{February Ignite: A Creative Discovery}

{February Ignite: A Creative Discovery}

29 February 2012

It's the last day of February, which means it is time for another post for Ignite: A Creative Discovery of the Bloom Forum Fine Art Group.

My family lives in different part of the world. My parents still live in our home town in Indonesia. I moved to New York about six years ago and my sister relocated to Singapore for a job about 2 years ago. It's just the two of us and we've been through so many ups and downs. We cry together, we laugh together, and of course we fight. :) And she is the complete opposite of me. She is tall, I am ... oh well you know the opposite. She is slim, I am curvy. She has long and thick eyelashes, I can't live without a mascara (you know what I mean, right?). She is careful with money while I keep figuring out what happened to my paycheck? She is the herbivor, I am the omnivor. LOL.... oh and the list could go on.

Here's my take for this month's Fine Art project.


Oh, did I tell you that this group has a pool of amazing talents? See it for yourself and please start with Tabitha Patrick of Little Bit of Life Photography. I know I can't wait to start the circle.

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{Come and Share a Pot of Tea}

{Come and Share a Pot of Tea}

26 February 2012

It's been busy and many things have been happening. I finished a short program at Columbia University last week, Jo grows two big girls teeth (she is super proud about them), I've been helping an international photographer with her blog and her first mini magazine (super exciting!), and of course folding the laundry (meh!)

I had a "me" time yesterday and I used it to take some pics (bliss!). Something very girly for today's post.. :)

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{Art in Its Purest Form}

{Art in Its Purest Form}

04 February 2012

Yesterday was 1st grade Art Show day at Jo's school. Of course I had to go! :)

The children made art clay work, collage, black and white paintings, as well as color paintings. I am impressed! The teacher also prepared artist's snacks, which were cheese, grapes, and crackers in a big platter. Fancy!!! :)

My husband and I took a look at the color painting that adorned the hallway and because the painting don't have the children's names, we took guess of which one is Jo's. The we decided to just take a pic of every single painting and later showed her so that she could tell us which one is hers.

Later when she arrived at home...
Me: "Can I show you the pics that I took at your school today?"
Jo: "Sure..."
Me: "Which one is yours, Jo?"
Jo: "I made a (painting of) window."
Me: "Papa and I took a guess of your art. Is it this one?"
Jo: "No, that's not mine..."

She frowned, then she said, "I don't remember which one is mine." LOL. Oh dear...

Regardless, I immediately fell in love with all the paintings. I think it's art in its purest form. The children drew what they had in mind, being bold in colors and shapes. Looking at these beautiful paintings, I feel that they were so free in expressing themselves. Isn't that a very beautiful feeling?





Hope your weekend is as colorful as those lovely paintings.

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{Textures Fun}

{Textures Fun}

03 February 2012

When I first learned about using texture for photography, I was like “huh?” But it intrigued me. So I learned and I am still learning (don’t you just love it when you have to learn something new? I know I do…)

What I’ve learned is that there is no right or wrong in applying textures to your images. You can go subtle or harsh, mute or vibrant, dreamy or grungy. This is why I love using textures as they allow me to achieve different looks.

I met Nicole Rubin through Bloom Forum and I was flattered when she asked me to play around with her image to show how textures work. You can check more of her work on her blog (she just posted a fabulous shot of a couple who celebrated 50 years of marriage. Now that is awesome!), or you can like her Facebook Page.

So, now…the texture part. I used different textures included in the Artiste Collection by French Kiss Textures. Nicole sent me an image that has been edited in LR and one raw image and here’s my play. I need to point out that:
1. Working with textures requires patience. Sometimes you don’t like the effect of the textures and you have to try different textures. I do not see this as a frustration, rather as an enjoyment. I like to see how different textures work on images so that next time I want to use textures, I kinda have a sense which textures do what. :)

2. Don’t be afraid to try something new. When I first started using texture, I played the safe side. Meaning that I only used Soft Light or Overlay blending mode. As I progress, I like to experiment with different blending mode, such as Screen (one of my favorites), Hard Light, Multiply and even Exclusion. :) Give them a try and you’ll be surprised with the results.




My personal favorite...


If you would like to try using textures on your images, there are some amazing artists who offer textures for free. So you can always try and decide if textures are for you. If you happen to use the free textures from these artists, don't forget to credit them. ;)

My favorite texture artists:
Isabelle of Isabelle LeFrance Photography
Jerry Jones of Shadowhouse Creations
Kim Klassen of Kim Klassen Cafe
Rita of The CoffeeShop Blog

Hope you found this post useful. If you have questions, you can always leave comments or send me email through the {Say Hello!} section.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

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