 I want to thank Billy Boy (from Red Bubble)who told me about the Epson V500 scanner which I bought and inspired me to look thru my old box of slides.(This was edited in PS with the smudge and airbrush tools )I used to love to shoot slides and made my friends sit down and watch shows using the old carousel projector. Some loved it and some kept asking me when I was going to PLEASE buy a TV, HA!This image has a lot of memories which create a vast array of emotions in me! I was staying with my brother for a while in his townhouse as our Mom had left our Dad and we did not even know where she was living at the time. I guess I just felt like being near my big brother and needed a place to 'crash' for a while. The ring on my finger is my mothers old engagement ring. The Camera I shot this with (via a self timer) was a great old Fuji 35mm that my brother gave to me when he came home from Nam. John Lennon had passed away during this time which had brought us both to tears and inspired us to pose separately for a portrait with this old pawn shop guitar which we swore we would learn to play. We sat up late that night trying to pick out some old Beatle tunes ( I remember my brother always played some Jim Croce and Harry Chaffin, as well.) A lot has happened since this picture, some very bad, some very good. But this self portrait made me think of that promise I made to learn to play guitar and it is now one of my goals! I do adore music and what could be a better way to relax than to sit on the back porch and pick out some old tunes with some old or new friends or just your own good company?May you Embrace the Art. Music, life, children, friends and all the blessings you have in your life and I will do my best to do the same!
My favorite Beatles song is "Imagine" it is the most simple , yet profound song I have ever heard.
 I just did not want to let this day go by without paying tribute to the students who lost their life on this day a year ago at Va. Tech.
I want to also pay tribute to the survivers who came back and are going forward to continue their life and education with a positive spirit and the belief that together we can make this a safer country for all of our students.
This photo was taken last year a few days after the tragedy during a temporary memorial at Va. Tech. My daughter and I drove out to show our support to the precious lifes that ended so abruptly.
We will never forget you Virginia Tech, you are in our hearts and our prayers. God Bless..
Since there is quite a waiting line for Modbooks at the moment, I decided to write to Axiotron to see if they would agree to send me a loaner demo Modbook for a review in Corel Painter magazine and I am happy to say they agreed! I look forward to giving this exciting new Axioton-Apple tablet a whirl! Since this tablet is targeted at artists, such as myself, I am very eager to test drive using Photoshop and Corel Painter software. There is a lot of controversy on the internet pertaining to this much sought after tablet and I look forward to giving a hands on review and reporting back my findings ! Thank you Axiotron for this opportunity and thank you Ben at OWC for the positive info!
I have been checking out the specs on the modbook for a long time now and decided to order the more afforable 12" Cintiq, but as soon as I opened the Cintiq I was disheartened because of all the cables and wires and power boxes..just too much STUFF to contend with. There went any notion of portability! I did hook it up and play with it for a few hours , but the 12" screen was a bit small and found myself zooming in and out and I longed to be able to take this with me, to the car, the park, wherever! But with the Cintiq you are still tethered to your office, because of the AC cords. I decided to send it back, but Antoline refused to let me return it , so I had to resell it.
Then I ordered the Modbook and recieved a message that they are backlogged and it will be late March before I will recieve it. However , I think it will be worth the wait as it will allow me to work virtually anywhere and it will make teaching workshops a lot easier (which is a direction I want to go next year). I will be back to write a review and give some personal experince to those of you who are also wanting to order one and want some more information, so stay tuned!
 This image "The Friendship Pact" recieved a commended Award in the Fine Art Category of the Digital Camera Magazine and will be published in their next issue along with the wonderful top winners in this competition. 81,000 photographers entered so I am very honored to have recieved this commendation. Thank you Digital Camera Magazine!
 "Hey! I'm Trying to Read Here!" I am so very pleased and very honored to report that I placed again in the Worldwide Photoshop User Awards! Last Year my work was awarded Best in Show and won my daughter and I a trip to Rome which we will never forget!
This year I placed First in the Portrait /Wedding category with this portrait of Kary, who is my dear friends Grandson. Isn't he the cutie! Thank you so very much NAPP!
For those of you who are not a member of NAPP, I urge you to join, it is a fabulous organization with some really wonderful folks! You will get a free subscription to their very informative magazine "Photoshop User" !
 Happy 2008 to everyone! Even though I really feel that our birthday is actually our own persoanl New Year and the day you need to access your life and set goals, this 'official' New Year is cool because everyone celebrates it and knows when it is ! So have a GREAT 2008!
 It is 2AM and I am still up after a wonderful Christmas Eve with my daughter and her boyfriend. It was fun to watch them bask in the joy of one another this evening while listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas CD and some great Italin music by el Divo. It was a blessed day for sure! This image of Santa "Gift for Santa" is one I did for a good friend of mine for her Christmas present, it is her grandson and her brother in law. Edited in Photoshop. Hope you are having a loving beautiful day no matter where you live or what you believe, the magic is there for us all.....so enjoy your Holiday!
 Just wanted to wish anyone who reads this a peaceful, safe and loving Holiday no matter what your religion may be, this time of year seems to bring out the best in many of us and I for one, really savor that magic! My daughter and I have the tree up and are just loving listening to the Holiday music and hanging out on the couch in full view of the tree with all the beautiful lights and pretty wrappings beneath. May we all think of and treasure our many blessings and try not to let the daily irritations tarnish our appreciation of what is most important ...and we all know what that is. Bless you all!
 Been having a great time painting some Holiday work. This Santa is from a Photoshoot I did a few months ago with a Professional Santa from Pa. He looks like the real deal!! Some cool News! I have a feature in Corel Painter Magazine this month so check it out! Also, one of my Santa paintings will be in Advanced Photoshop next month! Digital Pro Photo called and interviewed me yesterday and that will be in their Jan. issue!! Also look for a painting lesson coming up in Photoshop Creative Magazine on Dog portraits and a children's portrait lesson in Corel Painter Magazine. I love all of these magazines and I am extremely honored be a part of them! Being an artist and Writing for magazines was always a childhood dream for me, so all of this has me feeling pretty happy :) !
 To order my new DVD "The Fine Art of Photoshop" just click here!
 Check out this new book by the editor of Double Exposure and Photoworkshop! One of my images is inside ! Now available at Barnes n Noble and Amazon!
 That's my adorable daughter , Cassidy, on the cover of Photoshop User Magazine this month! (This was part of my win for the NAPP Best in Show award) I also have an article in this issue on my trip to Rome along with a tute on how I created the image of the Tiber River Walk,(See my Rome Blog)) so go to Barnes n Noble and grab a copy! :) Thanks again to the wonderful folks at NAPP for this honor!
 I want to apologize to those of you who have been e-mailing asking when my new DVD will be relaased! With School starting back and some local portrait shoots I got behind. However I am back on track and aiming for a release the end of October! I am working on some great new lessons that are going to be quite a bit diferent than my previous DVD's. Such as 'Drawing the Eye", "creating Cartoon Clip Art" and Adding textures and crackle effects to your art. I think this package will be a lot of fun for you! If you want to be among the first to be notified, don't forget to sign up on my web site! Thanks for your continued interest in my techniques!
 We are still recovering from jet lag and are now morning people which we weren't before we left! I just wanted to make one last entry about our beautiful trip while it is still so with us like a dream or delicious secret we carry around with us! On our last day we took a bus to the Villa Borghese, which is a huge and wonderful garden not far from the hotel Turner. We got there quite early to avoid the heat so the famous art gallery was not yet open but it was still such a treat just to walk around and experience the atmosphere of the park. As you see in the image there was a wonderful little 'lake' in the center of the park where there were ducks, geese, swan and even turtles all stretching and floating to and fro so lazily in the water. It was too early to rent a boat so we just gazed at the sight of it which seemed so much like a painting come to life! As clique and corny as that sounds, it is the only fitting comparison I can make! There were familes jogging down the dirt roads kicking up a golden dust in the flickering mist of morning and guards on horse back. The lawn sprays created arching rainbows in the morning mist and old men read their newpapers on park benches while the women walked their Jack Russels and chatted with their friends. We walked past a zoo that was not yet open and heard the various calls of exotic birds and other 'wild life'. The healthy life style of the italians really made an impression on my daughter and I ! She is just now out jogging in our neighborhood, while before she would have still been asleep! The time change has made us wake up much earlier than our usual shedule before Rome. There is a definate before and after Rome in our life now that my daughter and I really notice ! One thing I have always found interesting is how much the location of your birth forms you as a person and how much of our idenity depends on our birth place. If you think about it, where you are born largely determines your awaremess of art,music (or lack of) and your diet, religion and customs! There are some thngs you can never know about yourself until you are taken out of your custom or comfort zone and see your life and your personality in contrast to an entirely new (and refreshing) life hence before never experienced! It is not enough to read in books , but to experience first hand what it is like to be surrounded by a language that all others are speaking around you that you do not understand, to taste food that your palette has never been awakened to, to view art that have you only heard about and viewed in school books ! To form aquaintences and effections with people you have never in your life seen or spoke with before! It is a gift to see your rigid beliefs and ideas exposed and your subconcious prejudices exposed into the light of another country , to strip yourself of your 'self' that was created from the location of your birth and to be given this amazing chance to truly see your 'self' in this raw and honest light and to make the necessary adjustments and improvements to the new you that international travel has given birth to! Perhaps Jet lag is really birth pains in this incredible opportunity to become a better person! I can only hope that my daughter and I hold steadfast onto this memory and continue to respect and cherish the gifts we have been given.
 Thursday we were looking forward to a Classic Roman dinner tour, but after after being up since 5am and having the morning tour of the vatican and then takng to the streets to check out the many vendors sellng clothes for only 3-10 Euro we were beat from the 95 degree heat. The desk clerk thought we were crazy to be on the sidewalks , he said "Don't you know what is happening out there??" So, we were exhausted and could not fght a nap at 5PM and unfortunately we slept on into the night and missed our evening tour! We were sad to miss it, but knew that we would have been too tired to go. Friday we decided we would do our own tour of the collesseo and we asked the desk clerk how to hop a bus, he is getting quite tired of our many questions and we even heard him mumble 'Stupita Americanas' once when we forgot where the elevator was! Ha! But he sent us to the tabbacco shop where we learned which bus and bought the tickets. The bus came right to the hotel in a few minutes and we boarded. It was so bumpy and clackety on the stone roads that I feared the bus wold disassemble! But we arrived safely and since it was so early the lines, although long, were not so bad. We had to buy tickets to get in which were 11 Euro each. The sight of the structure, of course, is so familar that we recognized it immediately from the bus and already the hot sun cast everything in a sort of spooky foggy glare with the ruins in silhouette. Inside the stone and shadow was a cool relief! There are people everywhere in every 'hot spot' so it is extremely diffcult to get a photograph without a crowd, even trying to take a photo above your vision there are outstretched arms holding pocket cameras high into view! We took the elevator to the top level which was a magnificent view, it put me in mind of a small grand Canyon, something made from nature than men. I did not want to think about what actually occurred here so many years ago right there beneath where we stood. The play of light and shadow was especially enchanting ! We did not stay long in the Colloseum as the heat began to become too oppressive and so we took the stairs down which slighted forward and you had to walk tilted backwards to keep from falling. Outside the vendors were in full array with their colored assortment of souvenirs serverely overpriced! I bought a fan to actually use for our face and there was a water fountain that we used to splash over us which dried so quickly in the sun! We bought a few items for our friends and continued walking around the outskirts of the area and taking more pictures. I forgot to say that during breakfast we met some girls who had just arrived from south Africa and they said the heat was quite horrible as they had come from their winter season. We were glad that they understood our english and chatted a bit. I asked if the tall Pines were the same as their trees in Africa and they said Yes, they are. The trees are so majestic and tall and seem to touch the heavens! They put me in mind of the iltalians themselves who walk so tall and proud and strong! I found myself checking my posture often as I see how slumped we are in contrast! Although the tours are wonderful,my daughter noted that it was nice to walk about as we please and to leave when we desired. We hopped the wrong bus ,but the driver helped us with a transfer. No one seems to bother punching their tickets it seems there is an honor system that it appeared not many abided by. Back at the hotel we stopped at the vendors for clean shirts as ours were clammy from sweat and went back to the room for another shower. There is a cafe called the Happy Creme Caf where we get our daily fruit salad and delicous potatoes cooked with lemon pepper and chat with our friend who went to Harvard for 3 months to take business english and works 2 jobs here, yet has such a pleasant personality. I am really taken by the handsome appeal of Italians! After our lunch we go to the local gelata cafe where Cassidy loves the cookie ice cream and I get the yogurt which taste just like yogurt, not sweet like america) and this refreshes us! The cafe owner has become very friendly to us and Cassidy speaks italian with him a bit (she has a talent for picking up accents and language!) Back on the streets we are again over come by the heat and must go back to the room for a nap! I have never n my life been a nap taker, but find that I cannt fight it here! and so we go into a long sleep..I awake at 11:30 to what sounds like gun fire in the streets! I listen for police siren ,but hear no reaction and so I shrugg this off to a salute perhaps? I can hear the african girls opening their shutters and yellng something into the street,but do not understand,and with nothing else to do, I go back to sleep and awake again at 3AM and decided to write in the blog. Cassidy and I decide to stay up and wait for breakfast at 7 which we really enjoy with the beautiful decor and everything is so fresh and yummy. There is nothing in the room to eat(we keep forgetting to grocery shop) and so we are going thru the mini bar with free abandon! We can't resist! Ciao until tomorrow!(or later today,can't keep track ) This is our last day, very sad!
 Last night our friend Giovanna picked us up along with her mate to dinner in a beautiful outside cafe near the angel castle. Giovanna is so friendly and warm that we felt as though we had been friends for a long time! The night is so beautiful as though it is illuminated by a golden light. In the plaza were guitar players and portrait artists (which is what I used to do before digita) and everyone seemingly in love with one another or Rome! I felt so sentimental as it seems you forget your age and everyone is young! Across the river were cafes with white tent like canopies lit with lanterns and such a sight with the reflection in the water, the cresant moon and the angel atop the castle..breath taking! I had my Canon G7 around my neck and so took some shots which I hope will do justice to the vision we saw! A band was playing "We are the Champions" and Giovanna and I sang along as we both knew the song from long ago! Music is such a unifying lauguage that we all 'speak'. I hated for our new friends to leave us, such wonderful company they are! Thank you so much Giovanna for such a perfect evening! My daughter and I talked today of how we wished to see you again some day! We got up this morning at 5AM for a tour at 7:30, had the wonderful breakfast again here at the hotel. The tour guide was such fun, her name is Deny Martinez and she is an artist as well so she gave me her e-mail to keep n touch with her! She did a wonderful job explaining Michangelo's paintings in the chapel, which we saw today. I wanted so badly to take pictures,but ,out of respect I refrained. The paintings of course are stunning, but the chapel with the beautiful light coming through the windows and the mood of deep respect and reverence adds to the experience of being in the moment. We have another tour tonight at 7PM with a dinner. We don't really know what the tour is but our guide said it is most likely to be a tour of the city. We hope the colliseum will be included,but not sure if it will, will let ya know! We have been eatting at a nice cafe down the street and we learned today that the waiter went to school in Boston and he was so kind to ask us where we are from and chat a while..we will go back tomorrow for more fruit cocktail and mineral water and perhaps more acquaintance! So far we have not seen anyone eatting cheeseburgers and fries, we are beginning to undertstand why the Italians have such a healthy life! We hope to continue eatting better when we are back in the states! Cassidy wants to go check the street venders beneath our window, so must sign off for now! Ciao!
 I am sitting on the bed at the beautiful Hotel Turner, It is 6AM Rome time. My daughter is in the shower and I am enjoying the bustling sounds of the street outside my open window about 5 floors below. It was quite an adventure getting here as the flight to Alanta was delayed by 1 1/2 hour and so we had to sprint to catch our flight to Rome and our tickets were denied by the scanner which was quite a scare,but after checking the computer to verify our flight we were allowed to board! We were the last on the plane and there was a lady who had claimed our seats quite comfortably,but she moved without problem. The flight was quite loooooong and I know I tried 500 positions in the 9 hours on the plane to try and capture some ZZZZ, but to no avail,. My daughter found I made a good pillow and she managed to get some sleep. At the Rome airport there was another scare with our luggage as it took over an hour to appear on the carousel! Then to find our shuttle to Hotel Turner! We were not aware that there was a young man standing with a sign until afte some looking and we doscovered him. He was very sweet and drove very fast, weaving in and out and driving like a pro ! I had exchanged $50 of my american money at the airport for only $25 euro and hoping for a better rate at the ATM! I had no idea what to tip,but he seemed very happy with a $5... My daughter and I went right to our room and took to the bed, as we were exhausted! But got up late and explored the streets! We loved all the outside cafes and the lively night life that is apparent ! Giovanna, a friend from Marilyn Sholin's web site 'Paint Outside the Frame' called and cheerfully welcomed us to Rome! She is picking us up for dinner tonight and we can't wait to meet her! Hi to Digital Image Cafe all my buds there! Hi Shondell, we made it!! Thanks again for everything! I must close as my battery is going and we have not found an adapter yet! Hope to today! Hugs
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