Monday, February 6, 2023

Magic beans...

Last week I jumped into Mindful Art Studio's  Slow Drawing Patterns challenge with a sharpie pen, small pieces of watercolor paper, and a simple little child's paint palette.  I'm using this palette because I was too impatient to go looking for a larger set  of tubed  watercolor paints I bought once upon a time.  Most of my art supplies are leftovers from when our boys were young.  It has taken me too long to start playing with them all by myself!  



Turns out I'm glad I'm using these paints as it's interesting to see what colors I can make with such a limited palette.   Every Wednesday a drawing prompt is given, with some basic instructions to let the pen go where it take you (or something like that), and participants are told to interpret the prompt and their own drawings however they like.

The shape is described by the instructing artist as "Peguin" so penguins are, of course, the first place my very literal brain wants to go.  But the shape below looked more like a bean, so I drew some cartoony vines and tendrils to go with it.  I'm no artist, so imagine how happy I was to make what appear to be the beans inside a dried up pod.  You may see something else, or nothing at all, but my interpretation of this picture is a dried up bean pod hanging onto its shriveling plant in late October.


The impression of  beans was made by using a clean wet brush to lift off some of the green/yellow/brown paint.  I just moved the brush on its side in a circular fashion as I pressed into the paint, then lifted the brush while still moving it round, and like magic, that created the edges of bean bumps and some lightening of the color in such a way that the bean shape looks kind of dimensional.  No one else may be impressed, but I couldn't have done better if I'd tried to actually paint something that looked beans.

That's it for today!  Just something fun I'm up to recently so it's game for a "Daily Life Photo".  

Thanks for popping in!

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Sunday morning sound duty...




Yesterday Linda commented that the black and white picture looks atmospheric.  Liking the sound of that, but not really understanding what that meant, I looked it up. 

_____________
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages
at·mos·pher·ic
/ˌatməsˈfirik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    relating to the atmosphere of the earth or (occasionally) another planet.
    "atmospheric conditions such as fog, snow, rain"
  2. 2.
    creating a distinctive mood, typically of romance, mystery, or nostalgia.
    "atmospheric lighting"

----------------

Yes!  The second definition is what she was referring to.  The black and white photos definitely give (me, anyway) a sense of nostalgia.   As if these pictures are from a time in the past.  

So now I'm wondering...  Do we simply feel nostalgic when when see a modern photo in black and white because it reminds us of an early time?  

Or...   How much is the quality (or other characteristics) of modern-day picture changed when the same picture is shown in black and white?

Your thoughts are welcome.  I think I'll be looking into this more...

Saturday, February 4, 2023

At the ready...


 
Kitchen towels stored in the laundry room



Just for fun I tried the B&W filter in my photo app.  To be honest, I like both images, but for different reasons.  Interestingly, I notice things in the black and white picture I didn't notice in the color picture (until I saw it first in B&W).  For example, even in person, I'd never noticed before how some of the screws are covered with wooden covers, but most are not.  I wonder why that is, but mostly I wonder why I didn't notice before.

Friday, February 3, 2023

How is it possible that it's February already?!?

Getting a late start setting up my day journal...



Teach us to number our days, 
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.   

- Psalm 90:12


Thursday, February 2, 2023

Fajitas for supper...

 





The seasoning I use is Kroger brand fajita seasoning mix (in the little packet, not bottle - I don't care for the flavor of the Kroger brand seasoning that is sold in the bottle) sprinkled directly on the meat and veggies as they are sautéing in avocado oil.  Chicken sautéed first, then the peppers and onions together - to just barely cooked (I like the veggies a bit crunchy).  The avocado slices are my latest addition.  

An easy, relatively healthy meal made with low carb tortilla shells.

I have no idea if this seasoning mix creates fajitas as they are supposed to taste, but we like it:
photo pulled from Kroger's imstacart.com website