The moon was rising over Mingus while I worked. I think somehow it found its way to the paper. That was not a conscious decision. I just felt it needed some brightness.
While editing, I thought to tone down the Tawny. The pink. Does it look pink to you too? Tawny is listed as a light brown to brownish-orange color. This is the mid-value of the color. You may not notice a difference. But I’d be curious to know which you prefer.
To edit this, I had to bring out the colors in the background. Those colors never scan well. In Photoshop, I selected the background area, then clicked (arrow) for a new adjustment layer. I used selective color to bring out the pink (Juane Red). I selected red and then used the sliders until it looked right. With the same area selection, I chose yellows, and again, used the sliders to bring out more of that color. Below is a clip from the Photoshop program.
This quote has been in the back of my mind for weeks. I did multiple “faux” mono prints today, tried a shoelace and stencils for some pattern. No success. There was paint left on the palette, so I thought to do some simple color blocks, and use them as backgrounds.
I scanned the art, and the colors were true to life. I rotated each piece, and enlarged it to fill the design canvas in Photoshop in a pleasing manner. Below are the originals. I am sharing the technical process for Nelvia McGrath, who is learning Photoshop.
I really wasn’t happy with them, so I “cropped” quite a bit. Not much of interest here. I could have painted on top of the original, added to it that way. A tree, shapes. But I guess I am tired today, nothing came to mind.
I added the short quotes, chose a fill color and font. I worked with word placement and alignment. On the first one, I used a “stroke” or outline to the lettering for added definition. You can see it where the white letters meet with the white of the background. In the second quote, the dark color made a stroke unnecessary.
The blocks of color made me think of Rothko. I had eliminated so much of the actual art from view, that this quote of his seemed to fit perfectly.
I have managed to make progress on revisions to a few of the pieces I have done this month. Nice, I don’t feel completely unproductive. Haha. I added a coat of Gel Matte Medium to the succulents, and I really love them now. It toned down the shine of the yellow pen.
