To ride with Fairies August 24, 2009

“Faeries , come take me out of this dull world , For I would ride with you upon the wind , Run on the top of the dishevelled tide , And dance upon the mountains like a flame.”~William Butler Yeats, “The Land of Heart’s Desire,” 1894

I have been meaning to update my blog here for what few followers I have , but have not matched my intentions with my actions.That seems to be the theme of my world theese days. Full of good intentions , but no will to act on them.The Lack of motivation and positive thinking is quite un-fairie like I must say.So I intend to try harder to be happier , laugh longer , smile more heartedly and act as though I was riding with fairies !

Magical Forest Fairy June 10, 2009

“Make Believe”

“Hold your breath and close your eyes,
Squeeze all the magic from inside.
Step through the circle that times defies,
And journey into wonderous skies.
It’s time to dance, it’s time to sing,
enjoy the peace that fairies bring.
See their world through eyes of wonder,
And on their beauty you may ponder.
Go deep within the wooded ground,
’tis there the secrets can be found.
Enjoy your journey, that begins right here,
Close your eyes and have no fear.“

BY JOIE dE VOVRE

What an enchanting child. This little girl of only 3.When I saw this photo in a set that was sent to me for fairy creation , my imagination sparked a roaring flame of creativity. How beautiful she is with her little princess dress , and the devious look in her eyes so absolutely stunning.A special thanks to Noel for allowing me the oportunity to work with your amazingly magical children.

My young angel’s first quest for adventure May 28, 2009

“The purpose of life, after all,
is to live it,
to taste experience to the utmost,
to reach out eagerly and without fear
for newer and richer experience.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~

As most people that read thees already know , I have two magically beautiful little girls : Kaylee ,almost 13 , and Ashlynn , almost 3 .I have done many enchanted fairy photos of the girls , but I also have a little boy. Sean is 7 , almost 8 , much to old to create a cute little fairy from. But I couldn’t leave him out . Using this quote I set out to include him in a new enchantment.

I found myself searching through photos of my son , disappointed that none of them could fit into the realm of fantasy art. Either he had an over sized shirt on , or his glasses were askew and covering his eyes. He is such a handsome little guy with dazling green eyes. Then I ran across a picture of him in the front yard playing with the bubble blower.PERFECT ! He had his glasses off as they needed the suds cleared off , and (for once) the sun was out , so his shirt was off.

Next I had to find a way to fit a scene around him . I would tread very carefully as I could take no chance of having him look feminine ! The bubble wand was removed and replaced with a staff. I decided on angel wings rather than fairy wings , but what to place in the background .? I wanted him to look tribal , adventurous .A young warrior angel seeking his first task.

I came across this great picture created by one of the deviantart artists entitled “Skull Rock” . I blended it with some mossy forest scenes , some rocks , and painted some extra waterfalls and splashes.I then added some light rays , some sparkles , and some glow to the skulls’ eyes (though that feature is not that apparent). Finally , I adorned my Son with tattoos just to make extra sure he looked fearless.

Click the photo to see it better………

Most people don’t know that the the backgrounds I use are not all pre-made , and are created by me to fit the feel of the piece. I used many resources once again from deviantart.com and am crediting them here (click to see sources)

grass brushes by *Katikut

skull rock by =moroka

Mossy forest background by ~mysticmorning

Splash Brushes by Baringa of the Wind

Waterfall toutches with brushes by *midnightstouch

Angel Wings by ~bazzabent-stock

Rays of Light by ~LadyVictoire

Fantasy staff pack by *unholy-stock

tatoo Tribal Brushes by =Falln-Stock

sparkle brushes (pixie dust)

Look to the sky May 14, 2009

This morning I made the redundant commute into Bend as I do daily . Tired , stressed and despondant .The morning was cold and cloudy adding to my faltering mood . I took the same straight route as usual through the high traffic , winding streets of the city and made my way to the southernmost portion to drop Kaylee off for school.

As I came around a long curve to some uninhabited areas near the school , I looked up .I forget sometimes why I moved to this small town , but when I looked up this morning something magical happend.It was like a mystical being lifting my spirit when it knew how desperately I needed it !

The clouds were a mixed texture of smooth and long ,flecked with fluffy powder puffs and streaks. Their stunning hues from indigo to white contrased against the vivid green of the pine trees that lined the streets before me.Though the sun was hidden behind this glorious display , one break in these clouds allowed a few rays of it’s light to peek through .Sparkling rays of magical light shone down before me , as if heaven itself was singing in all it’s glory. Singing “The Clouds are dark and gray now , but the sun WILL shine again !”

We sometimes forget to look up when everything feels like it’s seems to be crashing down.I have resolved to look up to the sky , and take in all the glory of natures wonder every time I feel low .To remember that no matter how bleak the the views are before me , it will get brighter , if I just look up !.

…………………………Look up!

Kaylee Angel May 13, 2009

In a current age of economical distress , hardships and worry , one can’t help but to feel down . Lately I have began to falter myself , and have developed a rather lousy disposition . I don’t want to be that person.

I looked to my children this week. The most beautiful creatures on the planet. Once again taking their pictures and finding so much inspiration I can hardly contain myself.

In my previous post I mentioned this photo. It is particularly inspiring in so many ways.I have been working on a magical encounter in heaven with this photo but it is too good to leave it to just one.Enchanting , magical , fantastical thoughts entered my soul as I downloaded this one and I just exploded with creativity….

So I leave you with a random inspirational thought that I found on the net . I think everyone could use a lift right now !

Allow Your Own Inner Light to Guide You
There comes a time when you must stand alone.You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams.You must be willing to make sacrifices.You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities so that your final goal can be achieved.Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.Be strong enough to at least try to make your life better.Be confident enough that you won’t settle for a compromise just to get by.Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.Don’t stand in someone else’s shadow when it’s your sunlight that should lead the way.

Time May 1, 2009

Some days I wish I could create time. Create my own sparkling river of minutes , enriched with shimmering seconds , that leads to a glorious ocean of magical hours .I could jump right in to it’s tender tide when ever I wished , and take in all the sweet time I needed.

As it is , however , I feel that I am constantly starved for time. . I have so many ideas so many fantastical works of art swirling around in my head constantly .Yet I am so busied by all of the requirements of the day , that I am left in famine for what I want to do .

I find myself srapeing minutes of my time for thees images , while they constantly spin around in my head , begging to be released.This particular fairy creation is actually a side piece for another , bigger , project I have been working on .I found myself some extra time while tending to my sick littke fairy in the middle of the night.

It’s amazing what good can come from something so dejecting………..

Here’s where I started…and I am working on more from this particular super insipiring photo of my girls…

back to basic April 22, 2009

Recently , I have been getting carried away with the intricate details in my work.Butterflies and glitter , flower and mushrooms , moons , bubbles….whatever.I decided to go back to a basic image in order to attract more focus to the fairy herself.

I had a couple of different images to work with for this child. Her photos were the first to strike me when I got the initial photo pack from Angie.She looks so dreamy and wonderfully intriguing .The photo I went with was not my first choice , but the lighting on her face best suited the background I had created for her.

I used a brush preset called 9 skies , and a lotus flower that I downloaded from deviantart.com .(click the hyperlink to see)Brushes in photoshop are the greatest invention .There are some sparkle brushes of my own thanks to Gary Calicott , wing brushes and tiara brushes are also from diviantart.Seriously , you gotta check out this site !

All in all one of my more simpler works of art , but I think that this piece has become one of my favorites !

Deviations …….. April 21, 2009

So , as promised , I want to share some of the work I have done with Angie’s kids. This was a huge challenge for me as I have never done any photo manipulation with children other than my own.Would exposing other children’s inner magic be as facile ? As it turns out , I can .

(at least I think I can )…

During my search for background and accessories , I came across a website called deviantart.com . The site is devoted to artists of all kinds . Here I found boundless tools and resources for doing what I do , as well as some amazing artwork. I have used backgrounds from anaRasha stock , and BellazaArtStock and would like to pay homage to them here.

So thees are some new pieces I put together , again …the photo quality is poor , but I think

I pulled it off… ??? Feedback would be wonderful !!!!

from this ……

to this………….

‘

and from this ……………..

to this ……………

Thank you again to Angie for providing the photos and to all the wonderful artists at deviantart……………

Mermaid dreams April 20, 2009

What inspires people ? What makes us get out of bed every morning to endure the monotony of work and repetitious commute ? For me , it is the faces of my three beautiful children. The wonderment and innocence in all they do ( for the most part ). With spring still looming off in the distance here in central Oregon , I had run out inspiration . When at last someone had given me a challenge.

I had been asking family members for months to provide me with some digital images of their kids.None responded. I showed some of my latest creations . Still …. no response.It was when I posted some photos on facebook that an old friend asked if I would create some art with her children.

I was thrilled by the photos she provided. The quality is poor , but the children display such inner magic , that I was instantly gathering supplies to start a new project. She had asked me to make a mermaid.I’ve never done a mermaid before , but after several days tinkering I came up with this….

Now , the background and feel of the piece was perfect , but with the way the child was dressed , I had a hart time making the tail believable. I used a golf fish , and her tank just wouldn’t blend. She need more …. so I made a few adjustments to her hair , a hue adjustment to her tank and tail , and a small splash in the water (thanks to a suggestion by my husband) , and the final project came down to this ….

Thank You to Angie for providing thees pictures….

Welcoming Boscoe. April 18, 2009

Creating images through photo manipulation takes more that just the knowledge of using the software . I happen to have very little knowledge in comparison to many other photographers that I have encountered.I experiment mostly .I find tips for effects on blogs or artist pages. But I mainly FEEL my way through it. Some random thought , image or phrase will spark my imagination and I become inspired to create something magical.

Recently , with only a few fleeting glimpses at true inspiration , I had been unable to create anything truly enchanting. Engulfed by the everyday humdrum routine.For several days I thought about what to do next.I searched the Internet. I searched through books and movies and artwork.I searched my closet and my backyard.The quest for some spark of magic amongst the mundane.Finally , when I realized that I would never find a cure to my own inner battle , I quit looking.That’s when I found Boscoe.

Surfing the Internet on another dreary workday , I came across the sweetest face of 2 1/2 year old boxer , licking the face of a small child.Someone was giving this dog away.Immediately I phoned my husband (to ask permission of course) and then went to Madras to meet him.

CRAZY….Boscoe is full of life and energy.He likes to think he’s a cuddly lap dog.He doesn’t bark , and most importantly , he gets along well with my children and my 3 yr old Lab Sparky.

Ashlynn Absolutely loves having 2 “goggies“ she calls them…..

Kaylee thinks he licks too much …………..

Micah is Glad to have more dog hair to clean off his clothes………..

Sean I super excited about having twice the dog poop to scoop !!

As for me , I am elated , and over joyed to have added such a fun loving new family member , now I feel some inner bliss and have come up with some fantastic new creations , which I will share with you throughout the week………

Thanks Boscoe !