winter textures

We have been thoroughly snowed in and iced over here in the New York tri-state area. Some of my outdoor Christmas decorations are now staying probably till the end of March as I would need a sledge hammer to get them out any earlier....

Despite the severe weather now, I love winter and am always photographing all the stunning scenery that nature provides us. And even though my usual art fodder is architecture, nature still inspires me and if nothing else gives me a reason to play around in one of my favorite mediums - Photoshop.

The following photos were all taken on the fly with my phone and then played with in Photoshop. I can't even begin to keep track of all the different filters, saturations, transformations and layers that these photos have gone through. But I can tell you that I had fun playing!

icy lichen before the snow

icy lichen after I was done with it

snow patterns on outdoor furniture

snow patterns photoshopped

beautiful snow capped trees

snow capped trees digitized

icicles into snow

icicles maximized

So what should I do with these now? The thinking cap is on. Perhaps one day you might recognize one of these in my future artwork. Or not.

PS in March I'll be teaching a Photoshop based 5 day workshop at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. Come play with me!