Foto Shop Friday – July 28, 2017

The Perch

It’s the dead of winter, right after a brutal snow storm.  Most birds, in fact, most animals, are burrowed away, waiting for the sun to return, to once again warm the earth and melt the snow.  And, I see this raven, alone but not lonely.  A curious creature, seemingly oblivious to the conditions around him, perched on just about the only thing around not covered in snow, waiting, watching, content in his own environment.  Looking for some unlucky creature to venture out and become lunch?  Hard to say.  I do love the hardiness of these independent, and intelligent beings and this piece celebrates their uniqueness.

The Perch

Enjoy!

This piece, in a variety of finishes and formats, is available on my web site at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Pencil Sketches in the Woods

If you visited my travel blogs, you’ve seen some of these images in “reality” there.   Here, however, you will see a more artistic rendering of the images – compliments of my computer.  I wish I could produce this on pencil and paper, but my talents don’t lie in that arena. So, let’s take a look at what I can do!

Summer Daisies

Here’s a softer, gentler look at what I called a very happy flower. This rendition of them focuses on the more delicate side of these flowers.  These look like something out of a dream, I think.

Alder Woods

At first, I had thought these were birch trees.  But no, they are alders!  And, in the fall, the color of their leaves is a lovely golden color.  But, now, there’s not a trace of gold – only green.  Still, for this sketch, I chose to focus on the white of the tree trunks and their pattern as they stand in the woods.

Asters in the Woods

Ok, so this is not a sketch!  It’s an impressionist painting!  But, it seems to suite these blooms just fine!  It sort of emphasizes their softness, and it really sort of suggests the movement of them thru the gentle breeze.  Makes me want to sigh……Ahhh….

Enjoy!

Silence

“Winter is a time for recovery and preparation.” Words by Paul Theroux and an image that I took during the winter are the inspiration for this piece.  There is nothing quite as silent as the world covered by a blanket of snow.  All sounds are muffled, and if they aren’t rather loud to begin with, they are totally silenced.  And, silence gives us time to recover our balance, and prepare to move forward.  That is what I feel when I look at the image in this piece, and what I attempted to convey overall.

Silence

Enjoy!

This piece is available in a variety of formats and finishes on my web site at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Foto Art Friday – July 14, 2017

Forest for the Trees

This week’s piece was inspired by a ride on a chairlift taken during the summer.  As we traveled both up and down the lift, I was truly amazed at the beautiful scenery.  I kept being drawn to the many, many pine trees that we passed over and alongside – so much so, that I totally missed this small stand of birch trees mixed in with the pines.  It reminded me of the saying about how one cannot see the forest for the trees – getting too hung up on the details to see the overall picture.  I felt a bit like that’s what I had done, totally missing all the birch trees in the forest because I was focused on seeing the pine trees!  I converted my image of the birch trees into a colored pencil drawing, and then merged it with some digital collage elements – some text from an Asian book, and some CitraSolv background paper I made.  I added some specialty brushes to the piece to add a finishing touch. I hope you enjoy the piece and don’t forget to check out all the trees!!!

Forest for the Trees

Enjoy!

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

Foto Art Friday – July 7, 2017

Running Free

For this week’s piece, I thought about a trip last year to the Moab area.  My husband, Jeff, and I like to explore on some off-roads, and it was along one of these that we came across a herd of pronghorn antelope running along a field next to us.  They were first running behind us, caught up with us, passed us, and ultimately crossed the road in front of us.  To create this piece, I started with some background papers I made using CitraSolv and merged it with a quote by Edward Abbey – “May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view”.  I then applied some specialty brushes in PhotoShop Elements, and the result is what you see.  The antelope were truly running free, and I love the feeling this piece creates in me.

Running Free

Enjoy!

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