A New Pattern, Program & Project...

Hello again. In the about-to-snow cold of the end of January, please enjoy my "Boho Paradise", tropical print. Inspired by, and entered into the upcoming Spoonflower competition on a similar theme, have posted it here primarily in the hope that it warms you as much as it did me.

As you'll know if you've been here before, there's little I like better than nosing around in graphics programs. Recently, its been Krita. I designed the  entire pattern you see above  from start to finish in Krita, can't praise this free, open-source and fully -featured program highly enough.  I've put in *hundreds* of hours playing and experimenting with it now, and love the way that every time I use it, something always seems to emerge, finished, by the end.

Lots of things are happening right now. Some may lead somewhere, others may not.

In any event, more soon!

New Inspiring Quote Painting: Be the Change...

This elephant (and the message underneath, which is part of the Gandhi quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world.") took a while to come into being.

I could see a "rainbow elephant," in my mind and thought this quote, or part of it, might work underneath. But couldn't quite make it work, so left the (originally orange and muddy) elephant be for a couple of weeks.

Am liking this result this result though (even though it took work in three separate digital painting programs to make it happen) and hope you do, too.

If this elephant floats your boat, you can find him on many items, including cards, in my Redbubble shop.

Hope he's given you some colour and inspiration. More soon!

New Computer, New Art, New Possibilities...

I'll admit it. I'm old enough to have been brought up with the idea that, "A bad workman always blames his tools". And it's definitely true that the effectiveness of art (or any kind of creative outcome) is never decided by the tools used. The ideas and work involved do matter more.

Work-in-progress elephant created in Rebelle digital software.

So, when, of late, I'd noticed I hadn't been getting so much out of my digital art programs and apps, my instant assumption was that somehow, I was failing/falling down/not putting in enough effort.

This went on for some weeks. Until my entirely wonderful other half (luckily a computer man) gave me the best of presents: an amazingly fast, totally souped up and incredible, new-to-me computer.

The difference has been phenomenal. Digital art is a joy again. Some programs (like Rebelle, in which the elephant above was created) have never before run as fast or effectively for me as they do now.

Which has led me to reconsider the whole "workman and tools," thing, in a way that might encourage not just me, but other artists and creative people too.  Yes, tools should never be blamed. But occasionally, maybe even those tools also need some help and sprucing up themselves, to help you get the results you want.

P.S. Update: You can see how this elephant turned out in the end here...

New Digital Painting: Whimsical Blue-Purple Delphiniums

It's 1st of January as I post this...so of course a good blast of summer flowers was an obvious choice...:-). They're also my first post in joining the CreativeEveryDay project again. And if you're in the mood and need gifts for upcoming birthdays, have also popped them in my Redbubble shop

Hope you like them whenever you're reading this though. More soon!