I changed the name of this digital collage after I highlighted the Mona Lisa's eyes with a flourish mask by endlessdeep. She also has a link to a tutorial on how he makes his masks. Endlessdeep(she) includes the image packs in her downloads so that you can make your own masks.

This is the final product for the da Vinci digital collage I started previously.



I made some significant changes to the inital collage but like the end result. I love the photoshop brushes from Yasny-Chan (the swirls and flowers).

I accidentally left out the handpainted layer when I saved this version of fairy dust. This is why I like digital collage, you can alter an image without having to paint another canvas. You can see the techno bursts in the upper right hand and left hand corners of the collage.

I have to say that doing these digital collages has become something of an addiction. The two fairy images were the inspiration for this new collage. The collage is made up of approximately 19 layers consisting of: a handpainted background, images, and a variety of photoshop brushes.



The initial background layer was a solid sheet of black. I followed this layer with a handpainted background I did on a stretched canvas. I usually photograph or scan in my backgrounds so that I can reuse them. This is the painted background that I started with.




The next 7 layers were made up of different photoshop brushes ranging from nature (plants) to techno (bursts). The full body fairy was the next layer followed by another layer consisting of photoshop brushes. The next layer was an ellipse I drew and filled with color onto which I applied another layer consisting of the upper torso of another fairy. The colored ellipse highlights the face of this fairy. After the fairy torso, was another 5 layers of photoshop brushes. The final layer was the text which I toned down by using a light grey.

I switched between black and white for the various brushes I used and I altered the opacity of some of the layers which ranged from 55% to 100%. I try to use "free for commercial use" photoshop brushes in the event that I would like to sell these pieces. Finally getting the layers the way I liked them, I flattened the image and saved it as a jpeg.

This is a digital collage I created using images from the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci. The swirls and grunge touches were added using photoshop brushes. The texture/grunge touches I used were from sanami276 and the swirls/flowers were from Yasny-Chan.



The background was an old world map onto which I applied a copper patina layer. With the cooper patina layer, I used a cookie cutter to create the irregular shape.

As a side note, I download my photoshop brushes from a variety of sites. I pay particular attention to the "Terms of Use" of all the brushes I download. If there is no "terms of use", I don't use any of the brushes on my commercial projects as I prefer to err on the side of caution.

I created this collage using an image from a painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti who is one of my favorite pre-Raphaelites. I haven't seen a painting by the pre-Raphaelites that I haven't liked and especially enjoy the Sleeping Beauty paintings. I titled this piece Serenity because of the expression on Elizabeth Siddal's face (she was Rossetti's wife). This particular image is entitled Prosperine or in Greek mythology Persephone. The myth of Persephone is one of my favorite mythological stories.

This image is my newest digital collage creation. I have used the theme of Carnevale with its mask as my theme. I started out with a white background as the "background" layer. The next layer is an image of a painted background that I did on watercolor paper using a variety of acrylic paints. I followed this layer with a book page layer, then two mask layers, and finally a layer of the doge's palace in Venice. I added some photoshop brush images (those fabulous swirls). And last but not least, I used a different opacity for each layer giving it the depth that the image required. The painted layer that I used is:



It is always interesting to me to see how these images start out and where they go from the initial idea. As I have said many times before, I let the art lead me to the final product. This is the inital idea I started with:

Here is an ATC I did using Photoshop Elements 6.0. It is my tribute to Edgar Degas whose ballerina paintings I love.



For this collage, I used white for the background layer. The next layer I used was a background that I had painted using Golden Paints. I used sequin waste to give the painted background some texture. Here is how the hand painted canvas looked before altering it.



Once the layer was added, I changed to opacity to 70% so that the background layer of white would come through and lighten this layer. I then added various images such as a sheet of music, two images of ballerinas, a self-portrait of degas, and I used some photoshop brushes for the folliage.

This is the second digital challenge issued by Cindy from our Yahoo group. The challenge this time deals with layers. We have to create an ATC with at least 12 layers (which I did). This is what I started with:



After creating an image with 12 layers (I eliminated a couple), I ended up with the following finished project:



I called this piece My Favorite Things because this particular collage contains elements that I love: da Vinci's Vetruvian Man, an image from the Pre-Raphaelites, swirls, architecture, a mask (of course), lace, flowers, and leaves. The background was painted by me and textured with gel medium and ephemera. I do kind of like how this turned out even though these are not the usual colors I work in.

I created this background using a stamped pair on watercolor paper. Well, at least it isn't a mask :).

Well, I seem to be stuck on the theme of Venice and masks. I wonder what Freud would say about that.



The background is a piece I painted on 140-lb watercolor paper using Golden Fluid Acrylic paints putting on with a brush and then blending using a baby wipe. I also used alcohol wipes sparingly to lighten up the areas of color.

After Cynthia's workshop, I have become addicted to doing backgrounds. This is another one that I did using a painted canvas. The yellow background was created using Golden Paints on canvas board. I brushed some watered down fluid acrylic paints on the background and allowed them to dry a little. I then sprayed the canvas with a bit of water and wiped some of it off with a rag. I then stamped writing on the background using Espresso Adirondack dye pads. After all of this dried, I used gel medium to apply the little bits of ephemera, dabbed very lightly areas of Cobalt Teal Golden acrylic paints (you can use your rag to wipe it off a bit). Lastly, using sequin waste, I dabbed some watered down gesso over the sequin waste which created the little circles of white.




As a rule I always take pictures or scan in my backgrounds for further use. Because I could not scan this background in, I photographed it. Using photoshop I add various elements to create the final background.

I have been doing a digital workshop with Cynthia Powell from The Latest Trends in Mixed Media yahoo group. We have worked through 4 tutorials at this point and on the last one she challenged us to come up with a digital ATC. We had to use the techniques learned in the tutorials PLUS use one we hadn't learned from the tutorial. So here are some of the things I did. For the first layer (the background) I used a solid color of white. I tried black, blue, magenta, purple, etc. and found that the white background highlighted the layers the best. For the next layer, I used a piece that I had created in a class with Karen O'Brien.

The next three layers were 3 different masks which I tried to find with colors that went with the background I was using. I then used a sheet of music for the next layer. I varied the opacity with each of these last 4 layers.

The 7th layer was the image of the masked lady. This I had to extract from the original image. After placing her on the O'Brien background I decided I needed to add touches of color from the background on her dress. To do this I had to use the adjust color option under the Enhance menu. From there I chose replace color and then highlighted her dress with varying shades of green, blue, and magenta.

The last layer was the text iteself. Originally the text was in white but it was just too stark so I "greyed" it down. After moving the text box around, I placed it where it is presently.

Whew, after saving all of this I saved in the Photoshop Elements 6 format (.psd) and resaved as a jpeg file for posting on the web. This is the finished product.



I would like to send a special thanks to Cynthia Powell for her most excellent tutorials on using PSE 6.0. If you have any questions or comments, please post in the comment section below.

It has been a while since I posted but I have been working diligently on several projects: history of costume/fashion slideshow, a piece for a magazine, two workshops, and whatever happens to strike my fancy. What I am posting today is the digital collage challenge for one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. The image on the left was the piece that inspired my digital collage. I fell in love with this photo when I found it on the web. I am fascinated by the Carnevale in Venice, Italy from both a modern and historical perspective. Some of my favorite artists (Longhi, Guardi, de Gobbis) painted scenes of Venice (18th centory) during Carnevale in ridotti (state run gambling houses), convent parlours, etc., wherever the patrician class gathered. The piece on the right is the digital collage inspired by the woman sitting on a harlequin type floor. I had a great deal of fun creating it and do like the way it turned out.

Here is an image of the art postcard I am sending for a swap. I love the pre-Raphaelites and chose an image of a painting of Prosperine (Persephone) painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I particularly love the myth of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades. The postcard was digitally mastered and altered using Adobe Photoshop Elements. Since Persephone is represented by symbols of Spring I chose to use a Lily for the background, the pomegranate, and the lily of the valley. The painting itself is also rich in symbolism (note the pomegranate in the painting). Because the pre-Raphaelites were inspired by works of Shakespeare, mythology, fairy tales, etc. I chose a sonnet called La Primavera that went along with Vivaldi's The Four Seasons (Concerto No. 1 in E major, Allegro) and one of my favorite pieces of music.