like to thank everyone who has left messages or emailed me with friendly and supportive words about my mum.  Sadly she has been having a really difficult time since we left her at her own home and is now in hospital, hopefully just for a few days, while they check out what is going on.  Her confusion is terrible and almost complete, to the point where she didn't know who I was when I spoke to her on the phone last night, even though she had asked the nurse to call me.  I am hoping that it is just worse because she is out of her home environment but I am very fearful for her.  We are taking each day as it comes and hoping.

We have had a very low key Valentine's night tonight and SH cooked tea (again) and made a lovely ice creamy, apple ricey, white chocolatey dessert.  He knows how to win a girl's heart :-)  I hope you've all enjoyed a Happy Valentine's Day with someone you love and care about.

There and back

If you wondered where I was we've been to Essex to take my Mum home and settle her in to her new routine of 're-enabling' carers who are going to come in 4 times a day to help her with the things she finds difficult, which is just about everything now.  My DH and I don't think living alone, even with carers coming in, is going to work and fully expect to be sent for quite quickly to make the ultimate decision about residential care.  Mum has dementia (isn't that an awful word when someone says it about your loved one?) and I cannot tell you how it feels to see a very special lady lose parts of herself and the things she used to love.  At least she is calm and still smiles sweetly in the face of her lack of understanding. 

Creativity has left me for now and I have to rest and recover my resources after the last weeks of looking after Mum.  I did make a little texture while I was away though inspired by my classes with the lovely Kim Klassen.

I made this texture from one of my mixed media paintings layered with the frozen pond I photographed in the winter and a white colour fill.  I then added ink splashes that I had made from Kim's workshop and brushed out the edge.  The next step is to use it over an image.