New Themes ~ Sea Gypsy & Scholastic Delight

Two new themes are making their debut today ~ the first is titled "Sea Gypsy" and features a lovely sea theme with magic abounding.  From shells and smashing waves to sandy shores and a haunting romance of lost lovers at sea, this theme is sure to enchant any summer blog!

Next up we've got a more down to earth theme, both in color and concept. This one's titled "Scholastic Delight" and features a soothing color scheme with a scholastic ensemble. It comes in three background colors, features two sets of sidebar tags, including one especially designed for school blogs, and the banner is customizable to include two of your own school photos, making it truly personal and one-of-a-kind banner.

Both are available for either WordPress or Blogger platforms. You can find more info by clicking the titles and/or images above.

Enjoy~

Artist's Spotlight ~ Shelby Scott Photography

It's always a treat to share the creative talents of other artists but none more so than when there's a personal connection.  In this case it happens to be the inspiring talent of Shelby Scott Photography.

The personal connection is through our middle son, shown below in the bottom right. Artists always seem to converge and such was the case as they became good friends in high school, several years ago.  Shelby, shown below with painted face and further down with seaward hair (love that), has since moved on to college where she's just graduated with her degree from the Antonelli Institute.

Watching our kids grow through childhood is filled with so many special moments but watching them emerge into adulthood and begin to pave their own way in this world fills us with pride, wonder, and excitement.  We can only begin to imagine the roads they'll travel and how they'll impact this world through their own talents.

One thing is for certain, we've absolutely no doubt that where ever this gifted artist goes, success is sure to be her constant companion as she journeys through life!

You can view more of her work at: www.facebook.com/ShelbyScottPhotography  and www.shelbyscottphoto.com/

Enjoy~

Color Theory - Final Project

Last week our final project was due for my Color Theory class and so I'm here to share that with you.  I find brain storming for ideas to be the toughest part, probably because I'm used to creating what my customers want so it's like a muscle I don't exercise as often as I should.  Hmmm, sounds like all of my muscles...anyhoo...

Fortunately a friend of mine needed a custom Facebook cover image.  He loves the sea, steampunk, and feels a connection with old British naval ships.  So I went with that and worked to incorporate those elements as well his favorite quote into an original image.

It's funny about classwork because we're supposed to come up with several ideas but for me, usually when I have an idea it comes pretty well in it's completed form and that was the case with this project. Still we have to begin by creating several thumbnails to depict a "narrowing down" process and so this is what I submitted...

 I have to say I had loads of fun drawing that little ship and love the way he came out!

After that we were to work on several color studies with different strategies and so I handed in these...

I knew full well my final project wouldn't look anything like these rough sketches and remembering from last quarter when the professor and students were disappointed to see my project take a dramatic shift from a 2-D visual rendering to a more 3-D style, I made sure to include details in my original project statement that would, in a sense, cover my a_s...
W5A1 Project Plan-SHenry
Next it was time to work on our "final drafts" which in my case meant an awful lot of work in a very short amount of time, primarily because moving into a more 3-dimensional presentation means alot of cutting, pasting, painting, manipulating and layering...

Creating in an almost collage style to come up with an original piece of work is a real challenge but it's something that seems to come naturally to me. I'm not even sure what the process would be called but the end result is successful and that's what counts.

Finally it was time to fullfill my original intent of making this piece appear to be on old weathered map paper with a truly vintage feel, so here is the final outcome....

I'm super happy with the end result and so is my friend.  I ended up getting an A on the project and in the class, which means so much in striving for future scholarships and additional funding as I work toward my degree.

I hope all of you enjoyed this little glimpse into my final project.  Next class begins this week and it's Art History ~ something I've never studied before but am excited to learn more about.  I'm looking forward to sharing what I learn with all of you!

Enjoy~

White Seas - new blog theme & shop set

Just in time for the summer heat is this refreshing new beachy theme titled

White Seas

It offers a whimsical assortment of shabby chic elements including 2 and 3 column backgrounds & banners along with an assortment of free sidebar tags.

I've also created a few one-of-a-kind Etsy shop themes for those of you wishing to coordinate your seasonal themes. They're available for purchase through my shop while supplies last.

Happy Summer fun to all!

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(¸.•´ (¸.•´✻✻✻Don't miss a chance to enter the June Giveaway for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate in my Etsy shop(¸.•´ (¸.•´✻

Enjoy~