Donna B Miller

Finding the Muse: In My Own Backyard

I admit it. I was very self-indulgent when I chose this week's inspiration pieces for Scrapbookgraphics' Frameworthy Challenge.

I'm a little homesick this week. I grew up on the Kentucky River, and when the fall leaves start changing, I want to head to the river. For me, the next best thing to being on the river is looking at the work of Impressionist painter Paul Sawyier, 1865-1917. Sawyier was a prolific painter best known for his landscape paintings featuring central Kentucky.

The painting below was the view outside my bedroom window when I was a young girl. It has changed very little since Sawyier lived in his houseboat along the shore. To see more of his work, you can check out Paul Sawyier Art Gallery online.

So how does this painting inspire you? Does it make you want to scrap a place that you're fond of? Maybe you'd like to duplicate the technique Sawyier used. Or perhaps you like his subdued color palette. If you'd like to join us in the challenge, please post your layouts in the SBG Frameworthy Gallery and link to the forum. I look forward to seeing everyone's different interpretations.

Finding the Muse: Some New Challenges

This week's Quirkle challenge at Digital Art Quirks is to create a 6x6 layout with the following restrictions: It should be a page about your past; include a quote; use the color purple; and use at least two circles.

I know that I've got to do something focusing on my sixth-grade crush on Donny Osmond. Somewhere I have a picture of the purple jumpsuit I bought because purple was his favorite color. Now if I can just figure out how to quirk that up.

And over at Scrapbookgraphics, Kim Gabriel has selected Duane Keiser for our Frameworthy art inspiration. Keiser auctions off a painting a day, and most of the paintings focus on food. Check out today's PB&J No. 7.  Doesn't it look yummy?

And, last, but not least, the September digital/hybrid challenge is still going on at KB&Friends. The challenge is to design an ATC featuring a Thankfulness fairy. Participants will receive this great little ATC kit by Karen Aicken just for playing.

Here's my Count Your Blessings fairy that I did for the challenge.

Fairy, hat and wings from Kathryn Balint's Make a Fairy kit; background papers (blended) are from KB's Fun and Games, and Attic Treasures. Buttons are KB's Shabby Buttons. Font is Bernard MT.

Quirkshop Week Two

I just posted the second week's lesson for Quirkshop 101 at Scrapbookgraphics. Quirkshop 101 is a free six-week class designed to show traditional digital scrappers how to incorporate quirky artistic techniques into their layouts.

The subject for this week is extractions -- how to do them and how to use them. There are lots of links and examples, so be sure to check it out.

If you didn't get to participate last week, it's not too late to play catch up. Folks completing all six weekly assignments will receive a goody bag filled with quirky goodness from the designers and crew at SBG.

Finding the Muse: Munch's The Scream

Every week, my pal Kim Gabriel and I post a new piece of artwork at Scrapbookgraphics to provide inspiration for the Frameworthy challenge participants. This week, we focused on Edvard Munch's infamous "The Scream."

It's been fun seeing how different folks have approached the piece. Me? I had trouble with it. I actually had nightmares the first time I saw this work. I have really never felt that kind of despair. I can imagine it; but I have not personally felt it. That's why I turned to ThinkExist to look for quotes. When I came across this quote from Anne Frank, which was so real and so poignant, I knew I had to use it.

Photo from StockXChng; paper (blended) from Meredith Fenwick's Random Bag of Scrap; and the font, appropriately enough, is Broken 15.

Finding the Muse: What's a Quirkle Anyhow?

Kim Gabriel (alternately known as Raven or Nevermore in the digi-scrapping world) recently came up with an idea for an art challenge she calls "Quirkles." Here's how she describes the challenge, "The idea is that you create a layout using the three items listed for the challenge. The point of interest is how each artist runs with the "grouping". For no reason whatsoever, I am suggesting that these be done in a 6 x 6 format: bigger than an ATC but much smaller than standard scrapping format. Just enough room to hang oneself so to speak."

The challenge is being hosted at Digital Art Quirks, and the participants take turns hosting and choosing the three items. This week was my turn. Since autumn officially began this week, I chose a fall theme, asking participants to combine the following elements into a layout.

1. This photo of an autumn leaf from StockXChng, http://www.sxc.hu/photo/869368.
2. A movie title.
3. The shape of a diamond.

The ironic thing is that I had trouble doing my own challenge. I was visualizing a diamond stamped background, but couldn't find a Photoshop brush that would work. I ended up using a pattern instead. Here's my result:

Leaf photo from StockXChng; diamond pattern by Kim Sheen; harlequin from Annika Von Holdt's Marmalade brushes; text from Nancy Rowe Janitz's Little Bits of History brushes, and stars from Vera Lim's A Little Magic Volume One. Font is Jane Austen.

If you'd like to play along, you can visit the forum here. 

Finding the Muse: Frameworthy Challenge

At Scrapbookgraphics, I co-host a weekly challenge called Frameworthy. The idea behind the challenge is to urge participants to look to the great artists of the past and present for inspiration. Now in its 28th week, the challenge has developed a loyal group of artists and scrapbook enthusiasts who participate on a regular basis. This week, we're examining the work of Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani. Our inspiration is his work, Portrait of Jaques and Berthe Lipchitz. Click here to see this week's art.

Portrait of Jaques and Berthe Lipchitz, Modigliani

Finding the Muse: Back to Basics

Over at Digital Art Quirks, we're having an interesting challenge this week that's getting us back to basics. These are the rules as set out by this week's challenge hostess, IndyBev.

1. Start with no props,--no kits or elements may be used.
2. Create your own background, and use only shapes offered by your software.
3. Include a quotation.
4. Script font of choice.
5. Colors of choice.
6. Design in a 6x6 format.

Since we had to include a quotation, I went to ThinkExist and searched for quotes dealing with squares. (If that hadn't worked, I'd have moved onto circles, then triangles.) See there is a method to my madness.

I found this Japanese proverb and the piece just sort of designed itself. I really don't do much in the way of pop art, but this was lots of fun. If you'd like to try it, check out the challenge here.