Tropical Delight (8" x 12")

And now for painting. This piece is one of my favorites, and I look at it every time I need to transport myself to Florida (if only in my imagination) for some sun, white sandy beaches, and intense color.  It was painted at a workshop with Maxine Masterfield in Sarasota, Florida.  Maxine is truly a master in her field of experimental watermedia (masterfield.net.).   The technique is poured ink, and was so fun to do!!  Not much control here and the end result was a pleasant surprise. For all of these reasons, I call it "Tropical Delight".

Rays

Top--original photo.  Below--Edited photo
(cropped, exposure-corrected and annoying
white spots removed using Photoshop)

Poster effect added

More fish!!  But then, I'm not sure whether rays are actually fish. I was enamored by their spots, and they were fun to watch just floating there by the cruise ship dock in Aculpulco.  Somehow, though, I managed to get a great photo.  Once again, the poster effect is pretty cool, I think.

Koi And Turtle

Top:  Original photo.  Bottom:  Poster effect added after cropping and correcting the exposure (see below).

Photo cropped and exposure corrected with Photoshop

These koi were in the Japanese garden in Fresno, CA.  They were very cooperative in posing for photos, including the turtle!!  I didn't even know that he made it into the photo until after I shot it!  When I got home I decided to play around with the magic of Photoshop.  Cool, eh? As I am new to Photoshop, this was really exciting.