She Waits...

She waits. She waits for him to return home. He left for war, promising to stay safe and come back to her. So she waits. Time is a pillar of stone. The sun rises and the moon sets without her knowledge. She waits. Others have begged her to move on. She resists their calls, ignores their voices. She keeps her back to the light and she waits.

This image was born from being a fan of Jewell and Jamie and their fantastically surreal landscapes. The magical, whimsical, other-worldly has always attracted me. I first found Jamie through Somerset's Digital Studio magazine. Admiring her images on flickr led me to Jewell's photo stream, which in turn led me to her website full of amazing texture packages. I looked through their mouthwatering galleries and my love for photo manipulation was given new life.

My friend Nichole and I both worked on images trying to achieve the look. Despite different processing programs, we shared tips, techniques and cheered each other on. A true collaboration of friendship.

Nichole has a great quote that follows her emails:

"All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own" ~Edwin Markham

I believe this to be so true and I love it when artists open up and share, whether it's technique or beautiful textures but especially, their support.  

Here is the before and after of the image:

Before image: a house in Charleston, South Carolina

After image: A house in some alternate universe

I'm re-inspired thanks to Jamie's article, Jewell's textures & brushes and Nichole's support. In addition, I have to thank sugary-stock for the background.

I look forward to creating more of these surreal landscapes, perhaps with images I'll be bringing back with me from England and Wales. It's an amazing thing when the spark of creativity strikes. You just never know when it will lead to something grand!☺