Mycreativeimages - May 2021

My Creative Images Promoting Digital Photo Artistry and Digital Photography

www.mycreativeimages.com

Issue 38 (May 2021)

Welcome to the Mycreativeimages Magazine “As one door closes another opens.” Ive always wondered if this was true and what it actually means.

Recently I took some time between creating artwork to ponder on this, I’m not sure why, it was a totally random thought. Putting it in context, since focusing on the creative process and making more artwork things have changed for me. I am more relaxed, more focused and more productive. So perhaps I have closed the door on one part of my life and stepped through another and am now taking the first steps along the path I chose for myself rather than being stuck in the rut worn away by millions of other people.

I bet you can relate to this too. With so many things changing we all need to focus on health and family and look to finding the right “door” to open and the relevant “path” to explore.

Featured artists Claude Trew 4 David Walker 8 James Hurley 18 Keeley McCleave 26 Sue Waterhouse 36 Susan Jones 42 Vivien Capper 46

This self-analysis has also taken root in my most recent artwork, which you can see both on the cover and later on this month’s magazine. The Cherry Natural Beauty series, started out as a “I wonder if I can” and it progressed to a goal of “create a series of prints that I could hand embellish. The work needed to have a theme, each piece needed to have a common link (either using the same colours or same images) and each one should have an underlying story (either obvious or hidden and personal).” Thus, Cherry Natural Beauty was born and I am now working on number 7 in the series with ideas for 8 buzzing around in my mind.

So going back to where I started, focusing on creating my art has resulted in me finishing more work, getting more and more excited about what I do and has changed my outlook on life in general. I encourage you to find your “door” and walk through it and to join me on my continuing journey of self-discovery.

James Hurley Photo Artist / Magazine Editor Links: Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/MYCIFBpage Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/FBArtGroup

Just because it made me smile

by James Hurley https://www.mycreativeimages.com

All images in this publication are sourced / created by the artists, unless otherwise stated on their websites or social media pages and as such must not be copied or sold without the express consent of the artist.

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This publication is created and owned by James Hurley, ©mycreativeimages.com 2020. Please feel free to share the magazine but do not make changes to any of the content.

making the cover image This month I thought I would start with showing you some more detail of what goes into creating photo-art. More specifically I will show you the “layer stack” that I used to create the cover image “Whats left” Cherry Natural Beauty 6.

For a change and rather than using text and images I thought I would try using a video. So to find out more about how photo-art is created simply click on the image below and you will be taken to a short video on my website.

Alternatively you can click here: http://bit.ly/MYCIWhatsLeft

Claude Trew I retired a few years ago, and since I had more free time, I decided it was time to expand my photo art skills.

I have been a member of my local camera club for many years, but I wanted to branch out in areas of photography that would be more artistic and outside the style of photographs that are most successful in club competitions. With this in mind, four years ago I joined the international online Photoshop course “My Photo Artistic Life” created

by Sebastian Michaels. I have never regretted my decision and I am still a member of this vibrant and artistic FaceBook community.

A few months ago I joined another online course “Elevate your Art”, this time learning to paint with Photoshop’s mixer brush. My vision is, one day, to be able to paint images which will look like oil paintings.

You are welcome to visit my website to see some samples of my Photo Art.

www.claudetrew.com

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Pierrot Looking

Rain in the Desert

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Venitian Lady

David Walker Back in 2011 I was stuck in Toronto, during early spring, on a protracted law case. With a free weekend to contend with I spent those days walking around the city and Centre Island with my camera taking cityscapes and interesting subjects in my stride.

When a second weekend unexpectedly came around, it decided that I had enough, well 436, photographs of the city…what was I to do now? I found a course on Dance Photography run by the renowned photo dance specialist Cylla von Tiedemann. I spent a very interesting couple of days with six other photographers taking studio shots of five different dancers who performed many different dance styles. All well and good, I ended up with a few hundred images which have sat in my photographic portfolio for many years!

This month I discovered a new PhotoArt technique around watercolour. I have never really been happy with watercolour techniques but found this system worked very well on portraits so I opened up the little used folder on Dance and produced some images.

I found the majority quite pleasing so I have submitted some in this month’s My Creative Images magazine.

Usually, I am not a particular fan of portrait PhotoArt, but this technique allowed me to produce works that are more in keeping with my perceptions of what portrait PhotoArt should look like! I will be extending my work over the next month or so into non-dance based portraiture and even trying out some landscapes and cityscapes using this newly found technique.

https://www.vista-foto.com/

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It Takes Two to Tango

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Arabesque Plus

Blue Dance

Leaving the Party

MaHat MaDance

I Can Almost Reach

Free Dance

Reaching Out

Emerging from the Abyss

James Hurley James is a Photo Artist that captures landscapes photographs as well as painterly portraits either in the comfort of his home or on location.

He is based in Huntingdon, near Cambridge, and has a passion for incorporating his emotions and frustrations into surreal artwork and painterly landscapes.

James is a self-taught photographer and Photo Artist he loves photography and the digital mixed media approach to artwork. His artwork ranges from simple colour corrections in landscape photographs to enhance an image, to a complex piece of art that is made up of multiple images blended together with textures and masked out with brushwork.

This month James has been focusing on creating a series of images that celebrates both spring and the female form. This Series he has called Cherry Natural Beauty is inspired by the early spring blossom and a series of photographs he took which were then blended in with model stock images.

The overall aim was to build a recognisable collection of images using the same colours and styles.

In addition James has been able to return to Patterdale Hall Estate near Ullswater to spend time capturing more fine art landscape photographs. Two examples of this are also shown here, both the original photograph and the final edit.

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

Ansel Adams

https://www.mycreativeimages.com/

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EDITED

ORIGINAL

https://www.mycreativeimages.com/

https://www.mycre

eativeimages.com/

EDITED

ORIGINAL

https://www.mycreativeimages.com/

Keeley McCleave I studied illustration at art college, so there is a story-telling feel to most of my work. During the summer I re-discovered my love of illuminated manuscripts and was inspired to incorporate some richly detailed page borders in some of my compositions. I love the way borders can draw the viewer into an image and help tell the story.

More recently my attention has turned to the festive season and I have had fun playing with different aspects of a British Christmas, drawing on folklore, historical costumes and traditions.

I love Christmas, so always find it a springboard to creativity!

I hope you enjoy my work, as much as I enjoyed creating it.

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Alpine Bonnet

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Aries

Pisces

Britannia I

Britannia II

Easter Bonnet

Sue Waterhouse I was given my first DSLR camera for Christmas in 2013 and very quickly became addicted! fortunately, I was lucky enough to take early retirement at the same time.

From 2013 to 2019 my husband and I split our time between Spain and Portugal in the winter, travelling in our motorhome, and the UK and France in the summer. This provided lots of opportunities for many styles of photography.

I am very new to the world of Digital Art and 12 months ago I had only occasionally ventured into Photoshop to remove unwanted items from my photographs.

When the first lockdown was introduced in March, I decided I would use some of the extra time that we were spending at home, working to improve my Photoshop skills. Discovering the Photo Artistry course and more recently the AWAKE training has made me appreciate and enjoy creating digital art as much as I enjoy digital photography.

I enjoy using photographs I have taken over the last few years and creating digital art from them. I also use models and digital assets provided within the course materials.

As I am still at the start of my creative journey I have not yet found one particular style that I prefer….maybe I never will!

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Blue Valencia

In the Aveyron

Manchester Street Corner

New York Nights

Susan Jones My name is Susan Jones I have loved photography all my life, though I was rejected from the photography class at school due to not having my own SLR camera.

About 20 years ago a bought a DSLR and haven’t looked back, I love taking photos, mostly studio but as often as possible getting out and about, particularly London.

I have been using Photoshop for a few years, and to my joy found Sebastian Michaels Photoshop Artistry courses and then Awake and have learned so much about Photoshop and continue to learn every day. I love the program, I love changing plain photographs into fantasy colourful worlds.

I hope you enjoy looking at my work as much as I enjoyed creating it.

https://www.instagram.com/sulisloveswater/

labradoodle

Red Setter

Vivien Capper Hello. My name’s Vivien and I’m from the beautiful county of Kent, England though currently living and working near Rome in delightful Italy with its exciting, lively way of life and vibrant colours and designs .

I started out as an artist developing Indian ink artwork of a variety of subjects especially figurative artwork and abstract floral designs, then progressed into creative photography and digital artistry thanks to Sebastian Michael’s courses at ‘Photoshop Artistry’ and the advanced courses ‘Awake’ & ‘Kaizen’.

My inspiration is drawn from my love of nature, figurative artwork and Italian design and I love using many textures, patterns and colours.

I’m thrilled to have some of my artwork in various international publications including: Living the Photo Artistic Life, My Creative Images and I have also gained ‘honourable mentions’ in the Shift Art Monthly Challenge. I was also pleased to be the winner of the Shift Art Challenge with a piece ‘The Mysterious Cobbled Street’.

https://saatchiart.com/vivienjane

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Cyanotype Spring

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Dancing by the stream

Florals for Spring

The Chief

The Shy Cowboy

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M e t v IImages ae My CCreative Promoting Digital Photo Artistry