This is a photography post with a bit of a difference.
I mean – what do i do with a pic after i’ve taken it ?
With my new Nikon Camera (i use that term very loosely) I can already adapt a photograph thanks to the imaging tools on the camera
OK if i just want to switch the image from Colour to Black and White, and add a bit of Sepia, but what about an artistic angle ?
Here’s an original photo of the Fort at Albufeira in the Algarve, taken with my Sony DSC H-300 Bridge Camera
It looks good enough – i particularly like the anchor 🙂 but with a few tweeks using my Art Programs i get some lovely effects. This photo was edited with the latest edition of Corel painter essentials, but I also have a copy of adobes photoshop essentials to hand, should I want to create any layered effects.
Here’s the same photograph using an oil effect – very impressionist……
Here’s the photo using what Corel call a “Coloured Pencil” Effect
and here’s one using a “Modern” paint effect
They’re all a bit abstract in their way but they produced some great artwork!
I like writing and drawing, and though i’ll never be the next big thing when it comes to these artforms – I still find them helpful in my never ending mission to concentrate the mind.
Pen Drawing, Roman Ruins, Oledeniz, Turkey
Whenever i’m off somewhere nowadays – I take my kit of supplies with me – notebook (A5) , pencils and paper, Bridge Camera, SD Cards, travel card , cash and not forgetting – supplies for lunch.
I get to my intended destination – I’ll have my lunch, find a suitable vantage point and begin recording what I see. Sometimes – it’ll be a poem or verse, and others – it’ll be a photo or a drawing. The inspiration comes from what I see. The process, concentrates the mind. As the basic forms take shape on the page – either in word, or in drawing – ideas come alive on the page
Impressionist painting of the Roman Wall, Castlefield, Manchester (c) Brian F Kirkham 2015
When I get home – I’ll play around with the scribbles and drawings. Thanks to my laptop I now have two marvellous sets of tools to turn my images into artworks – I principally use Adobe photoshop elements, but also use Corel’s Painter Essentials suite for its wide range of brushes.
Of course, if I want to use the time to concentrate – the computer gets switched off – the box of paints comes out and i’ll put something together from my notebook drawings onto my painting pad in Coloured pencil, pastels, watercolours or even oils
Painting of IWM North, Brian F Kirkham, Salford 2015
I wrote this for a contest on Allpoetry.com – but over time I reckon it reminds me of some really good artworks at IWM North (Where I Volunteer), The Lowry in Salford, Salford Art Gallery and its Sister Gallery in Manchester.
In the dark recesses
of the vault
she sleeps
Timeless beauty skilfully captured
by the artist
in Oil
Youth frozen on canvas
Preserved for History
in Dust
Beauty forgotten in time
Stored for Eternity
by Prospectors
Although I never studied it at school, I’ve always had an interest in art. Whether it be using pencil, pen, pastel, crayon or ink, there’s something that raises a smile when I’ve produced something worthy of hanging on the wall.
It’s also therapeutic, in that it aids my attention and concentration. Which is good for me as occasionally my mind wonders like an untrained puppy….
The Artworks here were created from kits – a Preprint is printed on the top of a blackened metallic / coloured border. As the image is scraped away the picture in the metallic is revealed.
The Kits come in five kinds – Copper, Silver, Gold, Holographic and Rainbow. My favourite subject ? the Animals are my favourite subject
The Inkwell 