Check out my new Blog

The news I was talking about at the end of the last post is - Ta-DA!  I've started another blog, My Art Bag, not a replacement for this one, but in addition to Me and My Dog ...and My RV.

I was going to keep it private.  I wanted a place to keep links, photos, copies of artwork I might do to keep track of my progress, etc., and who would be interested in THAT except me?

But then my friend, Kim, previously of Kimbopolo and now her second blog, The Empty Attic, told me about Art Challenges she does.  I thought that was pretty cool and loved her work, checked the links on The Empty Attic to see what the other people were doing, and decided I wanted to participate.  To do that I needed to have the blog public so the hosts for the week can see the piece to do their judging for that week's challenge.  Thank You Kim - you've set me off on a new creative path.  And it's sure keeping me busy!

This week I've entered two of my graphic art collage pieces. These sites are open to anyone, to submit any kind/style of art.  I want to explore different ways of putting together my digital graphics into other styles.  I love what I'm doing, but I want to grow into other areas and seeing the work of the other participants will give me ideas that I might like to try.

If I ever get good enough to sketch or draw or paint a piece free-hand that is worthy of a submission I'll enter it, but that's way down the road.  I literally can't draw a straight line or a circle freehand and my brain isn't pointed that way so I never have any good ideas.  Of course, these challenges might help with that.

I took the photo on the small easel below of a Black-necked Stilt in May of 2013 when I was at  Caballo Lake State Park, Riverside Campground in New Mexico. I put it through a program to make it look like a painting, then added it to five digital graphics to create a digital signature sign-off for The Art Bag posts.

This is Digital Art Collage.  And it's addicting! I remember the day I took that photo, so exciting - I'd never heard of this bird before and they were so fun to watch as they waded in the Rio Grande.

I'm a total beginner making art with my hands, drawing, sketching, oils, acrylics, water paints.  Those are the classes I purchased on Udemy.com during their Black Friday sale, which was awesome.  (Thank You to Don Stier for telling me about the super prices on Udemy.com!) When I get started with those on-line classes I'll post finished products as I go along. They wont be pretty!  Total, total beginner with that stuff.  But I've wanted to create art my entire life, and I'm taking baby steps.  Hopefully if I enjoy it I'll get better and better.

I'm getting my feet wet with the digital art piece challenges.  It's been a while since I've played with digital graphics and I'll continue to submit those to the Art Challenge websites. I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 and an instruction class to learn about it as well as a book Kim recommended.  I have lots of apps and a couple of programs similar but much smaller and easier to use than Elements, so my learning curve isn't starting from a flat place.  But I still have a LOT to learn.  Elements contains all the things I use my other apps/programs for - but in one place.  Now I move my pieces from app to app transforming them as I go along.  It would be nice to have it all in one program.

They say as we get older, and especially when we're retired, it's a good idea to learn a new language, start a new hobby, participate in a new sport, etc.  This will stimulate the production of new synapses in our brains, keeping us happier and younger and helping with brain growth.  So for now this is what I'm doing.  And I'm having a BLAST!

If you click the link to the new blog - My Art Bag - click on the photos of my Art Challenge pieces; you'll see more detail. My entries have some pretty small graphics.

I'm working on two others now, and will post them as soon as I get them done.  I'm waking up every morning excited to get started and heading off to bed near midnight.  (Not JUST doing these things, but once I get started in the afternoon it's hard to stop until my eyes hurt and I can hardly stay awake.)

From Me and My Dog, have a great day everyone!  :)