Friends, Flamingos, a Faerie and a Farm

It seems that yesterday's Creative Saturday with Lita was sponsored by the letter F. We decided on a digital art day because we both miss working on that medium so much. With my tendinitis and her wrist pain, it's hard for both of us to work on our Wacom tablets. But, we bound our tendons with braces (hers made with a sea-sickness band...hey, whatever works!) and got down to business. Two friends working on different images side-by-side, a second eye to check for composition and color, to encourage the path and to laugh off the pain. Lita worked on a faerie and I worked on (and finished!!) two images. One was a textural work of an old, run down farm (Nichole, that one is for you!) and the other was born from a dream...a flock of flamingos in the misty morning swamp.

Flamingo Dream
Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper

The flamingos started out as an image in a dream I had which I then started as a watercolor. I scanned the watercolor into Photoshop and painted more flamingos and used brushes and textures to make the dream into reality. This is pretty much what it looked like in my dream, although it was more faded and distant. This is the second piece I've created from a dream I had. The first was this piece:

Patches & Crow

Mixed Media on Canvas

Dreams are a great source of inspiration! Now, If I could only remember more of them!

For my second image, I wanted to create a take on Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World but when I started working on it, I didn't want to add any figures to it. I like the scene just as a landscape. So with textures and brushes by Distressed Textures, I went to work creating a painting-like image. I was quite happy with the result and it didn't even take me that long!

Lost Summers of My Youth

Of course we couldn't have a Creative Saturday without stopping by Barnes & Noble for a little inspiration. I picked up this great watercolor book called Watercolor Secrets 200 tips and techniques for painting the easy way by Robin Berry. Her work is amazing. If you like watercolor you won't be disappointed with this book.

Have an awesome weekend everyone and remember to take some time to be creative!

Wordless Wednesday: Farm Life

Pink Nosed Calf

Weathered Textures & Colors

 Triplets

Fourteen

All images taken on Day 1 of the Cumbria Way from Ulverston to Coniston, UK.