Foto Art Friday – December 8, 2017

Sunstar Morning

I’ve decided to trade off for my Foto Art Friday pieces, and start to include some “pure” photo images that I feel fall into the category of “art”, whatever that is!  This piece was taken one morning as we sailed around the Panama Canal.  There was some moisture in the air, and the sun coming up over the horizon caught those drops of water and really shone.  It’s the sort of image that I feel offers each of us hope.

Sunstar Morning

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of formats, including prints, pillows, tote bags, and even notebooks, via www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – December 1, 2017

Shades of Home

This piece came about as I thought about home and what it means to so many people.  Of course, the heart of the piece is the image of what once was someone’s home.  There is writing, both handwritten and typed, in different positions, representing how people tend to write to those at home, or about home, or even about leaving home, depending on one’s perspective.  Different textures represent the different thoughts people have about what “home” means to them, and the birds represent the fleeting time we spend at our various homes throughout our life.  So, what does “home” mean to you?

Shades of Home

Enjoy!

This piece, in a variety of finishes and formats, including prints, pillows, tote bags, journals, is available at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Summer Clean-Up

We had just finished cleaning up after the summer – clearing out the greenhouse and stacking firewood for our upcoming fires in the fireplace, when I noticed a few interesting natural intimate landscape portraits.  I purposefully processed each of these with a different effect, just to enhance them!

Almost Gone

There’s a bush with a bit of green leaves still left.  Those leaves are surrounded by landscape rocks and other fallen leaves from a larger bush that towers over it.  I thought it might be fun to process this one as a poster – full of bright color!

Summer’s Debris

In a slightly different location, there were other leaves that just spoke of being the debris left over from the summer foliage.  For this image, I thought an impressionist painting effect added a nice touch.

Leftover Leaves

Just off from the above scenes were some slightly larger stones and just a few leaves mixed in among them.  The red leaf caught my eye and was the focus of this image that I processed to look like a more realistic painting.

Last Bit of Green

And, finally, a “true” photograph!  This of the portion of that bush that is being oh so persistent in remaining green!

Enjoy!

Last Burst of Color

Around my home, autumn is putting on a show in its final days.  These two images portray two very different approaches it takes…..

Autumn Color

This is autumn at its most brilliant.  The reds, oranges and touches of yellow are the traditional colors that come to mind when we think of fall.  But, there’s another side…..

Autumn Grass

There’s also the more subtle, and some may argue, the richer, colors of autumn that this autumn grass is portraying.  Which is the best representation of autumn?  I think that’s for each individual to decide!

Enjoy!

Misty Morn

We don’t get many misty mornings here in the high, dry desert, so when we do, I love to take advantage of them and go out for a photo shoot.  Here are my favorite images from such a morning early in November.

Late Fall

When we get a misty morning in the fall, it seems especially magical to me, as the mist hugging close to the ground really allows you to see the beauty of an individual tree.  It seems to cut out all the other “noise” so you can really see the focus of the image.

Tree Echo

Another thing the mist does is give you this type of wonderful effect – naturally!  I have driven down this road countless times, but this was the first time I noticed the similarity of tree shapes in this field.

Misty Country Road

This was the road I was driving down.  I love the way the mist creates a sense of mystery – where is this road leading?  Kind of like life – who knows where our path in life will lead us?

Enjoy!

Back in the Past

The other morning, we drove to a great collection of some deserted cabins and old homesteads.  I decided to go with the feel of the scenes, and went for a vintage effect with these images.

Life Gone By

The bare winter branches of the trees add to the forgotten feel of this scene.  The old homestead is falling down, left behind as the family that used to live there as moved on.  But, let’s imagine what life may have been like, with children playing in the front yard, with perhaps some chickens scurrying out of their way.

Back in the Day

Back in the day, windmills were used to generate and power water wells, as well as tell the general direction and power of the wind.  Today, they are but a form of decoration on the plains of the high desert.

Enjoy!

Foto Art Friday – November 17, 2017

Echo

There is nothing quite so still as a mist-filled morning.  And, ironically, often things are not as clearly seen as they are in the mist.  The similar shapes of these trees was invisible to me until this misty morning eliminated the other “noise” of the scenery, and allowed me to see this natural echo of shapes.

Echo

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a number of finishes and formats on www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Evening Abstracts

The dunes take on some wonderful shapes and lines when evening approaches.  Take a look…..

Golden Glow

Keep looking up! I learn from the past, dream about the future and look up. There's nothing like a beautiful sunset to end a healthy day…. Rachel Boston

Evening Shadows

The evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming… Al Stewart

Evening Peace

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding…      Albert Einstein

Abstract Dune Sunset

Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second… Mattie Stepanek

Flow

This is how memories are made... by going with the flow. Amanda Bynes

Blowing Sand

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails… William Arthur Ward

Blue Dunes

Blues is a tonic for whatever ails you. I could play the blues and then not be blue anymore… B. B. King

Cooling Evening

I am searching for abstract ways of expressing reality, abstract forms that will enlighten my own mystery… Eric Cantona

Enjoy!

Abstract Art at White Sands

On a recent camping trip, Jeff & I visited White Sands National Monument.  We’ve been there before, but for me, every visit is like visiting it anew.  The sands shift constantly with the wind, so it’s like it’s getting created and re-created all the time.  Some of the images that I shot truly seemed like abstract, modern art and that reminded me of some Georgia O’Keeffe art I’ve seen over the years.  Now, I’m not anywhere the artist that Georgia was, but I was reminded of her for these pieces, so I decided to assign some of her quotes to them as comments instead of my own words –

Abstract Mountains and Dunes

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.”

Stark Horizon

“It was all so far away - there was quiet and an untouched feel to the country and I could work as I pleased.”

Simple Lines in the Sand

“I said to myself, I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down.”

Texture to Infinity

“I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at - not copy it.”

Lines in the Sand

“You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.”

See the Wind

“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.”

Enjoy!

Foto Art Friday – November 10, 2017

Hidden Story

The old barn that is the focus of this piece, reminds me of lives all around us that have portions of them held close, and hidden to much of the world around them.  People may share a portion of their life story with us, but many people have pieces that they don’t share, that remain hidden.  Sometimes, it’s embarrassment, other times, it’s fear of judgement, and there are times when some things are just too painful to keep reliving.  This piece is an acknowledgement that all of us have those hidden stories within ourselves.

Hidden Story

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of sizes and finishes at

www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – November 3, 2017

Circular Clouds

This piece celebrates the wonder of White Sands National Monument.  Specifically, at sunset, when the sun warms the sky and it’s a nice compliment to the sand and desert plants.  The background of this piece is a vintage love letter, where the writer talks about being on a journey with another person.  And, such is the way I feel about nature of all types, and today specifically the wonder of this US National Monument. 

Circular Clouds

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of sizes and finishes at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.  

Foto Art Friday – October 20, 2017

Walk in the Mist

I took the photo that is the heart of this piece many years ago.  I was in Wisconsin, walking along a sort of harbor area.  It was a cool, damp morning, with the mist hanging heavily in the air.  I saw the white benches and globe light that seemed to be beacons, calling for me to come and sit for a bit.  The handwritten letter and envelope in the faded background of the piece suggest someone doing that, and then writing to a loved one far away, telling them of this moment in time.

Walk in the Mist

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of sizes and formats at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg

Foto Art Friday – October 13, 2017

Old Barn

Note:  This is a repeat of a previous Foto Art Friday from September, 2016.  I’m reposting this as a sort of remembrance to this old barn.  This past week, as I drove by the place where it was, I noticed that it had just been torn down.

There’s this small little barn that apparently hasn’t been used for years on the road that I drive on all the time to head to the store.  I have always thought it had such character, and planned to photograph it.  However, I hadn’t until recently.  I noticed there was a “For Sale” sign on the property, and I realized that when it sold, whoever the new owners were might tear it down to build a newer, bigger barn.  So, I finally made a point to stop and photograph it.  I decided to have it be the focus of this art piece, to sort of honor the farming community that used to live in the area.  The piece has my own Citra Solv paper as its background, with some vintage handwriting blended into it.  Add my image, some grunge effects and specialty paint brushes in PhotoShop Elements, and it’s done! Credit: on thin air and soul poison (brushes); GTD Grunge Collection (grunge effect)

Old Barn

Enjoy!

Foto Art Friday – October 6, 2017

Inevitable

This piece speaks to the time of the year when summer is giving way to autumn.  Some look forward to the new season, while others want summer to remain a while longer.  But, no matter how much one wishes for the warmth of summer to remain, the crisp of autumn will certainly come.  The lesson of autumn is that change is inevitable, and our ability to thrive depends on our resilience to the changes around us.

Inevitable

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of sizes and formats from www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – September 29, 2017

Autumn Raindrop

It’s rather unusual for it to be very rainy here where I live, in the desert Southwest of the US.  However, the other day, it was raining off and on all day.  When I looked out at the tree in our front yard, the leaves were all turning from green to gold.  And, in the rain, they all looked a bit bedraggled.  I did go out between showers, tho, to see if there was an image to be had.  Nothing was extremely photo-worthy, but I did notice a raindrop just hanging from the edge of a gold leaf, with brownish edges.  I decided to use a close up of that image as the foundation for this piece.  It was such a close up, it became somewhat abstract, so I decided to go with that, and just made the piece about all the different signs of autumn – leaves turning colors, from green to gold to red, bare trees waiting for winter, and birds taking wing to their winter retreats.  It’s a time of endings, and beginnings, too, depending on one’s perspective.  I’m looking forward to the change of season.

Autumn Raindrop

Enjoy!

Credit: Bird brushes by wingsofahero

This piece in a variety of formats and sizes is available at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – September 15, 2017

Autumn Leaves

It’s that time of year again – fall!  It is probably my favorite time of the year, with beautiful colors bursting out all over, even in my home state of New Mexico.  Much like leaves on the ground, this piece is full of leaves placed somewhat haphazardly.  And, yet, there is a sort of balance to the shuffle.  The last of the summer birds are also winging thru the sky, heading for warmer climates.  This piece is intended to capture the brilliance and beauty of this most changeful time of the year!

Autumn Leaves

Enjoy!

Credits:  Thanks to  wingsofahero and Lady Victoria for the bird and foliage brushes.

This piece is available in a variety of sizes and formats via

www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – September 8, 2017

The Old House

Memories are funny, and selectively incorrect, or correct, depending on one’s perspective.  Is the season summertime, or late winter, as is this case?  And, were there visitors by car, or perhaps a more casual visitor by bicycle?  Memories can play tricks, or do we play tricks with our minds.  Generally, it’s of no importance, as they can be something that offers us solace when looking back on what once was.

The Old House

Credits:  Background paper by Somerset Studio, Brushes used complements of Wings of a Hero (birds) & Maya (written word).

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of formats via www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – September 8, 2017

Ancient Word

A few weeks ago, Jeff & I drove past Shiprock.  Shiprock.  It is significant in the history of the Navajo People, and means, roughly, “winged rock” or “rock with wings”.  It refers to the great bird that brought the Navajo from the north to the current area where they live.  As I look at it, I’m reminded of not only the Navajo People’s history, but all of our histories, both as a culture and individually.  The title of this piece refers to how we capture our history, written in the traditional sense of the word, and in other ways just as meaningful as the written word.

Ancient Word

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of formats via www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.