Flower power… part 1…

So, Arthur, what would happen if we used some of those magic digital filters on a few of those photos of flowers you took in your mom’s garden, I hear you asking yourselves. Well, let’s find out…

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Well, the neon filter is cool. What else can we do?

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I like that one too.

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That one is a little sketchy… ha… see what I did there?

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That is cute. And I did all that with just a few clicks. From this photo I took…

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I can tell you how to use these filters on any images you might want to make a little fancier… it is a free online program. Just let me know if you want some more information, or some tips on how to do it.

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Some flowers from my mom’s garden… for all of you still buried in snow…

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Yeah, I am back in the San Francisco Bay Area, doing the final edit on book four of my action humor science fiction series of novels: The Otherwhere Chronicles-> available over there–> in my sidebar—>

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So I am sort of busy.

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But I still took time to take some photos for you.

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Because I care.

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Besides, they are all right there, in the garden I played in as a small child.

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It is weirdly warm here in the Bay Area, for the time of year, I mean.

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I don’t know if this has anything to do with global climate change.

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But it is lovely.

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I will try to get some more photos when I can, of the bay, or sunsets, or dogs, or whatever.

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But I do love taking pictures of flowers.

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Okay, see you soon, I hope.

 

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Well, I am back in the San Francisco Bay Area…

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My wife is helping my mom, who is 94, I remind you, with some computer and phone tech support. I am finishing up editing the 4th novel in my action humor science fiction novel series, so I can get it self-published soon. I also need to work on the cover art. I will try to share some of that with you.

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It was a long drive from San Diego, and I am tired.

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But I did take these photos of the sunset from my mom’s deck just now.

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More digital fun with illustrations from my children’s books… part 10…

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Oh yeah, the ‘groovy rainbow’ filter on this original watercolor and ink from one of my children’s books…

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Tomorrow, I am doing something interesting, so I might not be able to post until at least late afternoon… stay tuned!

 

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More digital fun with illustrations from my children’s books… part 9…

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Well it is a story about finding friendship…

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More digital fun with illustrations from my children’s books… part 8…

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All I did was add some digital sparkles to the watercolor painting… but it is sort of magical.

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We ended up back at this place…

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You might recognize it. It was a big part of a movie called: Some Like It Hot, with Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, and Tony Curtis. My wife and I stayed here once for her birthday weekend. I did posts about it.

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It is only about 20 miles from our house, so we went over there for brunch.

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It is located on Coronado Island… yes, where the Navy SEALS train.

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It is a lovely place.

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There I am, flanked by Mollie, my younger daughter… yes, the one that just started college, not the one that recently got married… and her boyfriend, Dashawn. Oh, and once again, I had to crop my wife out of a photo, because she doesn’t want to be on the blog.

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Did I mention that Dashawn is going into the Navy in a few months? Here he is, looking out at the ocean, and thinking about being way out there somewhere. I told him… as an ex Navy man… that the sea is like a sexy, crazy girlfriend. She will get into your blood, but you should never turn your back on her.

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Anyway, have fun with the Super Bowl… Superbowl???… if you are into that ‘organized sports’ thing.

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As we started up the Coronado bridge, you can just see the iconic red rooftops of the hotel in the distance.

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Those mountains in the distance are in Mexico… South of Tijuana… and still no sign of a wall… HA!

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And, ironically, just past the top of a ship raised up in dry dock for repairs, you can see the Navy ships at 32nd Street Naval Base, where I was stationed way back when I was 17.

 

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I fixed that tiki that made me feel like a racist… even though we all know I’m not one… right???

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Here is what it looks like now. You might remember the post I did with a photo of the way it used to look…

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Once again, let me remind you that when I first used that wood stain/varnish, it was a lovely redwood color. But it had thickened… and darkened in the can. That tiki just interacted with my Berkeley white liberal quilt complex.

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I almost left the lips and nose dark, but even that made me uncomfortable. So I sanded them down a little.

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I am still working on that tiki that looks like me. I have let it sit so long, the wood began to yellow… oh… crap… does that make me a racist again?

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Also, my kitchen orchids are blooming again… and I just noticed that they are all white… sigh…

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More digital fun with illustrations from my children’s books… part 7…

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Yes, I love that I can make that from this image…

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… with only one click, using a digital ‘kaleidoscope’ filter. But what I really love is that, if you look in the corners of the first image, there appears, briefly, a dark-purple heart and what looks, for a moment, like a light-purple, flying, headless chicken. HA!

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More digital fun with illustrations from my children’s books… part 6…

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Maybe more colors…

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