Foto Art Friday – August 4, 2017

Homestead of Old

This piece has, as its focus, one of my favorite photographic subjects – an old deserted cabin.  There’s something about it being a living history, in a way.  Yes, it’s deserted and left standing until it falls over.  But, as long as it is standing, it serves to remind us of a life, or lives, that lived there.  Of a time in our history when brave souls faced the unknown in order to make a better life for themselves.  The image that is the base of this was converted to a sepia toned image to enhance the historic feel of this piece.  Vintage handwriting enhances the intention of this piece, as well as other brushes and effects.  It’s a homestead of old, our living history.

Homestead of Old

Enjoy!

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

Sunflower Festival Art Exhibit

This year, I was once again accepted in the art exhibit that begins with the Sunflower Festival in Mountainair, NM, on August 26, and continues thru the month of September.  I am truly honored to have my work accepted in this exhibit.  Here are the pieces that will be on display at the Manzano Mountain Art Council Building at 101 E. Broadway in Mountainair.

Beautiful Monarch

It’s always a treat to be able to capture a butterfly in repose.  That this one happened to land on a lovely flower was a true treat not to be missed.  I processed the image as I did to add to the ethereal feel of the moment.

Package of Three

Three daisies at my feet as I walked along a trail in New Mexico were the inspiration for this piece.  I layered it graphically with a piece of vintage handwriting and then used a variety of specialty brushes in my photo imagery software.  The photograph was converted to a colored pencil drawing to enhance the soft and gentle feel.

Window in Adobe Wall

There’s nothing more Southwest (or New Mexican) than an adobe wall.  I loved the feel of the image of the adobe, with all its nuances of color.  Much like our lives – no matter how simple, there are still complexities in every one.  The significance of the window?  It’s a mystery – like the rest of our lives.  What we’ll see is what we make of it.

Old Fence

This image was taken close to my home in Edgewood, NM.  When I looked at the starkness of it, I decided to convert it to a monotone, and then added the texture to it.  It reminds me of the days when life here in the West wasn’t as easy as it is today and I wanted to honor those folks who made a living and their lives in this area.

Times Past

I saw this old windmill on the drive from Moriarty, NM to Mountainair, NM and knew I had to capture it.  When I began processing it, I realized that to truly what life may have been like when this was part of an active homestead, I needed to convert it to a black and white print.  I then added the other elements – the birds represent the fleeting nature of life, the handwriting reminds me of a journal perhaps someone kept, and the clock in the lower corner represents how time keeps passing.

Enjoy!

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.