01.23.08
Welcome
January 2008 – Although I am happy to share my art with you throughout this blog please be aware that these images are protected by copyright law and should not be reproduced or used without expressed written permission. Feel free to leave comments or questions, I am always excited to get feedback. Enjoy browsing and thank you for visiting my blog!
02.09.10
Warm thoughts…
Still sharing some photos this post! We are in the middle of our second winter storm in less than a week and, although the snow is beautiful, I am ready for something warmer. So I pulled a few images of warmer times and places so I can take a few short “imaginary vacations” today. 
Join me if you’re in the mood! Let’s go out west first, okay?
Petrified Forest, Arizona (c) Lynne Medsker
Nevada Sunset (c) Lynne Medsker
Mmmm, yup, lots of warmth out that direction! Next we’ll travel north to the U.P. in Michigan on a warm, late summer’s day.
Shoreline at Pictured Rock (c) Lynne Medsker
Shoreline at Lake Superior (c) Lynne Medsker
Of course it wouldn’t be warm weather without a trip to the Smokie’s to view the beautiful landscapes and hike, picnic and relax by the beautiful flowing waters.
(c) Lynne Medsker
(c) Lynne Medsker
Of course, you can’t think about warm weather without a trip to the Florida shores to enjoy the gulf breezes and sand beneath your toes!
Shells & Sand (c) Lynne Medsker
"Ethereal" (c) Lynne Medsker
Daybreak over the dunes (c) Lynne Medsker
I certainly don’t want to overlook my own home state of Indiana, that has some beautiful summer scenery as well!
Sunrise over the Ohio River (c) Lynne Medsker
Sunset at Indiana Dunes/Lake Michigan (c) Lynne Medsker
Fall colors in southern Indiana (c) Lynne Medsker
Although it could just be the fire in the fireplace, I’m feeling warmer already! I hope you feel a bit warmer too, just a few more weeks (she says optimistically) and we’ll be enjoying spring with the cold & snow just memories.
Stay cozy,
Lynne
02.05.10
Thinkin’ Spring!
(c) Lynne Medsker
Okay, today’s post doesn’t have any kind of tutorial or photo tips, it’s just a selection of spring flower images that I’m drawn to right now. We’re having another winter storm move through today and I’m way past being done with this kind of weather! I’m ready for spring. I can look at these and remember taking them at some local state parks and in my own backyard.
(c) Lynne Medsker
(c) Lynne Medsker
(c) Lynne Medsker
Some of them I lay down on the chilly spring earth to get close enough to capture their tiny details. At least one of them I got more than just a photo, I got nice big patches of itchy poison ivy on my arms as well! Some were taken when I was out enjoying nature with friends and family and others I was blissfully alone and in tune with my surroundings, seeing and appreciating the tiny details of my journey.
(c) Lynne Medsker
(c) Lynne Medsker
(c) Lynne Medsker
Although I know they don’t hold the memories for you that they do for me perhaps, in a small way, they will still give you something to look forward to while we wait out yet another spell of winter weather. I’m ready for some warmer weather, sunshine and no snow, how about you?
Thinkin’ Spring!
Lynne
02.03.10
Photo Talk: Silhouettes
(c) Lynne Medsker
It’s been quite a while since the last “Photo Talk” post went up! I’ve been sorting through some of my images to share with a potential client and began to notice the silhouette images in particular. That’s all it took to decide that’s what I’d blog about today.
(c) Lynne Medsker
Silhouettes are a awesome way to convey mystery, emotion and mood in your photos. They often stand out because of the combination of simplicity and story telling. They’re appealing because they don’t give the viewer a clear picture of everything but leave part of the image up to their imagination.
(c) Lynne Medsker
These images are all about contrast and are easier to capture during the early morning or late evening as the sun is on the horizon. Any time there is an unlit subject in front of a bright background you have the makings of a silhouette.
(c) Lynne Medsker
(c) Lynne Medsker
Start off with a strong subject with distinct outlines and be sure that your auto-flash is turned off. Setting your camera to the proper exposure for the light background will generally throw the foreground image into darkness, even blackness, although it may take a bit of tweeking to get it just right. Keep in mind that interesting weather and cloud formations can make for unique photo opportunities using silhouettes, too.
(c) Lynne Medsker
I hope these images inspire you to go out and try some silhouette photography yourself! And remember the most important rules of photography – keep shooting and HAVE FUN!
Click,
Lynne
02.01.10
Seeing Red
The month of February is bringing special events to the Sugar Creek Art Center in Thorntown, Indiana. Everyone is invited to join them for their 1st Annual Winter Art & Acoustic Music Festival, February 12th & 13th, 2010. The theme for the February art exhibit will be “Seeing Red” and will feature works by SCAC artists and local guest artists (like me!). The celebrations kick off on Friday evening at 6 p.m. with the month “Culture at the Creek” event. This month for “America’s Local Date Night” it includes (in addition to the wonderful works of art) a dessert bar as well as roses and sweet treats for your sweetheart available for purchase in the Gift Shop. Saturday’s events include an Art Market, live Bluegrass Music and a Chili Dinner! The Chili Dinner is available from 4 to 8 p.m. for only $5 with music being provided by the Thorntown Bluegrass Jammers.
I selected my recent acrylic works to hang in the show, including this new piece.
"opposing forces" #3 acrylic on canvas (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker
It will be fun to see what other “red” works of art with be featured! Mark your calendar so you don’t miss out on this exciting weekend!
Lynne
01.29.10
Collaborative Artwork
I’ve been slowly working on a collaborative art piece with the fine people at Noble of Indiana. They are getting ready for the “Art Salon” event at Meridian Design Group in downtown Indy. It will be part of the first Friday events next week on February 5th. You can find more details about this event by clicking HERE. I love working with the people at Noble, it’s always a fun experience! It had been a while since I had last done a project with them, way back in June of last year. This project started with a visit to the west side Noble center, shortly before Christmas. It was a festive day there, with live music and LOTS of people. Of course getting them off the dance floor and into the art area took a little persuasion but their wonderful art therapy person, Kate, managed to get a couple of them interested in making some art. I had brought in some canvas paper and a few colors of acrylic paint and just asked them to cover the paper however they liked. It didn’t take long for me to leave with a boxful of brightly painted images. Although I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do with them it took me a while to get around to the actual work. I started with some thin pieces of wood, cut into abstract shapes, as well as one other long, textured wood piece for an accent.
plain wood, possible configuration
After that was cut and sanded I played with a few different layouts and then got down to business. The flat, abstract pieces were covered with a random assortment of images, colors and textures from the paintings. Once dried the excess paper was cut away to reveal the original shape of the wood pieces.
applying the painted papers to wood
trimming excess paper
These pieces were then set aside and I began work on the accent piece. First I covered it with a thin layer of aluminum. Once that was finished I began applying different shades of colored inks, looking for the right combination to get a brilliant rusty orange color.
wood piece, covered in aluminum, starting to add colored ink
After that process was complete I set all the pieces aside for a few days to make sure they were good & dry.
drying before assembly
From there I finished the back of the pieces with some black paint and then played around with different configurations and made the decision on how to assemble the piece. I decided that it needed a little something else so I dug around in my stashes of “stuff” and found these unpainted wood letters that spell out “dream” (one of my favorite words in the world!). A quick coat of black paint and a slightly random pattern to them and I was happy. Glue, clamps and some drying time and it was assembled and ready to go. I couldn’t decide if it showed better on a white background or a black background so I photographed it on both.
"dream" collaborative mixed media (c) 2010
"dream" collaborative mixed media (c) 2010
What do you think? In addition to this piece being on display next Friday I will also have artwork on display at the “after party” that night at Forty Five Degrees located at 765 Massachusetts Ave. Come out that night and enjoy some great art and support a great cause!
Lynne
01.21.10
Mandalas and such…
Last fall I began posting images of the mandalas I had started creating. I keep coming back to them! The process is creative and soothing at the same time, although I’m not producing them at the same rate as I did when I began I don’t feel like I’m finished making them either. During a few different sessions over the last month I’ve made some new ones I am ready to share. These first two are smaller pieces, about 5×5 inches each.
"mandala 24" marker & ink on paper, 5x5", $65 (framed) (c) Lynne Medsker
"mandala 25" marker & ink on paper, 5x5", $65 (framed) (c) Lynne Medsker
I like the small size because they are faster to complete and I have found pre-made frames with square openings that they display nicely in. This next piece was an experiment! It’s not truly a mandala but I used some of the same techniques and applied them to a rectangular form. It ended up much looser than I had originally intended, as well as totally different colors and designs, but that’s sometimes how being creative goes and I try to just follow the flow where it takes me.
"mandala-ish art" 5x14" marker & ink on paper (c) Lynne Medsker
I haven’t decided if I’m excited about doing a different shape, I may try another one before I make up my mind one way or another. Figuring out how to frame & present them will be a challenge as well…unless I fall in love with the shape and idea they may well remain unframed! This last piece I am really excited about/pleased with. I made it as a Christmas gift for one of my best friends and felt like his life & art influenced it quite a bit (in a good way!).
"mandala 26" marker & ink on paper, 12x12", (NFS) (c) Lynne Medsker
It is one of the largest pieces I have done like this and I enjoyed the challenge of both a larger piece of work and of working other free-form designs in & around the mandala design. I’m think this is something I’d like to try again as well! I’ve noticed that so far 2010 has been quite a hodge-podge of subjects in my postings…I wonder what will be next?
Keeping us guessing,
Lynne
01.19.10
Pogonip?
"frozen fog" 1-18-10 (c) Lynne Medsker
Yesterday’s weather forecast included “freezing fog” which I can’t really recall hearing about before. I woke up to a white wintery scene that looked much like a light snow but was stuck to every blade, twig, branch and leaf. It was quite beautiful! After posting a few of the images online to share with my friends one of them commented that it looked like “pogonip,” which sent me off on a web search because I’d never heard the term before. This type of weather event is more common in the western part of the US (which is where she lives) explaining why I’d never heard of it before!
"frozen fog" 1-18-10 (c) Lynne Medsker
"frozen fog" 1-18-10 (c) Lynne Medsker
There were some local areas that didn’t get nearly this much, if any, but I guess we are in an open enough spot to get a nice heavy coat. Some of it stayed throughout the entire day but this morning it is dropping to the ground at a steady rate and disappearing.
"frozen fog" 1-18-10 (c) Lynne Medsker
"frozen fog" 1-18-10 (c) Lynne Medsker
I found lots of awesome shots of texture and patterns that I’ll be able to use as resources for future digital collages while I was photographing! It felt good to be outside, camera in hand, despite the chilly weather. It won’t be long until I’ll be outside taking shots of the tiny spring wildflowers popping up again! Until then stay safe, warm and happy.
Lynne
01.18.10
More Abstract & Mixed
Last month I posted images of a series of abstract mixed media I had just completed and was going to display at an art show. During the art show I had a potential client admire one of the pieces and talk with me about commissioning a similar, larger, version for her. She called a few days later to confirm her interest and fill in a few details about what she would like me to create. The first step in the process was to build the wooden base for the art piece. I admit I am not an expert woodworker so I called in assistance, in the form of my husband, Mark. Between the two of us we spent a Saturday getting it built. Thankfully we work together well and it went smoothly. I so appreciate having someone so handy to help me with projects! After that I painted the back of the piece and then applied all the aluminum to the front.
Work in Progress - Frame built and aluminum applied
The next step was to beginning drawing the designs into the metal. I sometimes have trouble being really random in my patterns and markings, I’d like to call my style “orderly abstract”! After that part had been completed next came the step of applying all the coloring with inks. This was a much larger piece than the originals, almost 2 foot by 4 foot, so it took quite a while to finish each step. Finally it was colored to my liking, the hangers were added to the back, and I was ready to add the metal details.
Work in Progress - Ink applied, waiting for metal
After arranging and rearranging the metal pieces and getting all the wire details bent and ready I secured each piece onto the base with a layer of clear acrylic gel. Then I ever-so-patiently left it alone for two days to make sure it was totally dry and secure. Once I was sure it was dry I signed the piece, photographed it for my records and wrapped it up securely in bubble wrap and plastic so I could deliver it to it’s new owner. This was the first piece of custom made art she had ever commissioned and she was thrilled with it. At some point I am hoping to get a photo of it in it’s new home! In the meantime, here is the finished product:
"abstract #6" 22x48", sold (c) 2009, Lynne Medsker
Just a reminder to those of you interested in purchasing art – pricing for an original piece art costs no more than the original pieces I sell elsewhere, why not have it created specifically for you? We can work together to create something unique that makes a statement about who you are, the work you do, how you play, where you’ve been, what your passion is. You decide the size, the style, the colors, even words or quotes that please you and let me do the rest!
Creatively yours,
Lynne
01.13.10
From the Vault: Digital Art, Part Two
The last set of images I pulled out of the “vault” were from a series I did over five years ago. These digital art images were created in Photoshop, all of them based on (and including) words from certain quotes in them. Some of the words are very evident and, in other images, even I can’t recognize where they are. But I know that they are hidden within the image somewhere! The basic lines are all from the marks made to write the quotes but as I wrote I also turned the tablet from side to side and even upside down, writing over previous marks so much of it is disguised. Once again I am including the actual quote below the image. See if you can find any of the hidden letters or words!
"Recycle" digital art (c) 2004, Lynne Medsker
“You can’t recycle wasted time” (Anon)
"Experiment" digital art (c) 2004, Lynne Medsker
“All life is an experiment” (Emerson)
"imagination" digital art (c) 2004, Lynne Medsker
“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination” (Anon)
"Nonsense" digital art (c) 2004, Lynne Medsker
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells” (Dr. Suess)
The beauty of language is art in itself and adding words within my art, to me, gives the images more interest and emphasis just by its presence. If you visit my website and look around the art portfolios I know you will find other examples of how I use words and text within my art!
Quote me on it,
Lynne
01.08.10
Workshop review
Long, long ago (well okay, perhaps it was just in November!) I held a mixed media exploration workshop at my studio. For one reason or another I never quite got around to posting images and a recap about the day, so here we go! The focus for the day was to use spontaneous creativity and try and move quickly, without too much thought. Each of the students had a variety of different size and shaped canvas panels to work with. We started off just getting some textures and layers on a few panels using clear acrylic gel medium and a variety of papers.
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
There was a nice mix of experience levels among the four participants that day but even those that were more experienced were willing and able to be experimental and play with the textures and colors. The pieces progressed as we shifted from one to another, giving each layer a chance to dry before moving on to the next.
student work, mixed media workshop
Next we began adding more color with acrylic paint.
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
As we got more experimental we headed outdoors with our paint and some spray bottles of water and began painting, spraying and watching the colors blend and bleed.
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
We ended the session with a few more finishing touches to the pieces we’d started earlier in the day. It was fun to see what direction each person took and to view all the finished worked at the end of the day.
student work, mixed media workshop
student work, mixed media workshop
Looking back I see the influences of both the fall colors and clear blue skies that we enjoyed! I will be scheduling more one-day workshops and classes soon, keep an eye on the blog for details!
Keep on creating!
Lynne
