Joshua Tree National Park

Well, here we are sitting on our double beds watching 'Get Smart' on HBO at the Blythe Motel 6...& it's AWESOME!!! We are soooo excited just to be away from home, to wander like Gypsies do, with no reservations, just the wind at our backs & a final destination of Los Algodones, Mexico.

Today we went through Joshua Tree National Park & it is quite a magnificent place.

The rock formations with their enormous size, remind me of just how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things.

My favorite site today was Cottonwood Springs, a magical oasis in the middle of this wondrous desert.

I have never seen anything quite like it, once down in it you feel transported to some tropical island, the rustle of the birds in the palm fronds & the sound of the wind blowing through the cottonwood trees...like I said, Magical.

And now for the very best part...it was dusk!! We were in the Grand Theater of Life watching one of natures most inspiring shows.

Take it all in, don't take one second for granted & for right now...art can wait!

Mad Hatter's Yuletide Soiree!!!

Well, I've done it...I've actually finished my Mad Hatter's Yuletide Soiree swap piece way ahead of schedule!!! This is my 1st digital art piece I've made with Photoshop for a swap & I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I learned so much about Photoshop on this piece, probably due to the 75 Layers I worked with. What were some of the monumental lessons I learned you ask??
Using the paint brush feature: It's always better to adjust the color of an image before it's added as a layer & make sure you're working on the correct layer when you are using the paint brush feature, duh! (under the cooks butt is a big green spot where I added color to something that I later removed only to find the color under it had been done toooo many layers ago to fix, thus 'the cook'.)
Naming Layers: Always name your layers! OK, I never named a layer, I always felt I kind of remembered them, but after the 30th layer it all became a blurrrrr. Now, I'm also old & have no memory, so as I was editing & perfecting I would have to go through the 75 layers to find the mouse's Santa Hat that needed to be moved by 100th of an inch. (this happened MANY TIMES)
Simple Lessons of Photoshop, of Patience, of Failure, of Success, of Acceptance, of Life...
Note to self: Even when not perfect, It's All Just So Good!
Friends interested in participating in the swap can click on the Yuletide Swap badge on my sidebar which will take you directly to where you need to be to sign up, the more the Merrier!!


I also want to give a HUGE Thank You to Marsha at Tumble Fish Studios for giving me my 1st Blog Award! It's always wonderful to know others appreciate your artistic efforts & even though we do our blogs for ourselves there is a feeling of a shared community & wanting to include pictures & information that will interest our other readers. So now I must follow the RULES of this Blog Award & pass it on to some of my fellow bloggers that I most admire!
Congratulations:
Vanessa @ A Faniciful Twist for hosting such a Wonderful Halloween Blog Party
Jamie @ (art-e-ology) for always having such Great FITS
Janna @ Artsy Fartsy Junk Finds for being such a Fun Junk Girl
Lucy @ By The Hill for Lovely Photograpy & for being such a Good Blog Friend
Tammy @ A Stitch in Time for being so Open & Honest & always Keeping it Real
Please pass this Blog Award on to some of your favorite blog sites...Enjoy!!