Hybiscus bloom

[CJ Swartz]

One more flower (Hybiscus) available.

I handheld, so it's a bit soft already.

[CJ Swartz]

Dry brush and angled strokes over Find Edges with a neutral layer overhead to tone down the light/bright tones.

[BillC]

CJ - I really like your dry brush technique - nice job.
Fishboy - you continue to beat me to the glossy/plastic look .. I really like your rendition - wild! (no comment about the mat/frame )
Here's mine ....
Bill C

[jeaniesa]

CJ - beautiful rendition!

Fishboy - I love the artwork, not so sure about the frame you chose to go with it though.

BillC - Wow - neat effect!

Here's my "usual" (these days) - another smudge version.

Jeanie

[BillC]

Jeanie - very nice - you have that technique nailed!
Fishboy - much better combo on the frame/mat - and, I like what you did to the pic (what did you do?)
My second ...not sure what look I was going for, and I achieved it!

[Blacknight]

It's the Bill and Fishboy show...

Commercial break.

And NOW, back to the Bill and Fishboy show...

[CJ Swartz]

Jeanie -- Bill is right -- you have nailed that technique, and this image is so lovely!

BillC -- that first submission is quite different, and I like the effect.

Fishboy -- I really like submission #2; the mat/frame are pretty nice also!

BK -- the bloom seriously lacked texture, and I like the texture that you supplied. You also greatly improved the background!

[jeaniesa]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Originally posted by Fishboy
Whoaaaa, that is a very nice piece of atrwork, how long did it take you to do that Jeanie?

It took me about 1/2 an hour to do the initial painting. Then another hour of fiddling to get it to my liking. (But, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so the truth is it was probably "good enough" long before that hour was up! )

Glad you liked the art, I am clueless on f/m's and I hate reading my notes.

Well, if you apply the principals of framing "real" prints, the mat/frame combo should enhance the art without it really being noticed that it's doing so. It should draw the eye into the art without distracting from it. Kind of an oxymoron, but if you've ever been to a framing shop and worked with the framers to choose the mat & frame, you'll know what I mean. It's amazing how an image comes together with a good mat/frame combo - and choosing the right combo is an art in and of itself, IMHO. I was recently at a photography show in a framing gallery and I was blown away by the mat/frame combos that were chosen for the photos. The gallery is one of the more expensive ones in town, but they are totally worth it. In fact, I've got a framed photo that I'm thinking of taking there to be re-framed b/c I don't think the current mat/frame really does the photo justice.

There's just no end to the things I still need to learn!!

Jeanie