Hello, Kittens and Dawgs! This is the 3rd week that I’ve shared Skywatch Friday/Celebrate The Small Things on Thursday. How is it working for ya? Do you like that I broke up my regular Friday posting to making it more digestible?
I haven’t taken many photos since December with the holidays winding down, the cold weather, and DH’s work schedule. This isn’t a bad thing. It forces me to look through my archived photos of those not-so-purrfect pictures to run them through a bit photo-editing to share.
In today’s Skywatch Friday I’m pulling out a few images from a day trip to the Big South Fork area of Tennessee from 2011. These are off the beaten path and honestly, I can’t recall more precisely where we were when I snapped these shots with my Canon SD880 point n’ shoot camera. This is what I had before getting a big girl camera (Nikon D7000).
Looking back, I remember it being a rainy, cool April day. Given that it’s winter I felt this photo needs a B&W touch to trigger a bit of chill down your spine.
We wandered up a gravel road where it came to an end. This pond looked inviting but the sprinkles kept me inside the car. The sky was rather bland, so in the Affinity photo editing program, I used the haze remover to make the sky more dramatic.
Later, I decided the little pond needed some friends (I’m sounding a bit like the painter, Ross, now aren’t I?). I borrowed some free brushes Brusheezy and placed a family to the right of the picture and a woman with a child (silhouette needed to be a bit darker) in the left center of the pond.
When we got close to the main road again we noticed a hawk flying over a field and it landed on a tree limb. It was really hard to distinguish it from its surrounding, so I used the depth of field feature in Affinity to make the hawk more prominent for the viewer.
Can you see him? On Wednesday I shared more shots from this day taken of a WWII hero’s home if you’re interested in taking that tour.
Today, I’m celebrating like I do every day, I Celebrate The Small Things in life.
I’m celebrating… the feeling I get with art. I don’t consider myself an artist but I love creating and dabbling with simple sketches and using my Prismacolor pencils is totally uplifting for the mood. I doodled four designs to use for this Valentine’s Day greetings I will share with my children and DH. I plan to create a special pre-Valentine post with ideas and will include my drawings. 🙂 Also, I’m celebrating getting my exercise time on the elliptical to an hour each day and maxed the resistance for an intense workout. It’s good to be active again!
What are you celebrating?
Please joining CTST’s host Lexa and others to see what they are celebrating this week!
I will wind things down today with a new meme I thought I’d try hosted by Wandering through the Shelves. The rules are simple. I am to share 3 to 5 movie picks based on a weekly theme and tell ya why. The category is “Movies About Artists (Painters)”.
I thought it interesting the movie prompt today is about artists and my CTST segment I celebrate my wannabe artist side. 🙂 In all honesty, these sorts of movies wouldn’t be my first pick but I certainly am not opposed to watching them especially if the mood hits me just right. The below list of flicks I haven’t seen but work purrfect for today’s theme choice.
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) Charlton Heston portrays the biography of Michael D’Angelo’s facing his doubts and struggles painting the Sistine Chapel upon the behest of Pope Julius II.
A friend recommended this film after I shared A Picture of a Painting last year and if it should ever make its way to Netflix or Amazon Prime then I will watch it. I love old movies!
Frida is the Mexican self-portraitist who survived a near-fatal bus crash when she was 18. The story revolves around her injuries, art success, and volatile marriage with artist Diego Rivera. Frida is currently available on Netflix, so I watched it mainly because of this prompt. It was interesting to see how this woman lived. She was a bit progressive for a woman of that era. Wikipedia describes her as a feminist and the movie eludes to this fact. Her dreams gave birth to her folk art style paintings which tell of her life’s struggles and it’s a bit too abstract for my taste. I prefer realistic art. I enjoyed the movie but I doubt if I will watch it again.
Big Eyes is a drama based on the 1950s success of paintings by Margaret Keane, whose husband claimed credit and the legal battle to remove her husband as the creator and to gain recognition for her work.
The story where the underdog rises to the top in the end, is my kind of flick, especially one that’s been mistreated or misrepresented as Keane. This along makes it a good reason to see and when it shows up on Netflix then I’m gonna catch it.
Have you seen these movie picks? Can you think of or have you seen any movies about artists?
Tomorrow, I invite you to join me for some social media fun and your weekly dose of laughter with Friday Sillies.
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The title The Agony and the Ecstasy is just so good! Heston isn’t a favourite of mine but the subject and artist are so I might give it a watch. I picked Frida too, such an amazing film and artist. Almost went with Big Eyes too, Adams was brilliant but not a fan of the artwork.
Katie, thank you for visiting and for giving your opinion on these movies. I will visit you soon. Have a good week!
I saw your Friday Funnies & loved them! Your first pic with the horses is so cute. I love horses! Love the pond & the hawk too. You’re quite a pro at photoshop. That’s awful about the painter’s husband claiming her paintings as his own. What a weasel! Have a great weekend, Cathy!
Lexa, a photoshop pro I am not but I sure do appreciate your sweet words. I need to work harder to live up to them now. lol The story of Big Eyes with the hubs stealing credit is horrible. I noticed over the weekend the movie is now on Netflix for streaming, so I may try to watch it while using my elliptical this week. Have a good one and I’ll see you soon!
I like your opening shot… looks good in b&w!!
Peter, your words mean a lot! Thanks for visiting and have an awesome week!
You most definitely are an artist my friend!! You have that creative side and you are inspiring to others — Art can be anything we create and share with your world. Your blog even! I love the black and white shot!!! Gorgeous. And what a great idea to put the family in the photo.. how creative.
Les, you’re such a sweetheart with your generous, kind words. I hope the joy I experience through creating photography, photo-edits, drawings, rubber stamping, mewsic,& mewsings gives others the courage to step outside his/her boundaries to do different things that he/she can’t do or do well. YOU inspire me! Thank you for making my day a little happier, my friend. ?
Love the weighty drama of the clouds in the first photo. Looking good in black and white.
Gemma, it rained on us a lot that day, mostly a gentle drizzle. Thanks for popping by for a visit and please join me again!
Welcome to Thursday Movie Picks! I think this is the first time I stumble to your blog.
We have one pick in common though. I watched Big Eyes, too! Frida seems popular today and I know it’s an Oscar-darling but I haven’t watched it.
Thank you for the warm welcome! Frida is good and if you like these sorts of films then you’ll enjoy it. Thanks for visiting, I’ll be over soon!
While I found it draggy at times overall I did enjoy The Agony and the Ecstasy with Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison having a lot of fire in their scenes of conflict and the visuals of course were breathtaking.
I liked but didn’t love Frida though Salma Hayek was outstanding but then it was a passion project for her so her commitment was deep.
Haven’t seen Big Eyes and probably never will given the fact that I disdain Adams.
Love your pictures.
I try and find films to use that are out of the main and manage it mostly this week but it was tough since films about painters are not plentiful. Still I enjoyed these three.
The Naked Maja (1958)-Tale of the renowned painter Francisco Goya (Anthony Franciosa) and his passionate affair with the Duchess of Alba (Ava Gardner) , purportedly the model for the title painting. Set against Spain’s war with France and the Inquisition, though shot in Italy, the film is a visual treat with a good performance by Gardner but missing a certain spark, perhaps due to the fact that the stars detested each other behind the scenes.
Lust for Life (1956)-Biography of Vincent Van Gogh with an intense, driven performance by near lookalike Kirk Douglas as the tortured artist. Since he wasn’t acknowledged until after his death the film is a relentlessly grim look at the cost and weight of unrecognized genius. Overlong but loaded with works by the master.
The Moon and Sixpence (1942)-Inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin and based on the Somerset Maugham novel, the film tells the story of Charles Strickland (George Sanders) who throws his staid life as a married stockbroker away to run away to the South Seas to paint with nary a thought to the consequences. Well-acted with a superior cast but the lead character is an almost completely despicable person so it’s difficult to care too much for his story or fate.
Joel, thank you for visiting. First let me say, I tried to do a return visit to your site but I found no content on the WP site you signed in with. Anyway, I appreciate you leaving your movie picks. Naturally, I do not know any of these titles. This movie theme was a hard one for me to get into, especially with it being my firs try out. It’s good to read more good words about “The Agony and the Ecstasy”. I think a lot of the old dramas are slower than what we’re accustomed to today. I always liked Charlton Heston. He’s a great actor. Salma Hayek did a fabulous job in Frida. In truth I think Salma is prettier than the character she played, though. 🙂 Have a good weekend and be blessed!
I’m a first timer, here, another TMP devotee. Glad to have you with us. That last photo you shared is amazing. Thanks for that.
As for your picks I have only seen Friday. I think it’s a phenomenal film. Glad to see it getting so much love today.
Thank you, Wendell, for the welcome and visit. Also, I appreciate the kind words of my last photo contribution. Since I share my picks, I learned “Big Eyes” is now available on Netflix, so I’m eager to watch it but I’m not sure when I’ll get a chance. Hopefully, I can squeeze it in this week but I have a movie or two I need to watch for this week’s TMP prompt, which means I need to go exercise and check out one of those flicks while I use the elliptical. 🙂
oooh I picked The Agony and The Ecstasy. Certainly worth seeing!
Myerla, You’re the first on today’s hop to recommend this as a good flick. I hope it shows up on Netflix, so I can watch it. 🙂
Frida was such an interesting film and beautifully done as well. Big Eyes wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either.
Sonia, Frida was done well. It was sad that a young girl had to endure such an accident that followed her through her life. Thanks for visiting today!
Excellent and fun post. I could see the hawk, that is a cool effect. I also like how you added the family by the pond. I look forward to seeing your Valentine’s Day sketches. I saw Frida and enjoyed it. Another good movie is Pollock, Ed Harris played him so well.
Ellen, It’s such fun to tinker with images in photo-editing software and the free resources that you can get online is super cool. Tuesday I will have my sketches up in one of my two scheduled posts. I haven’t heard of the movie Pollock but I like Ed Harris. I’ll check it out. Thank you for visiting today. I’ll see ya soon!
Hello! This is my first time visiting your blog, but I saw you on Wanderer’s for TMP. 🙂 Frida and Big Eyes are very popular today. I need to see both.
Brittani, I appreciate you visiting today. Yes, Frida and Big Eyes are popular picks today. I reckon it’s because they are newer films. I will hop over to see you soon. Have a good evening!
Yippee! You decided to give it a go with TMP:)) I have seen The Agony and the Ecstasy (I actually own a DVD copy) and it is quite good with the banter between Michelangelo and the Pope. I have not seen the other 2 but want to. Frida’s paintings are not my bag either but I do appreciate them. As for Big Eyes, will love to see this movie but I hate…hate those paintings. I remember them when i was a kid and thought they were ugly:) Oh well. Now I am also surprised that your blog post coincides with the movie theme this week. I love the moody balck and wehite photo and the pond with your family placed in is inviting. I love the picture with the hawk because it looks like he is in a centre of a heart.
Birgit, I vaguely remember the artwork of Keane. Although I like to draw, I’m not at all familiar with artists past long ago or not-so-distant. Of course, I recognize the most famous by name but I’m sure I wouldn’t know a Michael D’Angelo from a Van Gough. lol I’m glad you liked the photo edits. It’s always fun to do! Ah, you say the hawk edit makes you think he’s in the center of a heart. BRB I gotta see if I can see what you see. Ok, I’m back! I do see what you see! I think it’s the branches surrounding the hawk with the zoom effect giving it the illusion of a heart. It’s kinda funny when I finished with that edit I kept thinking what does this remind me of but it didn’t hit until you told me what you saw in it. Sometimes another has to open your eyes to see something for what it is. 🙂