Photoshopping

I got Adobe creative suite and I like it for the most part. It is hard to switch programs. Illustrator is pretty easy to pick up because it's similar to Inkscape. Photoshop is not easy for me, and designing products on it is not as intuitive as I hoped it would be. But I like the program and the editing features. They are a lot more sophisticated than the free programs I've been using as far as being able to select parts of images and move them around, which will help with some of the art I have planned.

 I also have a new computer to handle the increasing amount of graphics and it has been a lot of work figuring out how to get everything set up. The worst thing is going through my old computer and trying to decide what to do with all the image files. I had that computer for nine years!

The card below was the last thing I made and put in my store. I started writing this blog entry a few days ago and I stopped. I have a tendency to be too intense and burn out. So I took one full day off and played video games with some really nice people and I think that was good for me.

You're Awesome! Thank you so much star Card
by MelskyArt

You're Amazing

I wanted to make a very bright and happy card, and I think this met my goal!

I'm not sure if I should put pre-written messages in the cards. I prefer blank cards, even if there is a message on the front. But I'm a person who makes their own cards, so what do I know!

I've read that most people like cards that already have writing inside, so they don't have to worry about what to say.

You're Awesome! bright colorful birthday card
by MelskyArt

I wrote Happy Birthday Superstar on the inside, and put some more stars.

I've been working on a lot of art. It has been frustrating because it seems things don't always turn into something I can use in my designs. But I'm trying new techniques and I look at it as a learning process. 

Oddity City, an abstract floral city painting

Oddity City
Originally uploaded by Melsky

I finished this today.

For this painting, I did two things I don't usually do. I scanned it in different stages of progress. It's also on a new material I'm trying out, it's a think piece of masonite with a textured coating that is supposed to be good for doing detail work. It was ok, but it's more expensive than the canvas I have been using and I don't like it as much.

I may try some new types of canvas, maybe some with a finer weave than I've been using.

Oddity City painting for sale

In progress:



and



and

New Paintings in my Studio

New Paintings in my Studio, originally uploaded by Melsky.

As you can see, I'm painting again a little bit. It feels good to be back at it, though I am not doing it as much as I would like. It feels good to get back into it.

The large abstract I have worked on some more since this picture was taken. I think it's going to look really nice in our living room.

Cacophany

Cacophany, originally uploaded by Melsky.

This is what I call a waste paper painting. It starts out with me painting backgrounds on 5x7 sheets of paper. I place them on the canvas when I paint and use the canvas to catch the excess paint. That makes a series of right angles and lines in various colors. Then I start filling in areas with various colors, patterns and doodles.

I used to just use paper or cardboard as background paper to paint on. Then it would usually hang around my studio and I'd add to it. It started looking better than the paintings I was actually working on sometimes. So I started using canvas.