Artarazzi Saturday - No escape

Thanks for the challenge, Vron. Great image.

The young lady looks sad and trapped so that is where I went with it.

Background papers (also used in "house") by Irene Alexeeva.

Art Creations Friday - Will she or won't she?

Just think! The freedom of bare feet in the sand, sea breeze blowing through her hair? Should she? Will she? Noooooooooooo!! Maybe.
Thanks to the Art Creations ladies for the lovely image. The bride's photo is taken from an old family album. ENLARGE TO FIND THE SECOND SEAGULL!

A Moo or Two - Vintage Love

Here is my picture for this week's Moo Theme - "Vintage Love".

The cupid image and other bits and pieces are by Tangie Baxter.

Theme Thursday - 4 x 4 - Time Flies

Just a bit of whimsy. Girl is from a Lunagirl collage sheet, background and tag by Irene Alexeeva.

Arty Girlz - ATC - Exotique

Thanks for the challenge!

Image from Outsider Artists (a freebie - thankyou).

Crazy Amigo - Doors - Steppin' Out (In My Undies)

I think she forgot something!!

MMM - My Country

Click on picture to enlarge to read the pink text. Ooops. Left the "a" out of European. Too late to go back to square one and change it.
Today is Australia Day which is a bit like an Ozzie fourth of July. Oh, it is great fun. Hundreds of thousands of people wait in the hot sun all day to see half an hour of fireworks over the city at 8.30pm. The excitement is something to see - drunken brawls, riot police, drunken yobboes lining the gutters and tired and cranky spectators, not to mention tons of garbarge dumped along our pristine river banks and traffic jams to rival the world's worst.
Cynical? Moi?
My picture is an overpainting of a Googled photo. In case someone has never heard of Dame Edna I have a secret to tell. She is actually a ......... man, a very tall man who entertains around the world.

Gothic Arch - Winter Sports

On a day when the maximum temperature hit 101 deg F or 38 deg C, this is a bit strange for me!! Nice challenge though. The image was Googled and the bits and pieces which make up the background come from SussieM at Scrapbookgraphics.

Sunday Postcard - Cats

This is my postcard for the Sunday challenge - the theme this week is "cats".

The cats are by Kubivet (freebie) and the other bits and pieces are by Irene Alexeeva.

Artarazzi - Lines

Vron at Artarazzi gave us a stockphoto of coloured lines and asked us to do something with them, adding the colour red. This is my take. The lines form the large bubble which I was able to make through the magic of one of my software programs. The fairy and background are by Lorie Davison.

Art Creations Friday - Portrait in Oils

Thankyou so much to Art Creations for the breathtaking photos you find for us. We are fortunate, indeed.

I have colorised the photo and treated it to an oil painting process on Corel Painter Essentials.

A Moo or Two - Buildings

It takes hands to build a house but only hearts can build a home (and only a mouse can build a virtual home).

Bits and pieces that go to make up the building are all from Irene Alexeeva.

Theme Thursday - Skinny

Well, I had to create a skinny but with what theme? I thought hard on it and came up with SKINNY. Ethel has lost all her excess weight and become a Playboy Bunny!!

Bunny costume by Irene Alexeeva, background by Berna Datema.

MMM - Primary and Secondary Colours

This was a challenging challenge. I found a jigsaw template and painted the pieces in primary and secondary colours. I then placed a digital stamp of a Leonardo Da Vinci painting over the jigsaw and this is the result.

Jigsaw (altered) from Stock.xchg copyright free photo.

Brush/stamp from a freebie by 500ml

Gothic Arches - Gypsies

Great challenge! Backgrounds by Irene Alexeeva, image by Art-e-Zine, digital stamp by Katie Pertiet.

Sunday Postcard - Turquoise

Thanks to Sandy for her turquoise theme this week. My Victorian ladies are from a digital brush by 500ml (freebie).

Artarazzi - Banana Skin Hat

This week's Artarazzi is being hosted by Bev (Indybev) who chose a banana skin "whirl" from Stock.xchng to inspire us to be creative. I have skewed said whirl quite a lot and made a silly hat out of it. Image from Maya collage sheet. Background Lorie Davison.

Art Creations Friday - Study in Blue

Thanks to Art Creations Friday for the most beautiful photo of the little schoolgirl.
Door and background by Lorie Davison and digital stamp by Katie Pertiet.

A Moo or Two - Circles

Nice challenge. The beautiful stitched birds and background are by Ztampf.

Theme Thursday - Couples

Thanks for the nice challenge, Kelly. My collage is mainly made up of bits and pieces by Lorie Davison.

So Artful Challenge - Mirrors

Ahem. For anyone who is interested, this picture is autobiographical. If a picture can be autobiographical.
Background by Madame Mim and mirror by Kubivet. The rest by me.

Crazy Amigos - Cosy

My Great Uncle Cuthbert might have been more than a little eccentric but he loved being cosy and, as children, we were always excited to see what new combination of clothes he would be wearing. This is my favourite photo of him.
All lies of course, except the man in the picture IS my uncle (by marriage).
Room perspective by Madame Mim and table and photo frame by Christina Renee.

So Artful Challenge

For this challenge we were given a black and white sketch-like picture of the lady. Along with the girl in the Roman bath, I used digital techniques to give the pictures more depth and I added a strong sepia colour. For the background I used a modern day coloured photograph of the Roman Baths at Bath in England and put that through a few filters, changing to sepia. I then treated the whole picture to an oil painting process in Corel Painting Essentials. The overall effect (I hope) is a picture of a Roman mother watching her young daughter in the baths.
Woman's image from Soartful Challenge, girl from a Hermine freebie. Photo Googled.

Mixed Media Monday - Friends

This is a 5 x 7 collage. The "friends" are by SherrieJD at Tangie Baxter and all the bits and pieces are from a freebie which I received from a friend, Marretje.

Gothic Arches - Grunge

This week on Gothic Arches we were asked to do "grunge". I had a lot of fun with the background - can't tell you how many splotches, blobs, streaks, graph paper and ink spots I threw at it. The lady is from SherrieJD at Tangie Baxter Designs.

Sunday Postcard - Mystical Winter - Snow Queen

In my part of the world seasons don't change very much so I am not sure if I have any experience in mystical winters full of snow and ice and probably legends.
This is my take which I have painted myself except for the frame and flower which are by SussieM at Scrapbookgraphics.

Artarazzi - Playing around with a black and white photo

Vron from Artarazzi has given us a black and white photo of three ladies enjoying a cuppa tea and challenged us to do something with it. I have colorised the photo and extracted the ladies with seat and handbags and hung them in mid-air out in the middle of nowhere. A bit surreal but a lot of fun.

Art Creations Friday - using painting on canvas background

I was blown away when I saw the wonderful background painting to use in this week's challenge. Absolutely amazing. I have allowed some of the background to come through the woman and her dress and even more to come through the piano. (I didn't want to cover it up because it was too good!).
The image is from a collage sheet by Maya at Scrapbookgraphics and other elements used are by Irene Alexeeva.

A Moo or Two - Winter Frost

I apologize for my lack of knowledge of frosts! We never see them here, even in the middle of winter.

The window and frost overlays are from Maya at Scrapbookgraphics. The picture is a "found" one from long ago.

Theme Thursday - Vintage Valentine's Day Card

Thankyou for the challenge, Kelly. Mine is a 5 x 7 postcard. Image of couple from Tangie Baxter. Background paper and balloon Jofia Devoe.

Arty Girlz Challenge - No Cards!

Not a card - just some altered art whimsy. Face by me. Costume and wings by Irene Alexeeva. Enlarge for detail.

So Artful Challenges - Part 1 - Berries

This is for a new challenge and is based on a photo of berries. I have used the berries in the background and in the basket. The crystal ball was made with computer software PhotoImpact12. The background paper and edging by Irene Alexeeva, basket by Kubivet freebie, small girl by Lunagirl.

The Darker Side of Ozstuff

No, Virginia, I am not all froth and bubbles. I have a dark side too. This is a picture I created for the Frameworthy challenge at Scrapbookgraphics. Somehow it ended up close and personal and very dark! The inspiration was a cheerful painting of a subject looking out from inside (a car). One thing about the weekly Frameworthy is we never know where it will take us.
Archway from an altered paperbackground by Madame Mim. Window frame by JenU. Journal strip by Flergs at SBG. Scenery and two women from Stock.xchng.

Mixed Media Monday- Moon/Lunar

I am lucky enough to be host for this week's Mixed Media Monday. The theme is the moon. I took my inspiration from the old song "It's only a paper moon, hanging over a muslin tree".
Background paper by Irene Alexeeva, lace by JenU, dressmaker's dummy Kubivet, tree top altered mesh by Lorie Davison.

Sunday Postcard - Celebrate

The photo is of my uncle (by marriage). He was married to my mother's sister. He was what we ethnic Irish call a "blatherskite" (someone given to voluble and empty talk). He knew everything about everything (according to "himself"). As you can see he also had small beady eyes and a pencil thin moustache. Never liked him. Now I can have some fun at his expense!!

Top hat and bow tie by Robyn England and balloons by Shabby Princess.

Artarazzi Digital Challenge - Drowning

For this week's challenge, Vron has given us a photo of Marilyn Monroe. I have used a variety of overlays and filters to achieve (I hope) a drowning effect as I always see her as a tragic, troubled person. Overlays by Lauren Bavin. (Looks better full size)

Gothic Arches - A New Year

New Year in Australia means the heat of mid-summer and trying to keep cool. So nice to see Gothic Arches back online. Happy New Year to one and all.

Background by Lorie Davison at Scrapbookgraphics, images from a Maya (SBG) collage sheet. Water splash by Jofia Devoe.

Art Creations Friday - Among my souvenirs

Today we are using a beautiful background by Kubivet (a freebie). I have used it twice, once in the large photograph and again in the whole picture. (Enlarge for detail).
Background by Kubivet. Trunk - JenU Designs. Two photos of young girls - Outsider Artists freebies. Gold trinkets and leather books by Irene Alexeeva. Flowers, other books and baby photo by Carol Baumann.

A Moo or Two - Angels

Thanks for the lovely challenge! My "angel" is from a freebie by Outsider-Artists. Wing and background by Irene Alexeeva. Lace by JenuDesigns.

Theme Thursday - Try Something New

Click on to enlarge to see detail.

I don't know whether this skinny fits into the spirit of Theme Thursday challenge but here goes ...

I like to paint and draw but I also enjoy digital art which makes anything possible. Well, almost anything. I enjoy messing about with digital elements, using them in different ways to the original intention. So what I have learned is that a bling element can be used as part of a costume. I have painted my own "model" but this could just as easily be done with any type of image. I have taken only one element and used it to build a costume (with paper skirt underneath). Any type of element can be used - chains, hinges, brads, buttons etc. Something to do on a blistering hot summer's day when there is nothing else to do. Or a freezing, icy day when there is no point in going outdoors (for those of you lucky people in the northern hemisphere).

The beautiful green bling is by SussieM at Scrapbookgraphics. The background is by Lauren Bavin at Digital Scrapbook Place.