Happy New Year!

"Untitled"
shot with iPhone 4, processed in snapseed

I think I should make a resolution to blog more!  Then again I typically despise new year's resolutions.  Too much pressure.  The beginning of yet another year always evokes feelings of newness, a way to reinvent ourselves or our work, and a way to move forward. 

Every New Year's Eve I feel pressure for that one night to be perfect.  To move gracefully into another year without a hitch, in the perfect mood, and feeling complete bliss.  What if all that doesn't happen?  What then?  So I decided this year to remember that each moment of everyday is a way to begin again.  Not just big holiday's, birthday's, and the like but every moment we are given.  I have struggled with that for most of my life.  I can only promise myself that I will try.  

As for my artwork, I have been excitedly trying out new techniques in both my digital art and mixed media!  Learning in more online classes than I like to admit!  2014 closed with an amazing opportunity to digitally design the book cover art for an upcoming publication which I cannot share just yet!  

As you may have noticed I have added pages in the toolbar at the top of my blog.  I have toyed with the idea of a website but for the meantime I will be adding details to each of those pages so I can share more with you guys!  Let me know how you like the new header image as well!  

I am loving Instagram as an easy quick way to share my art and works in progress as well as snippets into my personal life.   Look me up under @cathybueti to follow me!

To follow me on Facebook Click HERE !

Her - Filtered

Last night I grabbed my graphite pencils and sketchbook, dusted them off and created this girl.  I tried not to think too much, just created whatever needed to come out of me at the time.  

I miss drawing and sketching.  I have been in a bit of a funk lately, for months actually and am planning on trying to sketch everyday as a daily practice for my mind.  Maybe if I put it out there I will stick to it! 

When she was finished I took a pic of her with my iPhone.  Of course the next thing I did was throw her in Snapseed (on of my fav filter apps)  and filtered away.  

And just like that she is transformed into something completely different.  

If you have never tried this with a sketch or even a painting give it a whirl.  It is addicting and fun!  Snapseed is a great app to start with.  For this gal I used the "drama" filter first and then the "grunge"  filter to achieve the effect you see here.  

Be sure to stop back and share a link to what you create!  I would love to see!

xo

Fine Art Grunge . . . My Latest Obsession

"The Path"

Is it really September already??  I seriously can't believe the summer is just about ending.  I think this is the longest I have been away from my blog.  And its not like I was away on vaca anywhere but I have been creating alot.  So I have lots of new work to share!  

Currently I am enjoying an amazing online course with Sebastian Michaels.  Its "Photoshop Artistry: Fine Art Grunge".  Its all about creating cool grungy photo art.  Seriously he has put TONS of content into the course and you have lifetime access to it which I think it great and not an easy find these days with online courses.  Click HERE for more info. 

The above image I created in Photoshop Elements 11 using one of my mixed media paintings and my image of the walktrail near our home.  I loved creating this!  It has been awhile since I have done digital collage.  I layered these images together and played around with filters and brushes until it felt "done".  The last time I was creating digitally I did not yet have any of my own abstract paintings.  I think now its gonna be really cool to use my own paintings for texture over my photos.  

I have more to show you so get ready!  lol  So much to catch up on since I have been away for awhile!  A print of this image is available in my etsy shop.  Click HERE to check it out! 

Hope you have all had a wonderfully creative summer!  Looking forward to catching up with you guys soon!!

xo

Flowers In The Sun . . .

Turning a WIP Collage Into Cool Photo Art

I started collaging an old canvas board with torn up pieces of my NYC photography.  Typically I do not enjoy collage.  It frustrates me.  But for some reason I really got lost in ripping and gluing these pieces down with no thought to placement at all.  I try to remember to take photos during the progress of my pieces and did so with this.  What I did not expect however was to find a really cool image.  I shot this at an angle just playing around with my iPhone and loved what I saw!

I then took it a step further and put the image in the 'be funky' app which has some cool borders.  I also grunted it up a bit so it would have a more distressed antique look.  

Yesterday I printed it out and think I will hang it up!  You never know where an image can take you.  Even something as simple as a photo of your WIP.  Try it sometime!!  I would love to see what you create!!

NYC Inspired Black and White Photo Art

I am back to my former love!  I got out some of my NYC black and white photography and used it in these  new photo art pieces.  All I used was some black and white paint, a sharpie, and a white out pen for all the details. They were super fun and quick to create.  

I miss incorporating my photos in my art.  Some of you may recall my article published in Somerset Studio last fall that was all about creating black and white photo art.  You can check out that post HERE!

The techniques I used in these pieces were from Julie Prichard's "Mixed Media Variety Hour" online workshop.  I shared another similar piece in yesterday's post.  To view that post click HERE.  

 Sharing today over at Paint Party Friday.  If you haven't joined us yet please do!  Thanks as always to Eva and Kristin for hosting this great party every week!

I am thinking these will look cool framed.  I may do just that and hang them up in our living room.

xo

Bird In A Cage . . .

© cathy bueti

Here's hoping you had a good holiday weekend.  Thank you to all the supportive words on my last post.  I go back to the doctor today to see how the wound is progressing.  I have to say that I do believe I may be experiencing a bit of post traumatic stress from my cancer surgery 10 years ago.  The way I am reacting to this whole arm cyst thing is abnormal given what I have been through already.  I spent most of the weekend in a state of "high anxiety"  as my grandma liked to call it.  

I had not been in photoshop for awhile so the other day I decided to try a photo I had shared on here recently of a seagull and wondered how it would look if I used some of my scribbled artwork for a digital collage.  I layered the scribbles over the bird photo and inverted the image.  I kinda like it.  Maybe because I feel like I am trapped lately.

Blog Giveaway! NYC Prints!!

Monday I had my stitches removed and found out that the biopsy was benign!  **Big Sigh of Relief** It feels good to have them out.  My arm is still sore but I suppose that will take awhile. 

 So, I thought as a thank you for the wonderful support through all of my trials lately I would giveaway a set of 2 NYC prints.  The set includes the above image of the Chrysler Building and the one below titled "City Traffic".  As you can see both of these images are textured which I think gives some really cool effects and kinda goes along with the grittiness of NYC.  Size of each print is 8x10 printed on 8.5x11 matte paper.  Watermark will not appear on print.  

I will be picking one lucky winner who will receive this set of 2 prints.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  If you want to increase your chances of winning then you can share this link on your blog and/or  share it on facebook.  Then stop back here and let me know in the comments.  This is not required to enter.  

I will announce the winner next week on Wednesday May 16.

Good Luck!!

xo

Wordless Wednesday . . .

Finding An Angel . . .

In a recent post I shared a photo of a heart I found in the wood of our new deck that Lou is building. You can imagine my surprise when I saw this angel as well!

Since discovering art my observation skills have heightened. I don't look at anything the same anymore. Everything I see becomes a potential photographic image or an inspiration for a mixed media piece.

Its always cool to find images like these. But to find them as part of your home makes them extra special somehow. Love and angels are not as far away as we think . . .

Love Is Everywhere ♥

"Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love."

~Rumi

Texture Tuesday

Its been awhile since I participated in texture tuesday over at the lovely Kim Klassen's blog. I am happy to be back with some texturized photography! This weeks challenge was "white". So I decided on a photo I recently shot of some roses I had that I set up on my white desk. I just shot in AV mode to play with the light and just held up my camera above the roses and clicked randomly. Love this quote by thoreau that Kim shared as part of a brush set. I think it goes well with the feeling of this image.

I used Kim's "shine" texture. I processed the image with 2 layers set at soft light 100% and multiply 50% for another layer.

Here is my original image . . .

I am sharing this today over at Kim's blog. Come on over to see the lovely photography being shared this week!

I will be back soon with another writing post!

xo

Wordless Wednesday

A Vintage Movie Theater And Snapseed

I never thought I would fall in love with iphoneography. I mean, I have my big girl canon, a point and shoot canon so why would I need to get crazy with my iphone? Well, I am here to tell you that I have indeed fallen in love! lol

I am a huge fan of all the Rocky movies so when I saw the poster in the window of this old movie theater in town I knew it would make a great photo!

These images were altered with the new snapseed app I installed on my phone. Wow! These filters are so cool!! I even bought snapseed for my mac so I can have even more fun with all of my photos! I love the vintage grungy effect it gives the images. Lou loves the close up of the theater sign below.

Any other iphoneographers out there? Have you ditched your fancy camera for quality time with your iphone? What are your favorite apps?

Love Me Some Collage

I am continuing to have fun with digital collage. I find that what I enjoy layering are my own paintings and sketches along with a photo image. Its the mystery that keeps me going with these pieces. Its the element of surprise that gets me excited as I work. Seeing something cool pop through from underneath is one of the things I love about this medium.

For this piece I used a photo I shot in NYC of a lamp post with "love me" written on it in graffiti, along with a sketch and the mixed media painting below. I had alot of fun creating this painting using layers of collage, stamping, and two of my fav colors. . . payne's gray and raw umber mixing each with varying amounts of titanium white for lights and darks.

"beyond the trees"

mixed media collage on 11x14 wrapped canvas

available on etsy

I am sharing this over at Paint Party Friday today.

We are expecting unseasonably warm temps for winter in NY so I am planning on some long walks at the trail! Wishing you a lovely weekend!

xo

Wordless Wednesday

Her Mind Was Filled With Hopes And Dreams . . .

'Flower Girl Dreams'

prints available on etsy

Happy New Year my sweet friends!! It was a quiet NYE in our house. Lou and I just laid low at home and watched the ball drop in Times Square. This has been a tradition of our for a while now. I hope wherever you were it was a wonderful night!

Its quite hard to believe another year has passed. 2011 was a very tough year for me filled with much loss. Rather than dwell on that I want to focus on the new year which always holds such possibility and hope.

I have been thinking of my word for the year. I have seen many of you do this and it has inspired me to choose one for the first time! The past year I was filled with alot of worry and anxiety. Some of it was related to circumstances and the rest of it is just how I am. I long to live more in the moment. Although it seems like with each loss that comes along I loose a bit of myself and sink deeper into anxiety with only my creativity to help me out.

So my word for this year is . . .

FEARLESS !!

I am actually a bit scared sharing this out loud fearing (there's that word again!) that I cannot live up to the challenge. (this is why I never make resolutions! too much pressure!) But all I can do is try. So try I will!

Yesterday I created this new digital collage using the same sketch from my last post along with two of my textured photos. I LOVE this one! I so enjoyed creating this. It feels like painting to me without all the mess!

I look at her and she reminds me of myself. Her mind looks very busy but filled with hopes,dreams, and beauty. I will let her inspire me to fill my mind with only good things.

Wishing you all peace, love, happiness, and hope . . .

xo

Digital Collage Play . . . She Dreams of Being Free

"She Dreams of Being Free"

print available on etsy

Ok so late last night I opened up photoshop and started to play. And man was it cool! I took an image of one of my butterfly mixed media paintings, a textured photo, a favorite sketch of mine and layered them. I played with blending modes, opacity, saturation, and the eraser for the push/pull of bringing different aspects of each piece through.

I was so in a moment and felt as though I was working on a painting. I have always admired digital collage and months ago made a few attempts but nothing I really was that happy with. This was the first one in which I decided to utilize a painting along with one of my sketches. I LOVE how this turned out! I may have discovered a new way to incorporate my sketches into my art! You know how I always say I am afraid to paint my faces? Well to me this sketch now looks as though it is in a painting!

I am hoping to spend more time trying a few others like this. I will be sure to share with you!

Wishing you all a creative night!

xo

Texture Tuesday . . . NYC

click image to view larger

I am sharing this image today for Kim Klassen's texture challenge. I shot this in NYC and I had fun processing it with Kim's "the ladder" texture. This one gives a great grungy distressed look and I thought it worked well with this urban photo. I used one layer of "the ladder" at multiply 80%. Initially it looked like too much texture but I do love it!

Here is the original image. . .

Come on over to Kim's blog and see all the texture loving being shared today!

Click HERE!

xo

Wordless Wednesday . . . A Moment In NYC

click image to view larger