Posted By venita on June 15, 2008

Now that I have a blog, I want to participate in some “challenges.”  So, with that said, I have been working this week to submit an image to Mixed Media Monday.  I first discovered the site via an article in Artful Blogging by Somerset Studio Summer 2008 issue.  There are several cool articles in their newest magazine and I really liked the interview with Diane Whatford.  So last Monday, I went out to the site to see what the upcoming swap would be about.  And this week’s challenge is to do something you have never done before.  AHHH!!  Did that open the floodgates or what? 

 

What should I do?  What should I do?  Well I decided I would do a collage via software.  No paper.  That has been, suffice it to say, for me a huge challenge.  I don’t have or know Photoshop.  But, I do have Microsoft’s Digital Imaging Suite.  I have made at least 15 different images to get to just two that I could share in a public forum and am happy with.  I called the piece “She protects us from Evil.” 

 

I love Our Lady Guadalupe.  And I found the background image from “Crumble.Crackle.Burn” by Von Glitschka.  It is a kind of cool book and comes with all the backgrounds on CD.  I purchased it here locally at the Creative Underground at Timeless Creation.  Christi definitely has some cool stuff.  I used the Private Property sign as the base and then tinted it with the hue function, then overlaid an image of collage roses (that I cropped from another art piece of mine).  And then turned it transparent and tinted it as well.  Then finally I cropped an image of Our Lady Guadalupe, turned her transparent, and then over laid her on the piece.  And there you have it.  It seems so simple and took all week to learn.  And as you can see, I like that transparency function allot!!!  LOL!!!

 

I also made an equivalent piece with an American Indian on the same background.  The imagery really resonated with me.  The thought of the Indians seeing their once free lands sectioned off into ranches and farmland, truly spoke to me.  I will show that in another entry this week.

 

All in all, this has been a good exercise (albeit a touch difficult).  But, I am glad I did it and it got me out of my comfort zone, which I think was really the point.  I think moving forward, where feasible I will create my challenges in digital format, so I can really get comfortable with the medium.  But, give me paper and paint anytime!! 

Category: Beginnings, Digital Collage, Mixed Media Monday, collage
Tags: collage, Digital, Our Lady Guadalupe