Bonus Weekly Quick Collage: Kingfisher

I really have been making quite a lot of these lately, so I decided to share two this week instead of just one.

Kingfisher

mixed media collage on board, 5.5 x 6 inches

Making these collages has become addictive, in a way.  I love to be able to juxtapose disparate elements without worrying about whether or not they "go together." I love the constant exploration of form, size and composition. Part of the fun is seeing how far you can push these elements and still make it "work." Working on these collages is a very intuitive process for me, and one of the most rewarding aspects is that it's always a surprise in the end - I never know how they're going to turn out until they're finished. I also find that working on them has vastly expanded my ability to pull a composition together - something I never really thought about when I started.  And the best part is that it's play, which is the best kind of learning experience.



“This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
                                                                                                               ~ Alan W. Watts




“Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.”
                                                                                                                   ~ Tom Robbins

A Monkey With Photoshop is Still a Monkey...

Last week, let's see- I forgot what day it was, but I was doing something else- I forget what- and I got distracted by playing around with Photoshop, something I haven't done since I can't remember when.  Usually I start out to do a specific thing, then as I'm looking for the thing I wanted, I get distracted by something else, like, "Oh wow, why have I not done anything with this photo..." and pretty soon my original purpose has gone away somewhere, to be completely forgotten, or to return to me at a later time when I least expect it.  I swear, I never used to be this way, and I find it pretty distressing at times.  What has happened to my brain?  Is ADHD contagious?

Anyway, here are the results of my distraction:

Okay, this is a bit scary, like the cover of a weird horror novel or a scene from a creepy movie...

This is the original photo of a full moon, and here's what I did with it:

I was attempting to create a sort of frosty, winter-y mood here.  I don't think I was successful, but it reminds me of an illustration for a children's book, so it's still somewhat interesting.  All in all, I like the original better.


With this one, I was just playing around at first, with nothing much in mind (as usual).  Here's the original, a shot through some hemlock boughs.  I liked the lines created by the dark twigs.

Then I wondered if I could make it look as if it were a stained glass window, with the sticks separating the panes...

I'm not sure what this looks like; a Kandinsky painting, maybe?  Hmmm....

So I just kept going....

... until it looked like- what?  A sixties flashback?  Something out of Scientific American, like the structure of proteins in a spider's eyeball?


Oh well; let's just say these were not my finest Photoshop moments.  What have I learned from this?  I've learned that it's fun, and sometimes liberating, to just allow myself to play without worrying about the end result.  I've also learned that a monkey with Photoshop is still a monkey!