The Ego Has No Heart

Let us set the stage and serve up the star of the show... The Ego.

I have observed that when people are living through the ego false-self, the wants of the 'me' outweigh their ability to take "others" into any consideration. It simply does not occur to them, as they are not living heart sourced. The ego becomes defensive and self righteous about it's actions and behaviors. When the ego-false-self steps on a person's heart they sadly do not realize they step on their own heart as well. To them there is the more important serious immediate business of feeding their raging ego.
 
This is my first attempt at creating the modern Zetti style digital collage. Way back in the 70's I did crazy collages made from magazine parts of people. Pasting new eyes and mouths on faces to make some really odd characters. Do you remember how much fun it was to take a pencil eraser to a big 'Life' magazine ad and make rays come from someone's eyes? I also loved making Rebus letters with found pictures and cut out magazine words to send to friends. 

In the 80's I used to make photostats and xerox copies from the Dover vintage catalogs we had at the publications I worked for back then. Using the old fashion waxer I placed the sticky cut outs on paper, copied it again and hand colored my wacky announcements and party invitations. I even designed a stage set for a local music television show employing these techniques on a larger scale. So this kind of 'play' has always been fun for me over the years! Now with the wonderful world of digital art it makes everything you create in this art form so richly textured, colorful and coherent. I really am enjoying these little mini-paintings of quirkiness. There are a few more ideas "formin' in me head" of how to use this popular journaling art form to express some recent encounters...

My visits to Tumble Fish Studios were the inspiration to try my hand... and mouse at making these images. Thanks Marsha! You can click on the image to view it larger.

Credits: This Digital Collage used images from: Tumble Fish Studios - Disguise, Splendor, Etheral Rings, Fancy Shamancy, Jubilant, Masterpieces / Floor from Deviant Scrap by Finecrafted Designs -Zetti ReVamp

Trey Ratcliff's View From Hobbiton

We found these wonderful photos taken by HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff of Tolkien's visible world as it looks now. Look closely...there is the party tree just outside the door of Bilbo's Hobbit Hole! Below is a closer look of the tree stretching out in all it's majesty and glory! 

We were thrilled Trey came to our world and took such inspiring photos just to share the beauty of these lands! The Hobbits told us that Trey Ratcliff is an excitable generous soul who happily shares his photos and knowledge of HDR techniques on his Flicker pages and website 'Stuck In Customs.'  You can certainly see by these images why his website is the number one travel photography blog. 

During the Holiday Season in the eternally gorgeous Shire, everyone is very thankful for all that is.  We love to take the time to find a quiet place of reflection and realize what is most important to us... ...each other...... and the unity we can find in peace.

Living in Lothlorian, the beauty is felt within, and reflected outward onto our glorious surroundings. As the lights of the season sparkle and twinkle in the misty light, we hope you relax and enjoy those quiet magical moments in your home...Please remember who you really are in the scheme of all things...a beautiful creation 
of light and love. Share your most valuable gift of beauty...
...the love and peace of your heart, with everyone you encounter.

Pink Dreams

I won a digital scrap booking kit called 'Pink Dream's' recently on Mary Pop's blog! Lucky me! So last night I decided to play. Since I had this recent sweet photo of Aowyn just waking up in her fairy costume at Faerie Con, I thought it would make a good dream image. Eventually as this digital creation came into being I also used Mary Pop's 'Little Angel' for some pieces. I made the tips of our fairy's shoes from part of a wooden bird in 'Pink Dreams'.

Every time Mary Pop designs a new kit I really want to have it, as she does lovely work. Her creative team is great and shows beautiful examples of what can be created. Although I want my pages to look like many I see on her blog... they still come out looking like I did them, because they turn into fairytale fantasy scenes. That's me and my muse for ya! Now I just cannot decide which version I prefer, the one above, or the one I did below.  Maybe you could tell me with a comment which one you like!

(The frame is from retired 'Catherine Designs' and the butterflies are my photos.)

Sending A Bluebird of Happiness

I created this digital artwork for Ben's lovely Duo partner Elena, it's her birthday this week. I hope all of you enjoy the bluebird of happiness in your life as well. Have a peaceful weekend.

Credits: Textures - Shadowhouse Creations, Photo - Crystal Visions, 
Bird - Mary Pop Designs- 'Little Angel', Frame - Bandsidhe

Stove-top Mural Painting

It occurred to me tonight that I like to encourage people to paint on their walls, because I have not been allowed to express this part of my creativity at home... as I rent. All the years I painted for other people and came up with cool decor ideas... I could never do the same for myself.  So if you own your walls I say my mantra to you..."do it! It is so easy! It is just paint! If you change your mind, just paint over the paint!" I am showing an example of the type of small area you could paint yourself. This is the area over your cook-top in the kitchen.  If yours is covered in tlle or other non-paintable material, perhaps you have desk or nook area along your counter top you can use instead.  You supply the willingness and some artistic ability. Mine are done with Benjamin Moore latex house paint and latex glazing liquid. Yes it is just house paint!

When I would meet with my clients I always made a point to talk about the things they loved. This gives you a feel for their personal taste and passions. So if you are not sure what to paint just think about the things, places, or objects you enjoy. The owners of this kitchen loved to cook, drink wine and share these things with friends. Now that I think about it, they always had a glass a wine and a great meal for me too! A rather big glass served with laughter!

In love with Tuscany and some fine Italian restaurants, the clients wanted their space to reflect the feeling of cozy old world dining. I wanted them to look out over the Tuscan hills from a wide rough stucco window alcove. The view I painted was from a vacation photo they supplied. You cannot get that with wallpaper. After creating a trompe-l'oeil ledge, I then painted their favorite cookbooks and herbs.  I used brushes and cheesecloth to build up the layers of transparent paint glazes so the walls became old burnished stucco. Then a layer of thin satin finish poly over the finished wall mural above the cooktop to make cleaning up cooking stains easy. Now isn't that window better than a blank wall while you boil that pasta?

This next cook-top alcove actually was made of stucco! The client wanted his view of Brandywine Falls painted right onto that real stucco. Yikes! That is a tricky bit of painting! I would recommend a simpler piece of art than this realistic landscape painting if you have stucco. Since I have painted a man standing on a ladder right onto painted cinder block, and then had people ask him questions... 
I figured I could handle this one. I took lots of photos of the view outside of this modern home with the serene view and chose the one with a composition that fit the shape. I used a furry stucco roller to lay down some primer as you can see in the 'before photo'  below. 

Now check out the view over in the dining room. That is the river! Amazing! Okay back to work. Be sure to cover the area with plastic and tape out your edges where needed. Prep is so very important. The primer smoothed the wall a little, although the stucco texture was still going to be part of the equation.  So I made the rough surface work for me. As you can see in the detail below, rocks and rough texture go together very well. Dry brush over your rock base colors and then slowly build up your shapes. Don't forget to step back from your work every now and then, and check out the big picture too. For the smooth area of the water, I really had to scrub the paint into every porous crevice so you would not see the texture. You can really rip up your brushes this way! Be prepared to buy more brushes.

The shape of the stucco alcove in this kitchen determined the shape of the mural. I am sure once the other contractors set the surrounding tumbled marble tiles and granite molding into the wall the finished river painting looked both soothing and very dramatic. 

You can also paint outlets to match your mural if they are in the area you wish to paint. Prepare first with a light sanding and a good primer and then paint to disguise them. If the outlets or switches are used heavily then leave the hexagon plug, or square push button unpainted, and paint the surrounding cover plate only.

Let's walk into the living room while we are here... Wow! That is one great view. The river is just feet away! I bet the fall leaves are looking fantastic through those windows right now!

For our next cooktop area mural we are painting a trompe-l'oeil alcove with a still life inside. You can create anything you like in an alcove, the client asked for this vase and floral arrangement.

This entire kitchen is painted in a five shade glazed old world finish. The centerpiece painting under the range hood had to be in keeping with the cabinets and the overall french country feel of this room. The satin poly does not reflect the hood lights which is what I prefer. I recommend only one or two thin coats of poly. Unfortunately the flash of my old camera did reflect off the poly at the time of this photo. Still you can see that this still life and the monochromatic color scheme is a different look from the other cook-top murals.

For our final mini-mural in this post here is a very simple little effect done by painting meadow flowers, small birds, nests and butterflies on a plain creamy yellow wall. You cannot see the other vignettes in this photo, so just imagine the other birds and butterflies scattered along the wall above the counter-tops, and perched on the outlets in this kitchen. This would be the easiest solution for you, as you are only painting small little objects, on an already plain painted surface. 

This kitchen was actually painted in semi-gloss paint. I found it a bit too sticky to work with, so on all my future murals I switched to eggshell finish. Clients usually always wanted a washable wall. Eggshell is tough, but all modern latex finishes hold up if you use good paint! It's that awful builders paint that washes off or peals off under painters tape. Yuk! I like Benjamin Moore Paints because you can stand your paint stick up in them, and it stays there. It has a very thick consistency! The Benjamin Moore Latex glazes and my basket of acrylic tubes mixed just fine with the house paint. 

Many of my followers like to do collage work. Why not create a decoupaged piece of art for behind your cook top. You could do it on a framed piece of Masonite or on canvas so it is removable. So think about what you love, start saving some tear sheets for inspiration, and express yourself... you fortunate home owners!