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Summertime is almost here and with those lazy hazy days of summer the eastern seaboard states of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware is the tradition of the warm weather crab feast. It's usually nothing complicated with newspapers spread out on a picnic table with crabs piled high in the center for the traditional meal.



In my neck of the woods we eat crabs with lots of melted butter, corn on the cob and of course watermelon to round out the entrees.

Crab meat is such a delicacy especially the prized sweet meat of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab and when feasting with my family there is no accompanying bread, cornbread or hush puppies, traditional sides.

When I was researching shell images for this post, the previous post had to do with the shore and my vacations to Nagshead, NC and Cape Cod, MA, I became inspired to write another post, this one, I was inspired by another artist's beautiful watercolor of a Nautilus shell.



The image above looking somewhat like a fractural is the the result of that inspiration using an image of a Nautilus shell resizing it several times, repeating it and adding textures. Click on the web link above for more shell images!

Pink is such a pleasurable color it can be light or bright and comes in many forms, shapes and sizes - Spring wouldn't be spring without its glorious pinks!

Like my neighbor's irises...and the early blossoms of the redbud tree...



For the rest of Pink Pleasure click on the web link above.

If anyone is a fan of Italy and art this post is about fashion of the 17th century using the character of Cassanova as a model for a European upper class dandy wearing silks and brocades. The images first appeared in an article in Swide.com an Italian fashion and style internet magazine. To see the rest of the gorgeous photography click on the above link.

I'm not sure why Cassanova was chosen to show what a male of the upper class of the times might wear, nothing was mentioned in the article as to the choice although the name is attention getting. The 17th century style of clothing is popular and worn by many Venice revelers at the Venice Carnival which takes place in February.

The clothes were handmade by an expert Italian tailor who makes and rents costumes to the Venice Carnival revelers and movie production companies, who's business is in Venice. I love this series it is beautifully photographed with a camera using film and is not digitally captured.

This is a historical look at what the clothes were like and Venice is a perfect place for the surroundings, since it hasn't changed in hundreds of years. The whole city is listed as a World Heritage Site.

This period is my favorite for Venice costumes and the style I plan to wear when I go. I have seen many Venice costumes for men and the color combination of white breaches, vest shirt and tricorn hat with the black wool cape is the most stunning combination.

You never know what will be your inspiration. I’ve been told “save all your photography files, don’t throw anything away!” I believe there is another life for everything that didn’t turn out the way we had planned. As for my photography files, a lot of them go the way of deletion or I would be spending money for a lot of storage!

This though was not the case for Sarah Loft and her collage “Tulips and Violins.” Sarah had some extra “hair” clippings from a magazine that were shaped into tulips she had used in another series of collages she describes as “odd” (sounds like one of those projects artists like myself work on that don’t seem to match up to the original vision!).

She also had left over music magazines that had a lot of pictures of violins with warm wood tones from her two daughters’ years of violin lessons. The warm wood violin cutouts in concert (pardon the pun) with the “hair” tulips created a winning combination for a collage art competition at Fine Art America where Sarah also has a website.

Just click below where you can see all of Sarah’s collage artistry.

I took this neat image of a star (it was on the mantel at home) put textures on it in the layers editing software and realized I couldn't write using the pad on my laptop and needed a writing tablet to implement my plan for an inspirational text "Everyone's A Star In Their Own Unique Way." I asked in my forum discussions what was the best tablet to buy. The answer I got was medium size and Wacom Intuos 5 Touch Medium. From what I have read about Wacom products is they wear like iron and are very reliable. Unless you make a wide swiping movement with your arm and shoulder like painting big canvases you probably won't need a large sized tablet.

I went on the internet and found a great deal at Amazon.com. They still sell the Bamboo Create tablet, new (it has been replaced by Intuo Pro Medium) included in the package is Photoshop Elements, Nik Color, Efex Pro, Corel Lite all for $199. The Intuo 5 Touch Medium is listed for $320. They also listed a refurbished Bamboo Create with all the same software for $116. Everything I have heard about refurbished electronics is that it is as good as new except sometimes a small scratch that is not noticeable and in the scheme of things are going to get scratched anyway.

I am very excited about my new writing tablet and look forward to not only writing script but drawing and painting. A whole new world is opening up!

I don't know about you but I need to be bowled over when I need inspiration, don't give me nice, give me stunning! That's what happened when I did a search on FineArtAmerica.com and came up with a stunning stage set image of the 18th century by Tobias Toball of Duirwaigh Studios. Not only is Toball's art stunning it was life changing for me and gave me a new perspective on the kind of art I want to do. I got more than what I bargained for and I feel infused with excitement for future prospects. Below is the link to his gallery at FAA and the inspirational image:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/midnight-at-la-fenice-silas-toball.html

I have had a lot of fun since being introduced to the layers program and would like to continue in the fantasy vein since my inspiration. Toball and his wife Angi Sullins have a lovely and inspirational how-to-book (probably more for beginners), 'Digital Art Wonderland' that I plan to buy at Amazon.com.

As an artist I like to be remembered by friends and acquaintances by giving them a notecard of handmade heavy cardstock mounted with a 5" x 7" print of my photography (handmade matching envelope included) either in a set of four or a single card with a business card inserted in the back.

I have a better camera so the photograph has an HD quality with added color depth. The photograph mounted on the card gives an added dimension to the card. I usually tie a thin ribbon or raffia around the card/envelope and wrap it in cellophane. With all the colored and handmade crafted papers available it makes for a stunning presentation!

Sounds like a lot of work, although I believe it's worth the time, effort and enjoy the process as long as it can be spread out and not have a lot to do all at one time. I believe it is effective because I am seeing the results on my website. I am giving someone a quality gift, a piece of my artwork that they can either put in a small frame on their desk, hang or send to a friend.

If you are not inclined to make your own notecards you can still have your photography made into unique notecards at a printer like Moo.com. They will also, for no extra charge, put your name and website on the back of the card.

As an artist I like to be remembered by friends and acquaintances by giving them a notecard of handmade heavy cardstock mounted with a 5" x 7" print of my photography (handmade matching envelope included) either in a set of four or a single card with a business card inserted in the back.

I have a better camera so the photograph has an HD quality with added color depth. The photograph mounted on the card gives an added dimension to the card. I usually tie a thin ribbon or raffia around the card/envelope and wrap it in cellophane. With all the colored and handmade crafted papers available it makes for a stunning presentation!

Sounds like a lot of work, although I believe it's worth the time, effort and enjoy the process as long as it can be spread out and not have a lot to do all at one time. I believe it is effective because I am seeing the results on my website. I am giving someone a quality gift, a piece of my artwork that they can either put in a small frame on their desk, hang or send to a friend.

If you are not inclined to make your own notecards you can still have your photography made into unique notecards at a printer like Moo.com. They will also, for no extra charge, put your name and website on the back of the card.

I have learned a few things in the year and a half since buying my DSLR Pentax camera. A word of warning, it's probably not a good idea to go to the big box stores before you thoroughly research first the camera accessory you want to buy. I discovered that none of the clerks I talked to owned an SLR camera and the only one that professed to owning an SLR camera confessed months later it was his mother's film SLR camera and he had never used it! I asked the clerk at Office Depot why there was such a disparity in prices between the highest priced memory card and the lowest (approximately $50 dollars). I don't think I got more than a sentence of explanation. It certainly wasn't enough to sway me into paying a lot more dollars for the more expensive card. I ended up a year later after a lot of camera shake and unclear photos realizing the higher priced cards translated into not only more memory but a faster card which can mean several things.

You have to be informed before you buy anything having to do with a camera whether it is the camera or the accessories. I learned the hard way. I say this because I thought all memory cards were alike and it was just memory that made the price higher. Memory cards are extremely important, not only do they affect how many pictures you can take it also affects, among other things, camera shake, which translates into how clear the pictures turn out, quick turnaround for burst shooting and how fast your camera downloads your photos to the computer.

I have read (recommended by informed photographers on the Pentax forums that SunDisk Ultra memory cards (rated 10, although the ratings are decided by each manufacturer) are one of the best and get high ratings for speed and reliability. Unless it is overkill for a smaller camera (I'm not sure) I would look into buying the SunDisk Ultra (between $25 and $35 dollars depending on the memory). Your camera should come with information on what the card requirements are, not all cards are for all cameras. Just before I found out about SunDisk I bought a Sony UHS 1 card, from what I can surmise, similar to the SunDisk Ultra. It was on sale at Target for $18.00 for 16 GBs. I saw what looked like a 10 rating on the card (I asked an employee if it was rated 10 but they didn't know for sure) assuming a 10 rating was universal (as mentioned ratings are made up by the manufacturer). I do know my pictures are coming out clearer and sharper and I am enjoying my camera a lot more than before. I don't take much action shots so I am not as concerned about those although I'm sure those photos will be better too.

When I transitioned from a point and shoot camera to a DSLR about a year ago, I realized now how little I knew about photography. I had never heard of the “Rule of Thirds” for composition (helpful in all art mediums by the way) and how to utilize light properly when taking a picture.

I always had my design education to fall back on but there were times when I was not sure how to proceed, that’s when guidelines can be extremely helpful and confirm you on the right or wrong track. Of course design doesn't always fit into a "box," like everything else in life, sometimes things work in spite of the rules!

If you are a fledgling photographer, artist or someone who would like to increase their knowledge about the basics of what makes a good composition and how to utilize light in your photography, you can take advantage of the I-Stock (a photo stock company owned by Getty Images, the largest stock company in the world and the industry’s measuring stick for high standards) training manual.

This free training is for potential stock photographers, but anyone can study their manual and even take the test if you desire. You don’t have to be a photographer. It’s basic information that puts you on firmer footing for taking better pictures and recognizing good photography. Who knows you may find a new career and become a successful stock photographer and quit your day job! I have included a link for those interested in furthering their art education.

I am a BIG believer in the forums and their communities. I became passionate about photography not long ago when I purchased my SLR camera to take better pictures for my blog. Now that I have experienced two forums, one for my camera and the other for art, I can now say I am a firm believer in community. If you are experiencing a problem there is always someone of the community or staff who has experienced what you are going through and walk you through it. There are many other benefits, that’s just one.

I still can't get over the fact forums have the potential to put you in contact with EVERYONE from around the globe, maybe not everyone but those who belong to the forum and can speak your language. FAA (Fine Art America.com) one of the two communities I belong for my art photography the other forum is specifically for photographers and the camera make, Pentaxforums.com.

Entering contests is a way to see fellow artists work of similar context and communicate with them in their gallery. With all the social media readily available in the gallery your art work can end up on an admirer’s Facebook page or any number of other media listed on your page.

Another great thing about community forums, you can ask questions of experienced community members and find yourself in a learning, growing relationship. Forums are internet artists colonies and with just the click a button, receive all the benefits.