"Orpheus and Eurydice" – Postcard

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This week I have the honor of being the guest host for Sunday Postcard Art and I chose the challenge theme of "Greek Mythology."

I love the variety of stories in Greek Mythology. One of my favorites is Orpheus and Eurydice.


The pen and ink drawing is Orpheus and Eurydice by Filippo Pedrini  (I covered over the woman's top.)

The red Orpheus in the foreground is from Orpheus, a general history of religions by Salomon Reinach  

The words in the foreground are from the poem Orpheus and Eurydice by Hugh Donald Barclay.  

The music notes are from La lecon Tyrolienne by Amédée de Beauplan 

The Greek writing in the background is from Orphica by Gottfried Heinrich Schäfer 

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

The font is Georgia Bold

Oriental Flowers - Week 21 - The Book of Days

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The week21 theme for my Book of Days was Oriental Flowers.

The images are from an Internet search.

The master index for all of my entries is here.

Orange and Gold - Week 20 - The Book of Days

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The week20 theme for my Book of Days was Orange and Gold.

The images are from an Internet search.

The master index for all of my entries is here.

"Kelpie" – Tag

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This week’s Tag Along challenge #90 was "Fairy Tales."

I made a simple piece based on the Scottish water kelpie fairy tales.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Memorial Day Images" - Photograph

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I took the photograph of the house with Memorial Day bunting in the Southport area of Fairfield, CT this weekend.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. We remember and honor those who died while serving in the country's military.

"Union Cemetery Orbs" - Photograph

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I took this photograph at Union Cemetery in Easton, CT recently.

The cemetery is allegedly haunted but there are no ghosts there. The orbs are backscatter reflections. If you look closely in the top center, you'll also see a flying bug.

"Party Animal" - Postcard

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The final challenge at Artful Times is "Party Party (anything goes)."

I haven't been a frequent entrant for the challenge site, but I was usually a lurker for it. I'm sorry to see it go, but I understand their decision.

I was going to make a balloon themed piece, but then I noticed the second cat postcard I had created for last week's Sunday Postcard Art challenge, but which I didn't like how it was coming out. I modified it and added balloons and streamers.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Rain Droplets on Bleeding Hearts Leaves" - Photograph

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I took these photographs of the Bleeding Hearts in my yard on May 10, 2015.

The leaves were covered with rain water droplets.

"Grey Bird Black Cap" - Photograph

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I took these photographs of a grey bird with a black cap in my yard this past week.

I didn't look in my North East American bird book to identify the type.

"White Dogwood Tree flowers" - Photograph

 

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I took this photograph of the white Dogwood tree flowers in my yard on May 10, 2015.

"Northern Cardinal Couple"- Photograph

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I took this photograph of a Northern Cardinal couple in my yard this past week.

"Vintage Sea Shells" – Postcard

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I created a sea shell theme postcard.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Cat" – Postcard

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This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Furry Friends."

I had to enforce my time limit rule on myself with this.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Train" – Postcard

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I created a train theme postcard.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Unique" – Postcard

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

One of my personal sayings is, "I march to the beat of my own drum" so I made a theme around that.

I'm late entering this, and I think the cutoff is Friday.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"The Devil's Ravens" - Postcard

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The month of May challenge for Macabre Monday was "May we have a quick word?"

This is 1 of 2 pieces that I made for the challenge. I completed this piece in less than a day, and it has words on it.

The Quoth the Raven challenge #44 was "Raving Ravens." This piece is also my entry for that. (Hopefully these ancient Ravens qualify.)

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Ancient Devils" - Postcard

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The month of May challenge for Macabre Monday was "May we have a quick word?"

This is 2 of 2 pieces that I made for the challenge. I completed this piece in less than a day, and it has words on it.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Trains" - Tag

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I've been making Tim Holtz tags lately.

I used his train tag from August 2013 as my inspiration for this piece.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

Happy Mother's Day! - Postcard

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This week's Take a Word challenge was "Mother and Child" for Mother's Day here in the United States.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

The font is Benjamin Franklin

Bleeding Hearts - Photograph

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I took these photographs of the Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts in my yard this past week.

There are also some fern bleeding hearts in the third photograph. I had one plant and the seeds from it have spread, so now more are growing. I'm going to start picking the seed pods and spreading them around myself, now, to get more of these to grow. They continue to flower all summer.

Bleeding Hearts - Photograph

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I took these photographs of the Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts in my yard this past week.

Bird on Bird Feeder - Photograph

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I took these photographs of a small bird on my bird feeder this past week. I think it is some type of sparrow, but I didn't look in my bird book.

Bleeding Hearts - Photograph

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I took these photographs of the Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts in my yard this past week.

Saint Francis Bleeding Hearts - Photograph

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I took these photographs of the Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts in my yard this past week.

The bare spot on the left side of Saint Francis is where my damaged Bleeding Heart plant is growing. It used to be the same size as the plant on the right of him, but it was damaged last year during an overnight rain/sleet/snow event.

"Frog" – Tag

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This week’s Tag Along challenge #88 was "Frogs."

I searched through my stash and found this frog riding a bicycle, so I used him as my focal point. I also colored him green.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Flowers" – Moo (1.1" x 2.8")

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This week’s Moo Mania challenge was "Flowers."

I used several images to create this, and colored the scroll border.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"June" – Tag

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This week's Take a Word challenge was "Plants and Insects."

I've been making Tim Holtz tags lately, so I went digging around his archives, to find some inspiration for this theme.

I mimicked Tim's June 2013 tag for this tag. I still don't like how my "inked edges" come out.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"The Enchanted Tree" – Postcard

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

This is 1 of 2 postcards that I made for this challenge. I used two vintage stencils for this. The words are from poems from "The Druid Path" by Marah Ellis Ryan. I wanted to evoke a mystical feeling to this piece. (I took some poetic license by calling the grape vine a tree.)

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"Comstock Carnival" – Postcard

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

This is 2 of 2 postcards that I made for this challenge. I used a harlequin diamond pattern stencil for this, after seeing a Tim Holtz tag that used a similar design.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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

"May" – Tag

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I created this for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2015 - May challenge.

I mimicked Tim's steps to create my tag, using GIMP 2.8.14.

I started out with letters that I decided were too big. Instead of simply deleting the layer, I chose to scrape them off. That is what I would have had to do had this been done on a paper tag. The result left the remnants of the original letters visible.

The vintage images are from a DuckDuckGo search. (See the side of my blog for links.) To the best of my knowledge, the photobooth portrait I used is in the public domain.

The words are from the song "Love You Like A Love Song" which is sung by Selena Gomez.

Because my artwork is digital, and Tim Holtz's challenge is intended for people who buy his products, I'm not posting this on his site.

Lesser Yellowlegs - Photograph

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I took these photographs of a Lesser Yellowlegs at the reservoir in Easton, CT this past week.

I liked how the bare foliage reflected in the water in the first photograph, which is my entry for the following:

Wild Bird Wednesday
Weekly Top Shot
Camera Critters
I'd Rather Be Birding
Saturday's Critters

"Egyptian" – Tag

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This week’s Tag Along challenge #87 was " Egyptian."

This is one of my favorite themes, and I haven't done it in awhile.

I created this using GIMP 2.8.14.

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