I had so much fun with this series. I painted first, with acrylics and/or watercolor. The first two have pots that were collaged by hand. I continued in Photoshop, adding collage with digital patterns. Some of which are just copies of paper patterns I have.
You might ask, “why not just collage the paper by hand?”. And that is a fair question. In photoshop I can change the color, stretch or shrink the pattern, change the direction. I can try everything. I can also change my mind in the final stages and rework the individual pieces.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. We are in the final week of the gathering now, and I have started a new series. But I will be revisiting this style in months to come.
The design theme this week is Swedish Fika. Fika is a coffee and cake break, but is much more than that. Fika is a state of mind. An attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. It is considered almost essential to make time for fika every day. And often, several times a day. It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.
This design came together fairly quickly. A nice surprise. I delayed starting, sure that I could not pull it off. Doubting myself.
I had fun creating the treats and Latte. For the dishware I used a pattern I created a few years ago. It has the colors of the Swedish flag and seemed a perfect fit.
I added shadows and highlights to add dimension to the treats, and china. That took some finagling, but was fun to do.
Voting is open now through the 27th. Thanks so much for taking a look. 🙂
Desert Dune Buds placed at 811 of 1177 with 21 votes. I appreciate you taking the time to vote for me. Thanks a bunch! 🙂
I am so grateful I have had the energy to take part in the design challenges while also painting each day for the 30-Day Creative Gathering. I’ve had to sneak in a nap a few times, but I am managing. 😉😉🙏
I’m having fun with these. The first four were painted in acrylic or watercolor. And the patterns were added digitally in Photoshop. Not as easy as it might sound. On the vase above it took three times longer to add the collage and effects, than it did to paint it.
For day 16, I shared a work in progress. I will be sharing the final pattern soon. Here I created a plaid, which will act as the background for the rest of the design. The theme is Fika, Swedish coffee break. But it is so much more than that. Fika is all about bonding with friends and family. It can take place several times a day.
I knew that many would use the colors of the Swedish flag, And I wanted to do something different. I tried adding a weave texture, but as you can see, it darkens the colors too much.
Here in the valley we are enjoying a rainy, dark day. It’s been raining off and on since about 11 pm. It is cool, and the rain is not evaporating. This is a good long soak.
Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun. Mary Lou Cook
