Anne's Creative Cornucopia: April 2015

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"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster..." ― Friedrich W. Nietzsche

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"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." ― C. S. Lewis

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Sunday, April 26, 2015

"The Dancing Rhino" – Postcard

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This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Doodles."

I struggled with this and spent far too long on it. I can't draw, so I used "simulated" doodles. First I created separate swirl, star and triangle layers. I didn't think they truly qualified as doodles, so then I tried adding various elements, but none gave me the look I wanted. Then I found the darker swirl and circle pattern image, which I have used in the past. I thought it contrasted nicely with the background, and it was what I was looking for. My final step was to add various paper strips of text. I love how the final result came out, so it was worth the effort.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Month of May - The Book of Days

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I created a Calendar theme art journal page for the Month of May page of the weekly planner/journal that I'm using for my Book of Days. Unfortunately my printer printed washed out colors for this.

The images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

The master index for all of my entries is here.

Month of April - The Book of Days

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I created a Calendar theme art journal page for the Month of April page of the weekly planner/journal that I'm using for my Book of Days.

The images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

The master index for all of my entries is here.

Full Buck Moon - Week 27 - The Book of Days

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The week27 theme for my Book of Days was Full Buck Moon, which occurs on July 1, 2015, and Fourth of July. Unfortunately my printer didn't print the colors correctly for this.

The images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

The master index for all of my entries is here.

Book Cover - Notes Page 12 - The Book of Days

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I created a Book Cover theme for my Notes Page 12 in my Book of Days.

The images are from a DuckDuckGo search.

The master index for all of my entries is here.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

"Girl" – Tag

This week’s Tag Along challenge #86 was "It's a Girl Thing."

I made a collage type piece.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

The vintage images are from Collections on Digital Commonwealth (Massachusetts) and the Internet Archive. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Great Egret Reflections - Photograph

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This is 1 of 3 posts of photographs that I took of a Great Egret at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

I got quite a few nice photos of this Great Egret. They are a very photogenic and exotic looking bird (in my opinion). I usually don't get as many good shots as I did, so it was hard having to decide which ones to post, and which ones not to. I'm hoping my luck continues this way, the rest of the season.

Great Egret Striding - Photograph

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This is 2 of 3 posts of photographs that I took of a Great Egret at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

Great Egret Stalking - Photograph

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This is 3 of 3 posts of photographs that I took of a Great Egret at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

Beach Scene - Photograph

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I took this photograph at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

This turned out to be one of those photographs where I snapped it at the end, as I was leaving, not expecting it to amount to anything. When I loaded it onto my computer, I liked the shadows and framing of it. It also reminded me of a classic beach scene. (You'd never know it from the peaceful, restful appearance of this photo, but close by, a group of Bonaparte's Gulls was squawking and making a lot of noise.)

I also got some great shots of a Great Egret that I still need to post.

Bonaparte's Gulls - Photograph

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I took these photographs at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

I think these are Bonaparte's Gulls. They are a very noisy bunch, and some of them were flying in and out of the group.

Mute Swan - Photograph

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I took this photograph at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

"St George's Day" – Postcard

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This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Saint George and the Dragon/St George's Day."

I wasn't sure what to do for this, and once again had to enforce my time limit on myself. Artist's Block is creeping in on me again.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

The vintage images are from the Internet Archive. (See the side of my blog for links.)

The words are from this poem.

The fonts are:

Kelmscott Thin
PR-Columban

Saturday, April 18, 2015

"Mallard Head" Duck - Photograph

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This is 1 of 3 posts of photographs that I took near Mill Hollow Park in Fairfield, CT this past week.

I was originally going to use the "Painted" Duck post for my first post, but I captured some stunning "portrait" photographs of this "Mallard Head" duck.

This was the Alpha Male in a group of four ducks. Two of the others were male Mallards, and one was a "Painted" female duck.

I first saw this male duck in February 2013.

The first photo is my entry for the following:

Camera Critters
I'd Rather Be Birding
Saturday's Critters

Non-Standard Mallard Duck Pair - Photograph

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This is 2 of 3 posts of photographs that I took near Mill Hollow Park in Fairfield, CT this past week.

This Mallard duck pair were two of a group of four. These two were larger than the standard size male Mallards who were with them. Details about the female are here. Details about the male are here.

"Painted" Duck with Blue Right Eye and Brown Left Eye - Photograph

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This is 3 of 3 posts of photographs that I took near Mill Hollow Park in Fairfield, CT this past week.

For lack of a formal name for this duck species, I called it a "Painted" duck, like a Painted Pony horse. This female was in a group of four, with the other three being male Mallard ducks, although one of the males only had the metallic green head of a Mallard, while most of the rest of his body was brown.

The distinguishing features of this "Painted" duck was that she had a blue right eye and a brown left eye. She also had a white tear drop mark on the left side of her face. Both she and the "Mallard Head" duck were larger than the two standard size male Mallard ducks.

Daffodils - Photograph

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This past week, I took these photographs of the Daffodils that are growing in my flower beds.

Damaged Bleeding Hearts Plant - Photograph

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This past week, I took these photographs of the Bleeding Hearts plants that are growing in my flower beds.The plant to the left of my Saint Francis Statue was damaged last year during an overnight rain/sleet/snow event. Last year it was very small. This year, it looks like only two shoots are growing. These plants have been getting bigger every year, so it is unfortunate that this one suffered significant kill off. (The second photograph is of the plant to the right of the statue.)

Daffodils - Photograph

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I took these photographs near Mill Hollow Park in Fairfield, CT this past week.

Bonaparte's Gulls - Photograph

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I took these photographs at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week. These Bonaparte's Gulls have changed over from their Winter plumage to their Summer plumage.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

"Charlie Chaplin" – Tag

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This week’s Tag Along challenge #85 was "Charlie Chaplin."

I never know what to do for this theme, so I used an assortment of images related to him.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

The vintage images are from the Internet Archive. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Rabbits" – Postcard

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This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Rabbits."

I had to enforce my time limit on myself with this one. I started out with a different idea (and a different rabbit) for this theme, but I couldn't create what I envisioned in my mind. Then I spent a lot of time on this version, and finally had to declare, "Pencils down!"

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

The vintage images are from the Internet Archive. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Little Egret - Photograph

(Click on image to enlarge)

I took these photographs of a Little Egret at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

This is one of my favorite bird species, and I haven't seen any all Winter. I'm not sure if they migrate, but considering how cold and snowy this past Winter was, they probably went further south and are only just now returning. Spring has been slow to warm up, although this week has been great.

The first photograph is my entry for the following:

Wild Bird Wednesday
Water World Wednesday

Lesser Yellowlegs - Photograph

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I took these photographs of what I think is a Lesser Yellowlegs at Southport Beach in Fairfield, CT this past week.

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Sunday, April 26, 2015

"The Dancing Rhino" – Postcard

Month of May - The Book of Days

Month of April - The Book of Days

Full Buck Moon - Week 27 - The Book of Days

Book Cover - Notes Page 12 - The Book of Days

Saturday, April 25, 2015

"Girl" – Tag

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Great Egret Reflections - Photograph

Great Egret Striding - Photograph

Great Egret Stalking - Photograph

Beach Scene - Photograph

Bonaparte's Gulls - Photograph

Mute Swan - Photograph

"St George's Day" – Postcard

Saturday, April 18, 2015

"Mallard Head" Duck - Photograph

Non-Standard Mallard Duck Pair - Photograph

"Painted" Duck with Blue Right Eye and Brown Left Eye - Photograph

Daffodils - Photograph

Damaged Bleeding Hearts Plant - Photograph

Daffodils - Photograph

Bonaparte's Gulls - Photograph

Thursday, April 16, 2015

"Charlie Chaplin" – Tag

"Rabbits" – Postcard

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Little Egret - Photograph

Lesser Yellowlegs - Photograph