phone varnished untouched
Phone untouched
Camera
GIMP
Scanned

Well this is Lesson 5, and it was something I would have never tried or even thought of.  This is done on a birch wood panel.  Ok have tried painting on them, but not successfully, so that is why I had some.  First was stain it with diluted acrylic inks.  These start out looking pretty dark and gradually lighten as the paint sinks into the wood.   I tried several colors as I knew I wanted green and pinks in the background and also wanted to see how transparent the colors were.  Then it's painted over it with color pencils, used both prismacolor and polys. so both wax and oil base work.  Yes, it does show the grain and yes the grain definitely affects the way the pencil goes on.   You would have seen more grain in the background if I would have had the stain darker and didn't cover with pencil.  You can erase pretty easily, even the stain comes off somewhat.   But you really can't get a smooth blend.

Sheila, ok, girl, decided to test all the things we were talking about.   Hmmmm, think you got your work cut out for you cause I have so much to learn.   So scanned/worked it in photos program, camera shot/worked in photos program, camera/worked in GIMP, liked the phone shot so much I didn't even have to rework it, and last shot is phone shot, once I have added varnish which is supposed to bring out the colors even more.   What do you think?  Which one do you pick?

I think, getting into the real phone age is huge because hands down the phone's camera takes such great pictures and offers lots of options which I didn't take time to look at.  My camera is probably 8-10 years old, so no doubt technology has greatly improved.  It also went right into my photos program without having to do anything to get it there.   Wow, next I will have to figure out how to get it off the phone but not kill it from my library - guess that will be another challenge - oh there are so many!!     

Of course I have much to learn with these GIMP and just dabbed a bit with all the color options/curves and what not.  So probably I could really take these photos and do a lot more with them than I actually did.  But have many videos to look at (Sheila, thank you again for vetting these to get me to the best of the best)

Thanks for taking a look at this long post but thought it was an interesting comparison.

Comments

Joan Tavolott said…
It is amazing the different effect each process give this. I understand nothing about each method so I am in the dark about what each involved. I do like the painting and the wood grain showing through adds a nice dimension. Good job!
Sheila said…
WOW! Lucky you Nelvia - Looks like the phone is the best. Might not always be true. Might depend on the medium and surface, lighting. That is one reason everyone wants those phones no doubt ;) I think it would be useful to do each process with a few of your upcoming pieces. Experience is a great teacher ;)
This is just lovely, I love everything about it :)
Nelvia said…
I am not sure I understand either, but Sheila is trying to help me understand the basics. I was shocked at how different each came out. I always knew my camera tended to blue, Paul's tended to yellows, not sure which is better. But I guess we have to just give up and try to learn this technology.
Nelvia said…
Yes, I agree I need to keep testing. Also need to see if I can make more happen in the GIMP program. But I guess it is only as good as what you start off with. I also got to figure out what is my resolution on the phone. Anyway, it was a good exercise, one I wouldn't have done without your mentioning it. Was kind of a strange way to work on wood, but I have to admit I do like the results.
Nelvia said…
Hey there, not yet as adventurous as you but working on getting there. Yes, these lips were a bit of a challenge and I had to tweak, just slightest change unaged her a bit.
A lovely painting Nelvia and I guess the phone won the best pic contest and the varnish definitely made the colours pop more. I applaud your experimenting with surface, materials and photo styles - I am just too lazy to go to all the work - lol.
Unknown said…
Love them all. Totally in the dark on what you are doing but love it.

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