Thursday, February 7, 2013

Mama Said There'd BE Days Like This...


Normally, Photo Art Friday is the highlight of my week. I am NOT saying it's NOT this week, I am just saying that this week everything feels a little slippery and hard to hold onto.

I suppose that means I should simply Let Go.

Anyhow... I actually have enJOYed losing myself the past several hours playing with Bonnie's challenge. I canNOT tell you how I got here, but there are a few things I know...

I started with pdpa Dropped Petals background/texture and tweaked it a bit in Picasa. Then I played with pdpa Heartache by the Number, also in Picasa. 

From there I went to Pixlr Express and added a pinch of this and a dollop of that and pretty soon I decided ENOUGH...

BUT...

I had another image I'd wanted to use but just couldn't get it to work. Instead I re-layered Dropped Petals and Heartache by the Number flipping and turning them like I knew just what I was DOing!!!

Ultimately I gave up on the other image [and 3 others I tried] and added a bit of poeming taking all back to Picasa where I am most comfortable with the digital fiddling process.

I enJOYed learning by DOing and especially I enJOYed NOT worrying about anything BEing "right" or whatever all I manage to fret myself with sometimes... 

Ahhhhhhh... growth.
Photo Art Friday

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

This abstract challenge was hard for me to get into, also. My take was so vivid in color, but abstract. I think I may play with more subtle colors later on to see what I can come up with.
Your piece is just lovely....seems we use the same places to manipulate our pictures, which is fun to play around with.
Nice job this week and a wonderful quote to boot!

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Hay Lori, it looks great. I would have never guessed you were spinning around if you hadn't said so ... Art is art, and your art is always good ... because you are always growing. Love it!

Andrea @ From The Sol

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

oh my ... I called you Lori and I really meant Currie. Lori is right next to you on the Linky and my old poop brain frogot to move on ... so sorry. Still meant what I said though :)

Andrea @ From The Sol

Anonymous said...

I love this!! Our best work most times comes from those days.

Lynne with an e said...

The complexity of the picture behind the words makes me want to enter in and explore. I want to brush the words away and lose myself in the textures behind. But utlitmately, it is the words, and their meaning, that give the real depth to the picture, and bring me back to "centre."

Kim Stevens said...

At first it was hard for me too, but I'm finding that I'm starting to really like abstract, it's got a freeing quality to it. I just took the things I love to shoot and played around until I got something I liked. You did a great job!

Sueann said...

I would have loved to see more of your process in coming to the final piece.
Well done
Hugs
SueAnn

Anonymous said...

you've created an intense canvas for your verse which suits the 'heartache' and the numbers of fallen petals so well!
p.s. how easily received can be misread as deceived :)
p.p.s. I agree it's best to stay with the editor that you feel most at ease with. Sophisticated tools can be a burden!

Anonymous said...

I think...this is a nice picture.

Stephanie said...

You did a great job with the processing and the lovely words too. I find abstract to be rather difficult and had found this to be quite challenging.

Candy C. said...

I really like how it turned out and I love the words you added! :)
I fiddled with mine so much that I'm not sure what I did either! LOL!!

The Artful Diva said...

wonderful work, Currie!

NatureFootstep said...

love the colors and the pattern in your artwork. :)

smiles, Sharon said...

It is always a treat to visit your offering at Bonnie's place. Abstract is not my thing, but like you gallantly gave it a try. I think you did it brilliantly...I use to use Picasa then stopped, it must have changed a great deal from when I used it. Good for you staying with what you love to use and not feeling pressure to try the humdinger expensive programs. I don't think I will ever do the "real" abstract, I love the beauty of simple editing where I know what the photo represents.

Do have a good weekend..remember it is Chinese New Year..so order some noodles and "hang out."
smiles: sharon

Ida said...

Currie you rose to the challenge and that's what matters the most. It was hard for me to because I know so little about photo editing.

Your piece is intriguing. I like the flipped texture, the heart in the upper right corner (that caught my attention) and the quote.

Miriam said...

I never find abstract comes easily to me and yet I love to look at others abstract work, yours is no exception. Is it difficult because we work on it and judge each step?
growth and then confidence?

Anonymous said...

I don't know... I think that my biggest problem with "abstract art" is that I feel I don't understand it, and then I get some kind of performance anxiety about producing something along those lines... which is why I was so grateful to Bonnie for the words I quoted in my own post, 'cause they made me realise it was ok to let go! And just have fun! And in the end, maybe that's the one true component you need to have to make the results work - *especially* when it comes to abstract art.
I love your image! Powerful and reaching... in my eyes, it's perfect!

Jeanne said...

one of the wonderful things about digital abstract art! It is perfect when it looks just right to you! Very nice

Leovi said...

Excellent composition, beautiful photo. Excellent texture.

lorik said...

Currie I think you ended up with a very rich, atmospheric kind of abstract - very expressive - dark but with light emerging in the centre. That is my interpretation, anyway:) i like it!

Sherri B. said...

Your results are beautiful...I'm sorry you're having a rough week. I hope things get less slippery soon - I relate so much to the self-fretting! Thank you, Currie, for the wonderfully lovely things you always say on my blog. I truly appreciate it!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful result. The challenge of this week was hard for me too, but you know, everybody has her own idea what is abtstract art...

The Artful Diva said...

my momma done told me too!

Annemor said...

I know the feeling and I think I love the outcome.
Have anice day.
Mormor

ormbunke said...

OH! I like it. Speciell the little heart in the corner. I hope you understand. Ha de gott.

Inspired By June said...

Whatever you did, it turned out great, Currie! From your description, it sounds like Bonnie's challenge was a success. Accepting the challenge and working through it definitely = success regardless of the outcome! Well done.

Anonymous said...

You are so funny.. I like your style cause mine is similar. A dollop of this and a bit of that. I love your creation!

Elissa said...

I agree the abstract challenge was very tricky - yours turned out really great.

Thanks for visiting Gallery Dee and leaving such a lovely comment - glad to know that Simple Abundance struck a chord and helped :)

Kathy said...

It's GoRgeOus! I love the quote and I know what you mean, sometimes I get so caught up in my creation, I don't pay attention on how I got there.

Thanks for sharing and dropping by my blog.

Capture Life,
Kathy

Prairie Jill said...

Great result! (It's funny, isn't it how sometimes a piece comes together immediately, and other times it's a struggle. But, it's all learning!)