Back in 2017 when I had only been doing digital art for about two years, I came across a magazine dedicated to digital artists. One of the artists used textured white on white with only one object in the whole composition in color. It was dramatic and the white textures blended and made a very interesting piece of digital art.
I decided to try her technique using snow. I had photos I took in one of our rare winter snow storms where the snow piled in drifts in my back yard. I combined actual photos of snow with created textures, then selected one object of color. For some reason, I only made these early pieces ((the 2017 image) 8x8 inches. As I learned more about my art, I redid some and increased the file size (2019) for larger prints. Then, I decided to bring in more color and less white. See the 2023 example.
     This year, I decided to go from a square to a rectangle, allowing for more common print sizes. I am adding more color and less snow. I am still using snowdrifts and painted snowflakes for snow on snow. I am offering both square and rectangle digital compositions this year in my Art Gallery. So far, I have done bells and gingerbread men. I am working on ball ornaments and want to do something with candy canes. What is your favorite winter theme? What colors do you like to decorate for Christmas?
     The stripes and snowflakes patterns were created based on candy canes. I am still trying to decide if they will fit in a candy cane winter snow scene.

When you look at a photo of a sunrise/sunset what do you see? Do you admire the colors or look at how the clouds fill the sky? Anything else? What about an image of roses? Do you grow roses or enjoy taking rose photos?
When I look at photos, I see potential subjects for creating my art. How can I use a particular image in a new way? I do not want you to look at my art and say, “Oh, it is another sunset/rose or whatever photo.” I want to tell a new story, something unique, an altered reality for you to enter.
I started just playing with textures and colors with no specific theme in my mind. The roses became a rose clock. A planet + a sun+ a rose became a space rose. Layer on layer added texture, but I wanted more. In #2 photo, I added the sunset for more color and texture. This is only the beginning. When I am finished with this composition, I will post it on FB or IG. If I like the end result, I will add it to my website Art Gallery.

I love doing digital art and I can spend hours creating a new reality. However, if you picture artists as happily sitting in a studio creating art while ignoring the world around them, you are wrong. I have other responsibilities, including a garden. I have been gardening most of my life and I enjoy planting seeds and harvesting produce my family likes to eat. This year something happened that I have never seen before. My green beans failed to grow. I planted three separate crops and all three failed. I planted carrots and Swiss chard. The first planting also failed. The second planting is producing some chard and a couple (!) of carrots. I am happy to report the onions are growing along with the lemon cucumbers. My squash was invaded by some type of destructive insect. I don’t use pesticides but I rarely have problems. Except for this year.
What does this have to do with an artist’s blog? A lesson that can be applied to art or life in general. There are going to be bad times, unproductive times. Times when what you worked for is lost. A choice has to be made-give up or keep going. I choose to keep going with my garden and my art. What will you choose to do?

I am a digital artist because I love creating art with graphic software and being able to make as many changes as I want without having to start over after doing something that does not work. A modern medium for the 21st century! That does not mean I throw out everything traditional.
Keeping a journal is something I have done for almost 25 years. I have tried journaling with software, but there is something special in using an ink pen and writing on paper. The flow is just not there when I use software.
The other traditional habit I have is reading books that are printed, not digital. I have three bookcases filled with fiction and non-fiction books. How many digital books do I have? Zero. There is something about holding a book in my hands and turning the pages as I read that gives me satisfaction. Which is why I have traditional bookmarks that I have made to place in the book when I have to pause in my reading. However, I am always losing those bookmarks and using pieces of paper to mark my page. That is why I am thinking of offering some bookmarks on my devotional page that you may download for free and print. You can never have too many bookmarks, especially if you misplace them like I do.
 This is an example of some bookmarks I created using the background art and words from one of my devotional books. Interested? Let my know by leaving a comment here or contacting me using the form on my Home page.