A Blessing For The New Year

This photograph was taken in the Fall of 2012 by my son-in-law while in northern Spain.  With his permission I have edited it a bit in Photoshop.  Thought it illustrates nicely the contemplation and reflection with which we often begin a new year.

Wishing each and every one of you a happy, healthy, rewarding 2013!

Year's End

As the year ends, here in the North East we have been buried embraced by more snow:

The photo on the left was posted here last week.  On the right you see snow in the last few days has now buried the same chair.

Hope you are able to look back on 2012 with gratitude for all its blessings and lessons.  See you in 2013!

The New Year and PAF are just around the corner!

Now that Christmas is over, perhaps you have time to turn your thoughts to your photography, digital editing and blogging.  I am hoping to soon return to a more regular schedule of creative pursuits.

Photo Art Friday will return from its hiatus on Friday, January 4th, 2013!  (Only about a week away!!)  Have you considered selecting a word to guide and inspire you throughout the year?  If so, you will like the optional theme for the first PAF in 2013:

The optional challenge is to link up a piece of photo-ART that features your or a 'guiding' word for 2013.  Easy peasy!  Here's an example (using the word that I think I will choose ... I think ... maybe ... we'll see ...) of what one could do:

  Contrived from  photographs of one of my paintings and a statue in my house.

 We did not have to dream of a white Christmas this year!

We are enjoying a real winter wonderland, with more snow forecast for tomorrow.

May your last few days of 2012 be merry and bright and may the new year bring you many moments of inspiration and bliss!

50% off all texture sets

Hi there Everyone!

Have you been crazy busy arranging a wonderful Christmas for your loved ones, and now you're thinking about a little Christmas indulgence just for yourself?   Well ... check this out:

You can save 50% off all textures in my Shoppe until Saturday, Dec. 22nd at midnight.  Yes!  50%!!!  There are several new sets  to choose from.  Check them out here.  

You have only about 2 1/2 days to benefit from the automatic 50% discount on your purchase total.  Don't miss out, I've never reduced my texture sets by this much before!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas up here in the North East of the continent. 

Stay safe everyone and have a very merry, connected and inspired Christmas!

A little inspiration just for you!

Hi Everyone!

These are very busy days, right?  I won't keep you.  Just want to let you know that I'm still around and will be back with Photo Art Friday right after the New Year.  Hope your holidays are full of joy!

In the meantime, here is a little gift of gratitude and inspiration for you:

pdpa Inspiration texture  -  A Free Download

Just a reminder ...

Hey there!  Hope all your holiday preparations are in full swing and proceeding smoothly.  I've opted for the easy shopping alternative of sitting in front of the computer and ordering gifts online.  Click, click ... and then ding, dong the ordered items are delivered to the door.

Of course, a stroll along Montreal's main street with all the decorations, music, lights and hustle and bustle is a must every Christmas.  It's just so nice not to have to stand in lines to pay for purchases.  How have you sourced your holiday gifts this year?

 I've had a couple of emails from followers who are missing Photo Art Friday. So sweet.  :)   Not to worry, it's only twelve days until Christmas, nineteen days until New Year's Day, and about three weeks until the next Photo Art Friday!  I'll put up a post reminding you of the optional theme in a couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of painterly Photoshop edits done using two of my "Painterly" textures.  You still have until Saturday, December 15th at midnight to profit from the 30% discount off all the sets when you purchase a minimum of two sets.

Sharing Some Texture Love

Yes, that's me  -  covered in - buried in textures.  I currently have 2000+ textures in my archives!  It's a serious addiction and I think I need help! ;)   There are just too many great ones sitting around unused and unloved.  Sooooo - I've been doing some thinking and have come up with a great way of sharing more of them with you!  It's in the works and I'll be posting the details here very soon.  Can't wait to share this idea (and hundreds+ textures!) with you.

So stay tuned for the unveiling of a great new way to have unlimited downloads of tons of my textures!  They're
just hanging out in my head and in my archives waiting for a way photo artists can access them, love them and use them!



Oh - don't forget that you get a 30% automatic reduction off of all my texture sets with a minimum purchase of two sets until December 15th!  Check out my Texture Sets Shoppe to select your favourites.

Photo Art Panache

Did you get to wander through our virtual photo art gallery this past weekend?  The photo art showcased was beyond great.  I am truly running out of superlatives to describe the submissions.  Thank you everyone.  You're the best!

You inspire me to learn more, try harder, do better and just dive in and experiment with new forms of photo art.  That's what I will be doing (among other things!) during Photo Art Friday's hiatus in the month of December.  You know, there is nothing that says we can't pre-prepare images and then showcase them with PAF whenever we want.  PAF will return on January 4th, 2013.

Kim, a loyal PAF participant asked me to post a few images using textures from my new pdpa Abstract Panache texture set.  Thanks for the suggestion Kim.  I'm happy to oblige.  As the name suggests, they work well for making abstract photo art.  But they can be used with most photographs.  The effect is as subtle or dramatic as your blending selection.  Of course,  part of the artistry is finding the right texture to complete your vision.  I have to admit, however, that some of my best creations have been happy accidents - and I can guarantee you some happy surprises using these textures.  They are just full of artistic panache!  :)

 Here are a few examples of how I have used these textures:

Click on image for a larger view.

If you want something different and dramatic in your private texture cache, pdpa Abstract Panache is the set for you.  Until December 15th, when you purchase a minimum of two texture sets you receive an automatic 30% discount on your total.  Check it out!