The Way they Were on Creative Arts Three Day Weekend
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Restoring old photos is satisfying or frustrating … damaged or badly-aged photos can be restored to "like new," "decent, as in, better than what it was before restoration," or, "forget it, it's too far gone".
The Washington Elm was a tree on Cambridge Common in Cambridge, Massachusetts that lived approximately 210 years and died in 1923.Luckily, I was able to restore a photo that was taken roughly 8 years prior to its demise.
© A. Mac/A.G.
There were so many "dings" in this old photo, that to wind up with a viable image, I had to do some creative editing; from 1983 to 1999,
I had an office on Chestnut Street in Philly
© A. Mac/A.G.
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The image atop the article, in some ways, prefigures today's V.A. shortfalls.
The old photos are very interesting.
Your photos provide a look into the past, Mac.
Beautiful restorations, Mac. I love to see photos of yesteryear. Even though I was not born during their early time period I can still feel a sense of 'being there'.
nice work, amac!
You edited the Chestnut Street photo for 16 years? Now THAT'S perseverence.
Sometimes I work with slow meticulousness; other times,
I break sentences at bad places.
LOL
I got two new photos this week.
Great photos EG.
Great photos!
Amazing photos, EG. The close-up of the Dragon Fly is awesome.
A great combination - subject and skill.
Last night's sunset, Stone Creek Ocala, FL.
You have beautiful sunsets there, Kavika. Very nice photo.
Thanks G, we do have some spectacular sunsets here.
That really is a beauty, Kavika.
Your area provides a virtual compilation of painted skies - Mother Nature being a most creative and innovative artist.
This is a combination of two of my photos from China. I think they create a nice image together.
© G. Gam 2021
Yellow Freesias
© G. Gam 2021
Very nice, G.
Thanks, Kavika.
you know how I love those vibrant colors.
Yes I do.
Both are truly beautiful, G. The top one is very well done. This is a new skill you have achieved and it would look awesome on anyone's living room wall.
Excellent!
Thank you very much, Raven Wing.
Proving that it IS possible to "gild the lily".
Funny. Thanks!
New Painting.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Ooooh....that is a beauty. Love the vivid colors. What I see is a beautiful Flamenco dancer in her full regalia. Just awesome, Mac.
Very nice, Mac.
orange dog with flaming ears, lower left. 2 ghouls in the orange and green, just below center. very cool amac.
I see the dog with the flaming ears, but, not sure about the ghouls. I may have to look at it fresh a few more times.
Magnificent. One of your best yet. Proving that you need not be concerned about canine competition.
Totally agree on both counts, Buzz.
It's Friday once again,
I love horses and of course, a beautiful woman next to a horse is an added plus.
Thanks Kavika. I love horses as well. I started riding when I was 3 y/o, and still love to ride.
That is a great image.
Thank you G.
lovely, as usual.
Thank you dev.
Centaurs are not as beautiful as that.
Thank you very much, Buzz.
Those are beautiful, Hal. They look almost like a painting. I love Tiger Lilies, but, I am highly allergic to their perfume. But, I can enjoy looking at them in pictures.
Well presented!
I'm very fond of that visual treatment.
Understatement.
I so wish I wasn't allergic to them. Being around them in a closed room for under 5 minutes can send me to the hospital in a life or death condition. So all I can do is enjoy the pictures of them.
Fantastic!
Personally, I won't have lillies in the house - I really don't like their odour.
I have what is called Non-allergic rhinitis, where it is the chemical in the odor that the lilies put out. Same for Gardenias, Roses, and most all heavily scented flowers. Pollen does not bother me, but, due to the heavy chemical content of such flowers I am very badly affected by them. And the hybrid flowers are also very toxic to me. So...I tend to stay away from most all flowers, and anything with a floral scent.
Great start to the article everyone.
See you on Saturday … yard sale in the morning.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Beautiful. They remind me of Fairies.
Oh, how I miss yard, garage and church sales - one can always find a treasure.
Me too. They were fun to look through even if I didn't find anything I needed/wanted.
The Group of Seven are meeting today, and I'm sure they'll have little good to say about China, so I'm posting a random selection of seven of my photos to show just some of the diverse things one might see here.
A display of Zen Kung Fu at its birthplace, Shaolin Temple.
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Noonday nap on a hot sunny day in Zhengzhou.
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Welcome to my restaurant - A table is reserved just for you.
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A little bit of Canada on the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute campus across the road, was it there to make me feel at home?
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Enjoying the beauty of Spring.
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.Student sketching - also on the Arts Institute campus.
..
This is MY China flower.
And your China Flower is the most beautiful of them all.
And now one to take us into Saturday.....
Doesn't matter how many times you post it, it's always a pleasure to see it.
Evening Buzz..any news on the herd of elephants that are walking around over there?
Hi Shona, You know it's good to know that there's at least one NT member who's awake when I am. LOL The last I heard was that it looked like they were making a U-turn, which would be good news if it were correct.
Hope they manage to stay safe. They have got quite a following over here but the last few nights had not been on the news.
I only got out of hospital a few days ago managed to get a chest infection, so have not been on here much. Getting better now though.
Yes this time of night/day we are basically it..😀😀
Glad you're better. You were curious about the elephants. Mind if I ask, how the mouse situation is there - I saw some pretty scary news clips today.
Yes a few mice running around up NSW...pain they are. Once the wet weather arrives it usually wipes them out. People are worried about the snakes as they will move in for a free feed.
Plus we have got floods over Eastern Victoria and Melbourne got hit by strong winds. Brought down a lot of trees and some people will be without power for days. Pretty much normal here...
And you received a lot of snow in Orange, NSW.
Happy to hear that you're feeling better shona.
Speaking based on my wife's progress, there seems to be help for some with Multiple myeloma chemo side effects with dietary and homeopathic medicines, implementations based on patient blood type!
Good to see you.
Thank you so much, Buzz.
One for the stars....
The stars are your images.
Thank you for your very kind compliment, Buzz.
That is imaginative and beautiful!
Thank you very much G.
Evening Raven. Love the stars..quite often the cat and I stand outside and just watch the night sky.
I find the Southern Cross that is displayed on our National flag and see if any satellites are whizzing around.
Love your picture..❤️❤️
Thank you so very much, shona. I used to go up in the mountains at night just to sit and enjoy the stars and beautiful night sky. Father Sky is so very generous with all the various sights he prepares for us that have such an influence on our human lives.
My favorite place to enjoy the night sky is in the desert, as it looks as if the stars are so close you could touch them, and the glow of th moon bathes the earth in its warm glow.
With the drought in the west in the news and the lake level of Lake Mead here is a photo taken in 2010 from the just-finished bridge across the river. The lake was down 110 feet at that point, it's now down 140 feet.
Major drought, increasing wildfires - it's about time the deniers started to use their brains instead of their politics.
The temp here today in the Inland Empire of So Cal is 93 degrees F. It is predicted to be 109 degrees F here on Tues. next week, with temps in the triple digits all net week, only starting to cool down on Sat of next week. Although, those temps are not that unusual here for this time of the year. And our hottest temps are in Aug and Sept when the temps can get into the teens here.
This Koi wasn't coy (eyeroll)
Boi, that's some koi.
How pretty! And indeed it does not look very coy at all. It looks to be a fairly large Koi as well, and may be looking for a treat. Great shot, Pat.
Thanks Raven, I think it's a she as she's quite wide, maybe pregnant. And probably did want a treat, lol.
Feed me Seymour.
She has that look in her eyes as if to say, "O..K...yes..I am beautiful. Now where is my treat. (grin)
If she is pregnant there will be a lot of little Koi looking for treats. (hee hee)
Here's why I think she's preggers...lol
She's a very large fish to start with, and adult Koi normally have a very slim body. And given her wide girth she is very likely preggers. Is she in a pond or pool in your yard?
There's a beautiful Koi pond/Garden in front of a yacht club at the harbor near me. Herons and wild ducks love this spot too.
That sounds very nice for Koi. I hope when she lays her eggs the other Koi in the pond don't eat them before they have a chance to hatch.
Or the herons.
Oh heck yeah...I forgot about them. The babies would not stand much of a chance against either of them. Unless the owner is aware of the situation and would save the eggs in another area until they hatch, then keep them separate until they get large enough that they can't be eaten by the Herons. But, if the owner does not care then that is up to them.
Females can carry up to 3 million eggs. Once mature, adults of both sexes migrate into shallow areas to spawn in the spring. Once released by females, the eggs are immediately fertilized by males and stick to submerged vegetation. The eggs develop and hatch within a week.
Why so many eggs? It's "Natures" way to insure that some of the hatched individuals survive. Predators serve the function of keeping populations from over-populating and overrunning a habitat. It's all ecologically what is commonly referred to as "THE BALANCE OF NATURE".
That is a very cool picture! The fish has beautiful markings and wonderful color.
Here are a whole lot of hungry koi...
Most Asian countries are really fond of the Koi fish. Many of the wealthier people have a few in their garden ponds. The Koi are very expensive in many countries, some costing thousands of dollars.
That's the "hoi polloi" of koi - lots of them around here.
Geez almost packed in like sardines...😀😀
Here is an example of an elaborate koi pond in a wealthy person's home...
The most expensive koi in the world. Sold for 1.4 million pounds ($1.975 million in US dollars)
That's insane !
I knew many of the Koi were very expensive, but, I never thought of one being that expensive. And these fish can live to be anywhere from 20 to over 200 years old. But, the average life span is between 20-50 years. The Koi live the longest in Japan where they can live to be 100-200+ years old. Their life span is shorter outside of Japan. Not sure why that is, but, it could have to do with how they are cared for. They are not an average fish, and their care requires a great deal of commitment.
However, IMO, depending how and where the Koi is kept, the investment of $1.975 million in US dollars could be considered a foolish investment. Yet, if the Koi is in Japan it could last several generations, which would make it a better long term investment.
Just my own opinion.
Koi in Japan can sell for enormous sums of money. The one has purchased by a Taiwanese and of course, the breeding will be important and lucrative.
the Koi are a lot like racehorses in the US. The sky is the limit.
I would think that anyone who spends that amount of money on a fish would have a good return on their investment in their breeding. But, that depends on how committed the buyer is to the care of the fish. The margin for mistakes is very thin. Just like with racehorses, as you say.
It would make wonderful gefilte fish for a person with very expensive tastes.
I was going to say that would be one expensive seafood buffet, but you sort of beat me to the punch line...
Moving into Sunday.....
...and making it a beautiful day.
Thank you, Buzz.
Another beautiful image.
Thanks G. I had a real time with the gradient frame for this one. I think at one point I had a rainbow of colors trying to find the colors that would work best with the image, but, not be overwhelming.
Sometimes that is the hardest part of putting the artwork together.
Your gradient is absolutely amazing, and obviously the product of a lot of skill and talent. I would love to see a video of how you created that gradient. It would be very instructive. I did watch a 1 minute 23 seconds video on Youtube two weeks ago, showing a basic gradient instruction, and it was very helpful. I've been practicing ever since and incorporating it into some pieces I have been working on.
Thank you G. Gradients are a great way to frame an image, as well as compliment it. I have been working with gradients in PP for several years now, and they can still throw me a curve now and then. Some times it's a matter of luck and that is no joke, and others the results of many long hours of working with them until you finally get the effect you want.
But, here are two different gradient treatments, one that I did,
And one that Mac did to show what it would look like with a different color and style,
Different colors and different gradient styles. One is warm and one is cool. And the framing around the primary image is also different to better fit with the larger frame.
So there is a lot to learn in coordinating the colors and gradient styles. There are times when the gradient can be too much, so it takes time to decide if it is what is best for the image.
Those are beautiful examples.
Thanks G. They show how the gradient effect can really make the primary image stand out.
Sunday comin' up!
© A. Mac/A.G.
They are all so unique Mac.
I still love mine, have it hanging in a great spot.
Awesomely beautiful, Mac. The fact that each one is so unique makes them so very special. Like many masterpieces, being one of a kind makes them even more valuable.
Sunday.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Beautiful, Mac. And it carriers such an important and inspiring message.
Interesting that you would use the colour red to depict peace. Red is the colour of blood, of fire, of Mars - the god of war, the colour usually used to depict the devil. I would have thought that blue, or even green, would be more appropriate.
It "flies in the face of" the traditional. If you notice, the flair at the upper left is golden … thus transformative, emanating from on high … while the human heart is in middle of the chest, in between the right and left lung, it is, however, tilted slightly to the left.
I am an iconoclast and glad to have gotten a response that indicates that reality.
A lovely, warm Sunday afternoon here in So Cal,
You know that that is one of my most favoured of your images.
Yes I do, Buzz. And I post it now and then with you in mind. (smile)
And if I'm not mistaken the other one is this one...
There are never too many...
Thanks Buzz. I enjoy doing artwork of the children. I have a few I am working on and hope to be able to post them soon.
See everyone this coming Thursday night or Friday morning. Thanks again for making our GROUP a winner!