Changeable Charlie

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and encouragement of my new shop!!!  I truly appreciate all of the great comments, emails and messages on Facebook that I've received!  A special thanks to Grace of Sense and Simplicity who has been an invaluable eagle eye at helping me tweak the site...thank you so much!

I did receive a few questions too, like is all of the artwork ready to hang?...and the answer is YES!  Each piece is gallery wrapped onto a 1 1/2 inch kiln dried stretcher bar, some images have mirrored sides (where the image continues to wrap around the edge), while others have a solid edge in a complimentary color.  Then each piece is paper backed to prevent dust from gathering on the back of the picture, and a wire hanger is attached so that it is ready to hang on your wall just as soon as your package arrives and you take it out of the box!

Ok, so now about me and my Changeable Charlie'ness.  Some of you may have noticed that I put a holiday header at the top of my blog yesterday.  It was the image above and it's of a new piece of artwork I have for sale in my new store.  I love the little bluebird surrounded by holly, and the traditional reds and greens, but I decided I wasn't happy with it as my header after all, so I made a change.

Mr. Tide was kind enough to bring in a few of the holiday tubs from the garage yesterday and I began looking through them this morning to see what my decorating theme would be this year.  Because I'm so changeable, I like to switch things up from year to year, using different colors, or whatever strikes my fancy.

This year, because I've been so busy of late, I was kind of floundering as to which way I should go, especially in my living room and dining room.  But when I opened one of the bins, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

When our son moved out and into the rental property he is sharing with his sister, I came across some old Christmas ornaments in the garage that had belonged to the previous owner...our 100+ year old neighbor George.  His son and daughter in law were getting rid of the items they no longer wanted or needed and so I poked around to see what I could buy before they took things to the donation place in town.

I ended up purchasing a wonderful old typewriter that George had used during his adventures in India and the other wonderful places he called home during his very full life.  The typewriter now sits in the big black cabinet in my dining room, along with a collection of vintage cameras.  Some day I will take a few photos of that cabinet to share with all of you.

But the other big score I found in the garage was a collection of old vintage Christmas ornaments.  They were a hodgepodge of old glass ornaments in shades of aqua, silver, gold, but mostly pink!  I fell in love with them instantly and could just imagine George and his wife lovingly decorating their tree with them for the many years they were together.

In true Changeable Charlie form, I had to play around with the angle of this one beautiful ornament that says Merry Christmas, so I took 2 different shots of it in the teacup.  Truth be told I took 3 shots, but these are the two I liked the best! ;-)

Because my roses haven't gotten the memo yet that it's nearly Christmas and they should be fast asleep, I went outside and gathered up a few to put in a vase.  Then I grabbed a couple ironstone platters, plunked the vase of roses on it and began scattering the beautiful pink and silver ornaments on top a lovely and festive centerpiece for my dining room table.  I also used an old bedspread that had belonged to my grandmother as the tablecloth.

The roses will fade long before the holidays hit of course, but for now I am loving the look.  And I can always get store bought roses if I want to keep this look going all the way through Christmas...can you ever have too many flowers in your house?!   And the answer is...heck no!

So there you have it, my long winded explanation as to why my header is now all pink and sparkly...because I am a consummate Changeable Charlie!

And it's kind of getting me in the mood for not only the holidays, but also my trip to Paris!  Yup, it's official, we are going to Paris next month and I can't wait.  I can't even fathom the idea of being in the City of Lights during one of the most festive times of the year.  Of course I'll be snapping pictures left and right while Mr. Tide is busy working (poor guy), and maybe when I get home I will be completely rethinking my idea of Christmas decor altogether...we'll see!

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Looking for a special piece of artwork?

Visit us at  Low Tide High Style

Pretty in Pink

Here's to...

a picture perfect weekend!

On Point

Well it's been a month almost since I last posted.  And during that time I've been very busy with work obligations.  I have been keeping up with many of you though, and I've secretly been spying on you through your blogs, just in a quiet hiding in the shadows sort of way.

 

I had thought that I might abandon this little blog altogether and simply gracefully fade away as I threw myself headlong into my work, but as a few of you predicted, I did miss this little bloggy place I've created for myself over the past 2 years.

And so while I was away dipping my toe into new waters and new ventures, I made some decisions.

1.  I will run my blog, it will not run me.

2.  I will post less often and not feel stressed if I can't find the time, even if it means weeks pass by.

3.  I will visit my long list of blog favorites and not feel obligated to comment on those blogs, and in return I hope others will understand and feel free not to comment here but just enjoy the images.

4.  I will not feel guilty if I am unable to reply to each comment or email...I will need a bit of help with this one as "guilt" is my middle name.

5.  I will enjoy blogging for the safe haven that it was meant to be and not for the hectic crazy place we sometimes cause it to become. (and I'll keep it going for you, Mom and Dad W)

6.  And I will live each day to the fullest, follow my heart AND my gut, and I will do the things that make me happy...life is far too short to do anything but.

  I hope you are all well and that life is treating you kindly.  Until next time...

  à bientôt

Patience is a Virtue

There is really nothing I love to do more than to manipulate images.  If you had told me a year ago I would say this I would have laughed, looked at you kind of funny, and then backed away slowly! ;-)

But it's true, I now enjoy pushing the bounds of my limited abilities and learning something new every day.  It's a form of relaxation and meditation for me, and the added bonus of maybe being able to sell some of these is like icing on the cake!

The biggest challenge I face when I start messing with my images is knowing when to stop, when to put the mouse down and leave well enough alone.  

I once heard a photographer who does lots of post processing (and whose name I have momentarily forgotten) say that he finds that some of his best work comes from images he has walked away from and then revisited later.  That by not feeling like you have to finish something in one sitting you can often find the true vision of the image.  I love that idea, and I now try and subscribe to it, even though I'm fairly impatient and like to get something done all at once.

The image above is a great example.  First I started with just the flowers in the vase, adding textures, messing with the hue and saturation, and then I left it alone for a bit.  Then I remembered a beautiful old french post card that I had that I thought would fit beautifully on the right side of the image which had a good deal of dead space.  And then finally, because I felt it needed a little something else and couldn't figure out how anyone would use this image, I decided to add the "Happy Easter" wishes at the top in pink.  Now I can see it as an Easter card.

Sometimes patience really is a virtue I guess!

Happiness Is...

Having no weeds in your flower beds...thanks to your husband!

Old French script.

Flowering Almond blossoms.

Finding time to take a few pictures.

I hope each of you found a little happiness of your own this weekend, and that you find even more this week!

Cherry Pink

I hope you each...

Have a...

Simply beautiful weekend...

No matter what you have planned!

And in honor of my trumpet playing husband, a little music to get you started.  I bet many of you have heard this song, but never knew what the title was..*Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White*...how apropos!

What Would They Say?

If you were run over by a truck tomorrow what would you want people to remember about you?



 

I know that's a crazy #$$ question, but I think it's one we should all really ponder from time to time.

Would you want them to say that you were an awesome blogger, or that you were an awesome mother, father, wife, husband, sister, brother, daughter, or son?  Or would you want them to say both?

Would you want people to say that you were kind, considerate, giving, helpful, loving or that you were cut throat, ruthless, and #1 at whatever it is you do?  Are all of these things incongruent with one another or do we each have a little bit of all of those things rolled into us as human beings?

Yesterday and this morning I pondered all of these questions...and more.  And as I looked in the mirror and wondered if my skinny jeans would ever fit again I had to wonder who I wanted to be and what I would be willing to give up to get there.  And I had to remember that every day can't be perfect and neither can we, but it can be pretty darned close if we focus on the positives and not the negatives.  Nurture ourselves and others, not try to build ourselves up by tearing others down...what a waste of precious energy that must be.

These are tough questions my friends, hard ones to answer and some that just can't be answered.  But I think that as we push and pull ourselves to succeed, be it on a blog or anywhere in life we have to also remind ourselves to not lose a bit of ourselves in the process...unless of course you are losing the bad things, then I think that would be a good thing. 

Loving Thoughts

I'm busy as a bee creating new artwork, and I think that watching all those episodes of Downton Abbey has had a positive effect on both me and my artwork.  You see, I'm not a huge lover of the Victorian period, it's often a little too formal and fussy for my taste, but there are a few aspects that I do love about that era.  One of those things is the Victorian's love of flowers.  Wealthy Victorians spent a considerable amount of time dedicated to the pursuit of gardening, flower arranging, and propagation of new flowers.

The glorious greenhouses and solariums built on some Victorian estates are a testament to their love for everything floral.  And if you've been lucky enough to visit a Victorian mansion, you know how lovely the gardens were during that time period.

When we visited Biltmore a few years ago, I was immediately smitten with the beautiful gardens even more-so than the house, and informed Mr. Tide that I could indeed of lived happily during that time in history.  He quickly added that I could have lived then "if" I had been a wealthy Victorian...so true!


 

I also love how the Victorians gave nearly every flower a meaning, mostly relating to love or beauty, the world of flowers became a secret language during the gilded age.  Some flowers had meanings long before the Victorians came along of course, but they took it to a whole new level with their many sentimental attributes assigned to each variety. 

Pansies for instance were said to represent loving thoughts or remembrance.  If you received a bouquet of flowers from someone in the know during that time period you could expect to find out much more about what they were thinking than just the simple gesture of being given flowers.  I like to think that during that part of our history that many a shy man was able to convey his undying love, not through words, but through his careful selection of flowers. 

Wouldn't it be lovely if today people, instead of just grabbing whatever is on sale at the grocery store, (me included), took the time to really use flowers as a form of communication?  Ahh, those crazy Victorians, at least the rich ones, clearly had a lot of time on their hands, something I'm a wee bit jealous of these days.  At least these pansies can send loving thoughts to all of you though! :-)

Opinions and A Giveaway

So I'm finding these new watermarks are kind of obnoxious and a bit of a pain to create, but such is life I guess.  Until I can figure out an even better way to protect my images, this will have to suffice I'm afraid!

I have a big favor to ask though, but it also means you'll be entered to win something.  I was wondering if you would be so kind as to take a look at these images and pick your favorites.  They are grouped in pairs and each one of the pairs has the same "look" to them.  Some are more vintage'y, while others just have a soft romantic look to them.

  I'll call these SET #1

This is the first set with a vintage look and some writing on them.

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 Set #2

This next set has a softer feel to them and there is less going on, but each has a stamp to give them a little interest.

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Set #3

Set 3 is even more simple with no writing at all, and just a painterly quality to bring out the beauty of the flowers.

So, what do you think?  Do you like set #1, #2, #3...and what do you like best, or dislike most about any of the sets?

As a thank you for taking the time to tell me which set you like the best or like the least, I will draw a winner from the comments and send him or her 5 x 7's of the set you like the best.

I will draw a name on Thursday and let the winner know on Friday.  Thank you for taking the time to give me some feedback, I really appreciate it!

A Little Bit of Everything

Sometimes when I go to play with an image I have a clear cut vision of the end product.  I would say that about 90% of the time this is true and I can see the finished product before I even begin, but there is still that other 10% of the time when I just go in blind and hope for the best.

When I photographed some Ranunculus I picked up last weekend, I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to go picture wise, but I did know that I wanted a soft aqua paired with the pale pink of the flowers.  Usually I like to keep things simple, but for whatever reason, tonight I threw in a little bit of everything, including using some script brushes I bought from FK Textures.  At first I wasn't sure I liked it, but after a bit I decided that sometimes throwing in everything but the kitchen sink makes for a more interesting image.

I've heard through the grapevine that people are stealing other people's images and claiming them as their own...such a shame.  So from now on I will be doing more elaborate watermarks and only posting very low res images.  It makes me sad to think that I have to do this, but with things like Pinterest it appears that those of us who make our living from creating artwork,  need to watch our backs and protect our images.  I have no problem with someone pinning something I post, in fact I love it, but only when they give full credit on mine or anyone else's work.  I try my best to do this on anything I pin as well, though I'm sure we all have a few images that we can't nail down the original photographer or artist, but I would never pretend they were my own work.

Well that's enough blathering for one evening, I hope you all have a very Happy Tuesday!