Photo Art Friday, September 21, 22

Welcome to Photo Art Friday!  

The InLinkz button, for every edition of PAF, is open from Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. EDT to Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. EDT.  To read the guidelines for participation you have just to click on the Photo Art Friday tab under my header.

As always you are encouraged to link up any image YOU consider to qualify as a piece of photo-ART.  If you choose, you can use the weekly optional prompt.

This week's prompt is, The Beauty of Aging.

This flower's form is shrivelling, losing its allotted amount of life energy ... and still it proudly displays its beauty.

I experimented - adding this burgundy painterly texture (from my private collection) to the photograph of the aging flower.

The texture was blended into the photograph using Hard Light blend mode.  I experimented with bringing in more light (using a Levels adjustment) but found I liked the dark and sultry tones just as they were.  The texture imparts a painterly feel to the image and I am happy not making any further manipulations.

Aged, dramatic and beautiful (to my eye).

Next week our virtual art gallery will be ready for any piece of photo art you wish to 'hang',

OR

you can use the optional prompt, abstraction(s) from nature. 

The challenge, if you choose to accept it, should keep you busy exploring, capturing photographs and digitally editing this week.  :) 

This weekly digital meme is truly a wonderful way to:

*  train our eye to look for the artistic as well as the beautiful, 

*  expand our creative horizons, 

*  experiment with new forms of digital art,

*  commiserate with others at various levels of artistic development, and 

*  develop our familiarity and expertise with the use of our editing tools.



Remember, we are all at different stages of learning and experience in our digital art journey, so try not to compare yourself to others who have had more time to develop their skills.  We are where we are and should be proud of our desire to create, and the progress we have made at this point in time.

Comparing ourselves to someone who has been a photographer or digital artist for many more years than our self can only serve as a discouragement.  Surely we come here to support and encourage our artistic impulses, so do try to enjoy where you are in your artistic development and what you are accomplishing right now!  When you view the photo art of those with more experience under their belt, just use it as an indication of what you can eventually do too, as you continue your journey.

I would love to know what you would see, and what you would realize if you looked over all the submissions you have made to PAF - in the order in which you submitted them. What would/do you notice about your artistic evolution?  The answers will certainly be as varied and numerous as the number of participants!