I felt like this mixed media piece I spotted in a local art show last month represented both detailed and abstract. I tried to find more info on the artist, Gregory Cowal, but hit a wall. I think it is possible he is not local. Still...pretty cool. eh? Fun Foto Challenge: Detailed or Abstract or Both

It was a summer evening and I was sleeping. I thought I heard a noise but just as quickly he was on me, his hand pressed tightly against my mouth. He was trying to remove my panties with his free hand when I remembered my embroidery needles on the bedside table. I aimed them at his neck and with all my might stabbed him.

For more info about Monochrome Madness visit Leanne's blog. See more images of my Life in Black and White.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Shapes and Designs

#BlackHistoryisAmericanHistory See my facebook page to view all of the posters I have created from quotes.

After our snow/ice storm last week it was the perfect time to get a minimalist photo. This shot from my back porch captures the trunk of the walnut tree beside the picnic table ensconced in a layer of frozen snow. I used the picture stack edit to give it a cosmic flare. Cosmic Photo: Minimalism

One Word Sunday: Inside Out

The Great North Mountain is a long ridge that forms a large part of the border between Virginia and West Virginia. It is located within the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and primarily contained within the George Washington National Forest Winter is by no means my favorite season but as a visual person I seek to find the beauty in everything. Click here to see my vision of Winter.

Eating (Out) : First of the year I met my family at an Irish Pub in Gettysburg for dinner and drinks. I had been craving fish and chips, and this was perfect place to get them. Towards the end of the month we celebrated the birthday of one my Gal Pals, at a favorite Italian restaurant. I had  spaghetti with a big ole meatball.

Would you consider yourself easy going? Yes. Are you comfortable talking to a group of strangers at a social gathering? It depends on my mood. I used to rely on my camera as a crutch for such things, but since I put it away and have been using my phone, it is a little more awkward, but I think that is just me getting used to it.

I took this picture after the snow fall but before the freezing rain which came a few hours later. Not much snow, really, seeing how they were forecasting 14 inches. The freezing rain was, well there is really nothing you can say that is good about freezing rain, unless it sticks to the branches and makes wonderful images, which it did not.

#TheChangingSeasons

I was born in 1950 with a birth defect that left one leg shorter than the other. I have tried not to let it define me, but it has. In 1968 when I graduated high school many of my classmates were drafted and sent to Vietnam. I wasn’t angry that I couldn’t go but I was extremely angry with the government that took the lives of so many of my friends.

I knew what a triptych was when Elke suggested this theme , but I had no idea how I was going to present one. It took me a minute, but one of my editing programs, Pixylr, has a collage feature. Then once I got started, I couldn't stop. So here is my trio of triptychs. For more info about Monochrome Madness visit Leanne's blog. See more images of my Life in Black and White.

Fun Foto Challenge: Up or Down or Both

I use apps and filters for a number of reasons, to salvage images I would normally delete is just one. Take this image of my friend at the winery. I took this from across the room (with my cell phone). I don't know what she was doing, I say conducting a choir, but no one really knows (lol). I didn't want to delete this image but I also didn't want to share it in the state it was in.

One Word Sunday: Sweet

I went to a Plein Air art show recently. although it was much too cold to be painting outside (but not near as cold as it is now!). Still I met a few artists and enjoyed conversing with them. One, Dan Miller (no relation), was painting this view, and was particularly enamored with the old oak tree, and of course the sycamores, but also the rust color of the vines and their contrast with the rest of the view.

Would you like to have your own private jet? No, but I wouldn't mind having access to one. Would you like a chauffeur to drive you everywhere? No, but again, I wouldn't mind having access to one for those times when I wanted to go somewhere with a lit of traffic, like to Washington DC. Would you like to live on your own desert island?

So, I understand 2016 is trending, or at least it was a week ago. I miss a lot of trends these days, I don't know if it is because I am slow or the trends happen so fast. I suspect it is a little bit of both. It doesn't seem like 2016 was a decade ago, but then again, my memories of it are a little blurry.