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Tag: Birds
Owls: Real
Bookmarks: Sylvester and Tweety Bird
PSP Tubes: Owls
Birds: A Lot of Whimsey Created by Sandi Staton
Birds of the UK . . . Digital Art
Although many people will draw their sword in a heartbeat on anyone who uses one of their photos, Colin is very generous to share his beautiful work with the world. I enjoy and appreciate his blog, atrampinthewoods.wordpress.com.
Following are photos of birds that Colin posted and I downloaded them to use in my digital designs.
To create this picture, I erased the entire background of the photo, added a picture frame, flowers from a photo Colin posted, and lots of layers and special effects. 
Anyone who reads Colin’s posts knows that he is trying to get this robin to eat from his hand. He’s just inches away from winning the little guy’s trust.
As you can see, I never leave a photo in its original state. I enjoy playing around with different effects jut to see what I can come up with. That is the art of learning.
Buzzard. The mere word stirs up unpleasant images of scavengers feasting on roadkill. They give me the creeps. But they are beautiful birds.
And finally, this little guy telling Colin it’s time to eat.
Thanks to Colin for the photos and for everyone for stopping by.
A Little Bit of Country
Free as a Bird
Birds teach me things about life. They don’t care what their friends think of them, what kind of house they live in, what kind of car they drive, what they wear, or where they send their kids to school. They don’t boast. They don’t preach, judge and condemn. They don’t worry where their next meal is coming from, or where they’ll be this time tomorrow. They love their kids and work tirelessly to care for them. When it’s time for the kids to leave home, momma pushes them out of the nest and teaches them to fly. They sing, they play, they soar through the air with ease. That’s because they don’t burden themselves with the cares of the world, kill themselves to make tons of money, torture themselves because they goofed up, strive to be something they’re not. They are exactly what God created them to be . . . birds.
In my fantasy world, everyone lives in peace. Like a bird, nobody’s staggering home drunk. Nobody’s yelling. Nobody’s beating his wife and kids. Nobody’s crying alone in the dark.
What happened to our desire to walk in truth? Did we find it too boring? Too impossible? Too old-fashioned? Or has it just fallen along the wayside and trampled by corruption and greed?
Then there’s the cat. Sly and sneaky, always preying on something smaller and weaker than itself. Just like the bullies of the world. Those who prey on women and children, the elderly and the poor. The cat is just being a cat. People should know better.
I think if a bird were trying to teach us a new song it would go something like this: Smile more, complain less, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Like a bird, we have to make our own paradise. No one can make it for us. All it takes sometimes is to lower our expectations of ourselves and the people around us.
Birds do not welcome just anyone into their home; only those who belong there. We can all benefit from that practice. Anyone who comes into my home and drags me to the pit of despair with all their moaning and groaning is not welcomed back. I can be depressed all by myself, I don’t need anyone’s help.
Like a bird, I’m just plain and simple. Maybe that comes with age, I don’t know. All I know is, I have everything I need and I’m satisfied with that. I’m thankful for a warm bed at night, food in my belly, and a computer and TV. Oh, and my dog, Rascal. And of course, my family: my husband, my son and his wife and their four children, daughter-in-law, and grandson. We love one another, laugh and play together, and miss each other when we’re apart. I thank God for such a loving, wholesome relationship.
Maybe in your eyes none of the above has anything to do with birds, but in my heart it has everything to do with birds. They are simple, honest, and free, the way all people are meant to be.
From Photos to Greeting Cards
I was extremely introverted growing up. My favorite place in all the world was my tiny bedroom where I’d sing and play my accordion, write songs and poetry, paint and draw. I had one best friend. That’s all I needed. Anymore than that got too complicated. Too dramatic. Too stressful. I don’t like complicated, drama, and stress. That’s why today I still choose art and music and writing over the noisy world. I don’t even watch much TV. I hate commercials. I hate stupid. And commercials are stupid. Even most of the TV programs are stupid. And if I watch too much of them, I’ll be stupid!
So what’s a senior citizen to do with all her free time? Well this one creates. Not to make money, and God knows I need it. Not to get famous, which would scare me to death! And not to pat myself on the back, because I can’t reach it. But I create because it fills a void. It makes me happy. It helps with depression. It makes me feel close to the Creator. And because I’ve struggled most of my life with low self-esteem and insecurities, I’m thankful to God for His special gifts to me. He knew I needed them.
Below are greeting cards that I designed using photos I’ve taken, as well as photos that Colin, atrampinthewoods.wordpress.com has taken and shares with his readers. Thanks Colin. You are an inspiration to me!
This is Colin’s little side-kick, Fizz. I just love using her in my digital designs. She is so well-mannered!
This is another photo that Colin posted on his blog. This little guy loves wishing everyone a Happy Birthday! Is today your birthday? Then, Happy Birthday!
Isn’t this little guy adorable? He’s always dropping by to say hello. Thanks to Colin, this little Skipper Butterfly fluttered from his post into my cheery greeting card.
Colin lives on a beautiful farm in the UK. His landlord raises sheep. When Colin posted this beauty I just had to download him. He’s a lovely sheep with a great message.
Finally, I chose one of my own photos to use in this greeting card. It’s amazing how many different pictures you can get from one photo. That’s why digital design is so much fun. Many photos wouldn’t be trashed if you could see them as art. It’s only been the past few months that I even considered using my photos in my designs. In the raw, they’re trash. In a digital design, they’re treasures. At least they are for me.
Since I’ve learned to use PaintShop Pro X6 and discovered all the wonderful tools it offers, I enjoy taking pictures. No matter how terrible the shot, I can usually turn it into something worth while. Sometimes I can’t, though. Like when it has too much or not enough exposure. Or if it’s too blurry. Those I consider trash.
This is my husband’s favorite Christmas decoration. So I decided that when I get too lazy to decorate, I can give him this greeting card to look at. As with all my designs, I began with a picture frame then built around it using lots of layers and texture. Because I play around with different effects trying this or that, a card like this one takes me hours . . . and hours. I’ll keep you guessing just how many hours. I do take a few toilet breaks, though. And eat. And let the dog out. Sometimes I even wash the dishes! So all in all, ten hours isn’t too bad . . . is it?
Okay. So this isn’t a photo. I designed it using picture tubes. I’ll explain what they are in my next post. But for now, just know that I had just as much fun designing this card as I did all the others. Hope you enjoyed your little tour. Come back and see me again, hear?
Birds of the UK
Here are a few Photographs that my friend, Colin, took and posted on his blog, atrampinthewoods.wordpress.com. I love his photos and he is so kind to allow me to use them in my digital designs. I hope you enjoy how I showcased his handiwork.
