Abstract Photography

I'm revisiting old photographs I took when I first moved to the DC area.  These pictures are from a class called, "Abstract Photography".

There are no rules or guidelines for this type of photography.  According to Wikipedia, "Photographer and Professor of Psychology John Suler, in his essay Photographic Psychology: Image and Psyche, said that 'An abstract photograph draws away from that which is realistic or literal.'"   ~JM

Below are photographs that I took:

Canvas + Object

As usual, I was perusing Pinterest. I saw an interesting craft concept - canvas with the front half of plastic toy animals glued on it.   Both were painted in bold complimentary colors. It gave a great 3-D look.  Here, I painted the canvas yellow and the wooden butterfly blue/green. I glued the butterfly on the canvas, which now hangs on my wall.  I also included examples from Pinterest.  - JM

Canvas +Paint + Object + Glue

Pinterest Example

Pinterest Example

Japanese Calligraphy | Hachimaki

Last month I attended an after-hour event at the National Gallery of Art.  That night's activities were inspired by the upcoming exhibition The Life of Animals in Japanese Art.

Some of the evening activities included Japanese lessons, haiku writing, hachimaki and Japanese calligraphy.


I tried my hand in Japanese calligraphy and here is how it looks like:

I also designed a hachimaki (Japanese headband).  It is a thin towel or strip of cloth tied around the crown of the head.  According to Japanese legend, hachimaki strengthen the spirit and repel evil.   I chose the words "clever" and "magnificent".  Below is what I created:

~JM

baby chickens

This month I have been having a lot of fun photographing our new baby chickens!  It is fun to find things their size around the house that are about their size. The white ones tend to stay right where I put them, which makes it so fun...the black ones are a bit more wild now that they are getting bigger....they are even trying to fly!

Drawing a 3-D Head

I attended a drawing class at the National Portrait Gallery.  I love these classes because it is open to all skill levels, taught by a talented instructor and it is FREE!

Tips that I learn to drawing a three-dimensional head: add value (shading); two sides are symmetrical; widest part of the head is just above the ear and marks the top half bottom half; eye socket area angles down; the largest plane of the face includes cheeks, bisecting nose, temple to temple, eye socket to the upper lip-like a triangle; nasal bone is a pyramid; and the side planes reach to the back of the head and include the cheek/jaw bone area.

Below are pictures I drew based on the portraits at the gallery.

pom pom ball tree

I saw this simple idea on the show called Twin Cities Live. I collected some branches outside, then hot glued colorful pom poms to all the ends....fun for Spring!

Watercolor Markers

Watercolor markers are another great tool to add to your art supplies.  The water-based markers are suitable to use with water or with watercolor paints. In the spirit of Spring, I drew flowers.  I used tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube. - JM

Five pictures I had fun experimenting with color and shapes.