Awhile ago I spent some time with my artist friend, Bob and he taught me how to create art. He also taught me how to create some great effects using Photoshop Elements. I learned how to use the clone tool. It’s pretty wild how it works and what you’re able to do with it. I took one of the photos I shot this weekend at W.’s and created this photo.
“Be Different”
What title would you give this photo?
W. and I went to the National Cathedral today to for a photo shoot and then a nice picnic. W. had the idea that with the right clothing, backgrounds, and props we could create photos that make you think of the renaissance. I loved the idea. So we packed up the picnic basket, chose a nice Pinot Bianco, and W. dressed in period clothes. We then walked up to the cathedral and began taking photos. Luckily when we got there there weren’t too many people in the garden area. We set up several shots and created some great photos. Later we took more photos that couldn’t be taken at the cathedral. I plan to use many of these in my artwork when I have time to work on them.
After all the photos we picked a spot in the garden and had a little picnic. We opened the bottle of wine and had some nibbles. We then spent more then an hour enjoying the wine and food and some very funny conversation. Of course the more wine we had, the sillier we got. W. was telling me all about his catholic school days. Each story had a different nun. Each nun he mentioned had a very funny name. Every time he started a new story with a new nun name I started laughing and kept saying that he was making up these names. I was laughing so hard at the nun names that I forgot what all the stories were about. It was really funny. The weather and the setting were just right for a perfect afternoon at the cathedral with W. We had a great time. I took lots of photos of the cathedral and the things around us.
This morning I had a photo shoot. It went well. I’ll try to post some of the photos when I have some time to work on them.
My artist friend Bob stopped by this afternoon and we were able to sit and chat about art. He gave me some good ideas for my work and took a look at what I’ve already completed. He’s such a great source of inspiration and knowledge.
Tonight I’m getting together with W. We are going to enjoy some wine, nibbles, and then off to see the Oscar-nominated movie, “Sideways.” I downloaded the trailer and heard a bit about it so I think we’ll both enjoy it. It’s the ONLY Oscar-nominated movie I will have seen before the Oscars tomorrow night. Since I haven’t seen any other movies I can’t make any predictions. I don’t even have any favorites. But I will watch the show until the end.
Of course, I’ll report on my evening tomorrow sometime. Maybe it’ll be another 24 hours. Sorry, no time for links tonight. W. will be here in a few minutes.
I had another day off of work today. I took better advantage of the time today then I did yesterday. I ran errands, cleaned my house, and did laundry. I also had time to work on my photo galleries. At the same time, I had time to work on my art gallery. I have created an art gallery to show my artwork. This artwork is what I’ve created with the photos I’ve taken of naked men and other things. I happen to love the look of the art but everyone might not agree. In any case, I have a new link on the sidebar for my artwork. And you can click on the image to go directly to the art gallery. The art gallery is set up the way I’d like my photo galleries to be set up but that will take a lot more time and will have to come in the future when I have time to change them all over to this format. I like the format because it has a black background with very little else on the pages. It’s clean and the artwork looks great against the black background. I hope you enjoy the art gallery!
Update: Since this post, the gallery has been removed. I’m still working on the artwork though. The gallery may return at some point.
I met W. a few months ago. We’ve gotten together a few times and have enjoyed getting to know each other. The last time we got together I told him that I might just have the nerve to ask him out on a date sometime. I didn’t though. Instead, he asked me on a date. That date lasted the for 24 hours from Sunday into Monday. Simply wonderful.
I met W. at his place in DC. We began the date with me trying on a few pairs of boots he has. We are planning on riding horses and attending a barrel wine tasting in March. I don’t have riding boots but W. does and said I could possibly fit and borrow his for the ride. I couldn’t even get one pair on but another pair fit a little snug but will work for the ride. Then we were off to The National Gallery of Art to see a few exhibits we were interested in seeing.
We took the subway and then walked the length of the mall to The National Gallery of Art. We went to see two exhibits. The first was a collection of fauve paintings in their permanent collection (read all about the exhibit by clicking on the link). The paintings had vibrant colors and interesting subjects. I like to look at them closely but I found out that’s a no-no. But I like to see the brush strokes and see the detail. At one of the last paintings we were viewing, the security guard came up to me and asked me to move back….that you had to have (holding up his hands to show) 2 feet between you and the paintings. I quickly moved back. We then moved on to see Rembrandt’s Late Religious Portraits. I really enjoyed these paintings. They were very large, very dark, and had very interesting lighting effects. They were all portraits. There were a few that I really liked and would have loved to find a print of them in the gift shop. Unfortunately, when W. and I went to the shop we found out they did not have any prints available. I plan to do some searching online to find some prints. After the exhibits, we went to the museum cafe for some gelato ice cream and pound cake for a quick snack.
This morning W. made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. Then we were off to The Shops at Georgetown Park in Georgetown to do a little shopping. W. picked up a few things and I did a lot of window shopping and taking photos…some inside the mall and some outside the mall in Georgetown and along the canal right next to the mall. After some lunch, I decided I should probably become a responsible adult and head home to get some work done. W. did his best to convince me to procrastinate and have some more fun with him. It was so tempting. While driving back to his place, we passed a cool looking cemetery. I thought I could get some decent photos to use in my artwork so I told him I could procrastinate a little longer by stopping there for some photos. I didn’t think of looking at the name while there but after a little research online I found out it’s called The Holy Road Cemetery. It has some really old gravestones and if you look closely you will notice that many of them died in 1896. W. mentioned that it seemed that there might have been some kind of plague or something at that time in the area since so many people died in 1896. It was interesting and I took some great photos to use in my artwork. After the photos, we decided to really become responsible adults and get some work done.
Almost 24 hours from the time I arrived at W’s, I took him home and dropped him off in front of his place. I gave him a kiss goodbye and told him what a wonderful time I’d had. He agreed. I then officially asked him on a date for next weekend. I told him I would take care of the plans. He said yes to the date and said he looks forward to it. It was a nice 24 hours.