My take on copying a painting

Have you ever seen a painting that moved you?  I am finishing up a Fine Art class at the local college and it has been challenging to say the least.  One of the assignments is to emulate a painting that you like with a modern twist. Well, I didn't do that. I wanted to see if I could try and make my image look close to the original.  I used the painting by Albert Lynch called Elegante. 

The woman is soft, elegant, with very fine features. I liked how the golden light illuminated her hair from the the side which made her skin look like porcelain. My version is below. 

I think that it turned out well enough for the first try. I would like to try another one and see how it works.   

Sensitive

Has anyone ever told you that "You worry too much", "You shouldn't feel that way" or "You cannot save the world?" I have struggled with it all of my life. Sensitivity. It is also labelled hyper sensitive or HSP (highly sensitive people).  It is not something that I really thought about until just recently as I was having a conversation with my nephew.  He mentioned that he thinks about things a long after an incident, especially when he feels that he said something that he thinks was wrong. The words roll over and over in his mind wishing that they were never spoken.  I, too, am that way.  It can be torture and you feel trapped by your emotions. If you are not a highly sensitive person you will not understand where I am coming from.

I had a bout with one of my siblings recently and I cried for days afterwards, feeling it intensely. People have told me that I worry too much. I know that I do. But I haven't been able to get a handle on it. Or am I supposed to? Perhaps I am wired to be this way. Being sensitive is not that bad really; When things get to be a bit too much for me, that is when I tend to be emotional.

Here are some indications that you are HSP:

1. When you are expected to do a lot of things in a short amount of time it becomes overwhelming and you shut down. 

2. Crowds or places that have a lot of noise is uncomfortable and you have a hard time thinking. (Try eating in a place with metal walls, oh joy!) 

3.  Alone time is essential for recharging.  

4.  Are you in a bad mood because someone else is?

5. Do you try to avoid upsetting situations at all cost?

6. Constant change makes you rattled. 

7. Do bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics or sirens bother you?

8. Does music, poetry, or art move you deeply?

9. Do you notice details that others may miss?

10. Do you notice when someone is uncomfortable and try to make them feel at ease?

The list goes on and on. Did you know that about 15- 20% of the population is HSP?  I didn't know that either.  They are generally introverted, like the quiet, and tend to notice things that others seem to overlook. The really great thing is that a lot of the highly sensitive people are creative.  Van Gough and Michael Jackson, are just a couple of examples of highly sensitive people. Click here to take a test to see if you are highly sensitive. 

Falling Down: Rural America

It rained the entire 1 & 1/2 hour drive that took me to Weston, Ohio to photograph a little autistic girl in a horse show yesterday.  Instead of being able to photograph outside we were stuck inside under florescent lights, a photographers nightmare.

I was there to photograph the horse show last year at this time and I saw an old house that was vacant and crumbling down. The empty house must have been loved at one point. I was enamored with the fish scale tiles that were painted green but now were faded or nearly bare wood. There was signs of people having lived there in the not so distant past. A BBQ grill was placed by the front door with a mound of other things.  I wanted to take pictures of it then but I couldn't find it. So, this time, I made a mental note of the location so that I could photograph it when I headed back home.  But when I left it was pouring so hard that I couldn't safely leave the car without getting soaked. 

So, I parked the car and aimed the lens at the house as best I could without much rain getting inside. Well, I did get a lot of rain inside but you would never guess that it was raining from looking at the pictures. I tried a process on Photoshop called HDR toning. I moved the levels around until I found the look that I wanted.  I added a memories grunge to it that I found on line et voila this is the result.  I rather like it.  A friend of mine said it looks surreal.  I don't know about that, but I really am drawn to old crumbling down buildings. 

 

The Ballerina

She wore white, but it wasn't her wedding day.

The shoes were smooth and dainty. 

Around her tiny waist hung a tutu.

Hair was tightly coiled 

upon her head. 

Underneath a neck like that of a swan. 

On pointed toe, with arms spread like 

an eagle, the girl twirled. 

Jeannie Smith