Award Winners

I am happy to announce that my both of my entries in the 8th annual Figurative Art Competition at the Light, Space and Time Gallery earned awards!!

The gallery received 626 entries from 27 different countries around the world as well as from 32 different states in the U.S.  Artists were asked for their interpretation of the “Figurative” theme by submitting their best abstract or representational art for this competition.  I've been doing quite a lot of digital renders featuring dancers recently, so it was natural for me to enter these two images.

The exhibition has been divided into three media categories.  Painting & Other Media, Photography & Digital and 3D Art.  In addition, there is an overall Winning Artists Category, which is the “best of the best” and consists of the ten (10) best entries comprised from the media categories.

The gallery included Special Merit awards and Special Recognition awards for outstanding art. Many of the artists in either of these groups could have easily been included in the upper tier of our winners, as their art was also exceptional.

So it's a very special honor for me to have been awarded a Special Merit award for my digital artwork, "Dance Like No One is Watching."

In addition, my entry titled "Pas De Deux" earned a Special Recognition in the Photography/Digital Art category.

To say I am thrilled to have won these awards would be an understatement!

You can see all the winning entries in all categories at this link.

#Paint Time 2017

As I was thinking about where to go with my art in 2017, I happened upon a great blog by pastel artist Karen Margulis -- Painting My World.

Two of her posts really inspired me.  Firstly, her December 30 post, Advice for Painting Growth in 2017, talks about how study and practice are the keys to artistic growth.

As I read the article I realized that these would be easy goals for me to accomplish this year.

I had been wallowing around, and getting somewhat disillusioned because I was unable to create the kind of skillful pastel painting that I see from other artists.  My pastel art was definitely lacking something and, of course, a lot of it is technique.

So I signed up for a year subscription to Art Tutor.com which has online courses and classes in everything from drawing to watercolors.

I have enjoyed, on an off, the series "Painting Landscapes in Pastel" with English artist Michael Howley.  I say "on and off" because I originally signed up with Art Tutor for a month over a year ago and let then that lapse.  However, this was the first pastel I did, following along with one of Michael's lessons.

My goal now, having found my way back to Art Tutor, is to make a habit of watching at least one lesson per week, and practicing what I have learned.

Today I watched a lesson on cloudscapes.  Here is my first, rather crappy effort. I'll do this same painting a couple more times this week and try to perfect the technique and the feel of painting clouds.

That ties in with the second post from Karen Margulis' blog, and the title of this blog post, "#PaintTime2017"

In #PaintTime2017, the idea is that one chooses one's motif, sets aside regular time each week to paint and then share the results on Karen's blog and/or social media using the tag #PaintTime2017.

In addition to the weekly painting, Karen actually challenges herself to paint each day.

Since I'm starting a new full time job tomorrow it's highly unlikely that I will be able to paint every day, but I think I can come to a compromise and give myself the attainable goals of

1. watching a lesson each week
2. practicing the lesson at least two or three times during the week  
3. posting the best of my efforts and tagging it #PaintTime2017.

It will be interesting to see my progress during the year.

Merry Christmas from Me to You

I found a great website a while back that lets you add all sorts of animations to your pictures and save them as animated gifs.  The site is LunaPic.com.  The site does not limit you to animated effects.  It actually offers a full range of effects that you might find in Photoshop, as well as a whole lot more. 

But it was the snowfall effect that caught my eye, so what better to do at this time of year than to add some snowflake frames and snowfall to some of my artwork?

* * * * *

So take a break from the Christmas rush, pour yourself a mug of hot cocoa and enjoy these animations I created featuring the Christmas and winter-themed digital artwork I have made into greeting cards in years past, as well as some seasonal quotations. 

Each of the images I have shown here are available as Christmas cards on my artist website at JayneWilsonArt.com (without the animations, of course!)  I've put the direct links under each picture so you can stock up early for next year!

*  *  *  *  *

“I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas: It brings people together while time stands still. Cozy couples lazily meandered the streets and children trudged sleds and chased snowballs. No one seemed to be in a rush to experience anything other than the glory of the day, with each other, whenever and however it happened.”  

Rachel Cohn - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares.

"Children Playing in the Snow" is available

as a greeting card at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  *

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells. Jingle all the way.

Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh.

Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way.

Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh.

James L. Pierpoint

*  *  *  *  *

"Winter Sleigh Ride" is available as fine art prints and greeting cards

at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  *

"Snowmen fall from Heaven, 

One snowflake at a time"

*  *  *  *  *

"Winter Cottage and Snowman" is available as a greeting card 

at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  *

"I love the excitement, the childlike spirit of innocence

and just about everything that goes along with Christmas." -- Hillary Scott

*  *  *  *  *

"Watching for Santa" is available as a greeting card 

at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  *

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and goodwill, the plenteous in mercy

is to have the real spirit of Christmas" -- Calvin Coolidge

*  *  *  *  *

"The Snowman and the Curious Foal" is available as a greeting card 

at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  *

"Christmas isn't a season, it's a feeling" -- Edna Ferber

*  *  *  *  * 

"Bridge Over a Winter Stream" is available as a greeting card 

at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  * 

"Snow falling soundlessly in the middle of the night 

will always fill my heart with sweet clarity" -- Novala Takemoto, Missin' (Novel)

*  *  *  *  * 

"Snowman in the Moonlight" is available as a greeting card 

at JayneWilsonArt.com

*  *  *  *  * 

I hope you enjoyed the wintery scenes and quotations.  Now, if you have a little time and want to amuse yourself for a while, head over to Lunapic.com, upload a photo of your own and spend a little while playing around with various effects and animations.  Or, if you're caught up in the holiday rush, just bookmark the site to go back to later, when you have some time.

This will be my last post before Christmas, so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Connecting with Local Artists

A few weeks ago I saw a notice in our local paper about a local art group, the Tomball Art League.

I was interested in learning about them because I was looking for a group close to home.  Houston is such a sprawled out city that any art event I would go to in Houston usually involved an hour or more drive time, one way.

I was a member of Spectra Artists in Houston for a while, but never went to any of the meetings as they were far away, and by the time I got home from work (often a two hour trek), there was no way I could get to them before they were over.

I didn't re-up my membership with Spectra Artists for 2016 since I wasn't working full time.

So I'm really excited to have joined up with Tomball Art League (TAL) and went to my first meeting today.

Since it's December, it took the form of a holiday painting party and gift exchange, plus everyone bought some snacks, so there was a wonderful spread of food.  

It was very enjoyable meeting local artists and after the business meeting, we were each given a 10 x 8 canvas, brushes, paints and a reference picture to copy.  And while we were painting, we also got on with the gift exchange and the white elephant exchange, which were great fun.

I got some lovely Christmas ornaments hand-made by one of the members, and my white elephant gift was some Tom Jones paintbrushes.

Here's my effort, the first acrylic painting I have done in over 30 years, lol.  

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently got my pastels out of mothballs and have been playing with them a little.  So the idea came to me to use the same reference picture we had used at the painting party, but this time see if I could produce a pastel version of it.

Here it is in progress, with the reference photo picture above it.

Here's it is, more or less finished.

It was just a quick, happy piece.  It was fun to do - I need to do more little studies like this.  I should remember to focus on what I see versus what I put on paper.  I noticed that my squiggle across the middle of the ornament is too squiggly compared wit the reference pic, lol. 

Here's a closer look at it. (As with the other pictures, you can click on it to see a larger version)

It's not great, but the more I practice, the more my observation will improve.

Happy Thanksgiving

First of all I have to apologize for the huge gap in my blogging this year.

If you know me personally on Facebook or elsewhere, you probably know that a near-fainting spell in May prompted me to go in to the ER and have some tests, just to make sure nothing serious was wrong.

I was shocked when the doctor told me that the CAT scan of my brain had indicated that I had multiple aneurysms as well as a tumor on my pituitary gland!

So this summer I have had two major surgeries, as well as extended periods of recuperation.

Art, and blogging about art, got put on the back burner while I concentrated all my energies on healing.

I'm happy to say that everything went well and I am fully recovered from my surgeries.

I do have one more procedure to go, which will take place in early December.  But luckily it's a minor procedure and the down-time should be minimal.

What better time than Thanksgiving for me to give thanks to the team of doctors at Baylor College of Medicine and St. Luke's Hospital in the Houston Medical Center for taking such great care of me and getting me through this?

I would also like to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with family, friends, and the things that make you happy.

My "Autumn Farm Scene" is available as fine art prints and greeting cards on my artist website, JayneWilsonArt.com

I'm getting back in the art groove again, and I've even got my pastels out of mothballs, so I will be sharing some artwork with you soon.

Until next time...

Award Winners!

I'm thrilled to announce that I have received an Award of Excellence and three Special Recognition Awards in the "18th Annual Collage, Digital & Mixed Media Juried Online International Art Exhibition.hosted by Upstream People Gallery of Omaha, Nebraska.

The winning entries were selected by the juror Laurence Bradshaw, Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, U. S. A.

Here is what Professor Bradshaw had to say about my work: "'JAYNE WILSON of Tomball, Texas is a star digital artist as seen in all her works. These were all created using digital models, textures and lighting in the digital program DAZ 3D.

The piece "Vintage Photo Studio" shows a very handsome woman sitting comfortably on a period chaise lounge sofa. The overall warmth and tone of the picture adds to the vintage character.

Her "The Indian Pony", another digital rendering on canvas, is very handsome. The brown horse's head with the spotted body of the horse is something that rendering helps to create and here it works quite well.

"A Night on the Town" captures a handsome rendering of a woman and man dressed to impress. The background really sparks the awesomeness of the two together.

Also, "White Horse in the Forest" shows her talent with the beautiful horse center stage with the scraggling tree limbs which is a nice contrast to the smooth body of the horse. And the little gentle birds add a lightness to the mood."'

I would like to thank Professor Bradshaw for this recognition and for his kind words about my work.

The exhibition will be featured online during May, 2016 at www.upstreampeoplegallery.com and continue indefinitely in the archives section of the website.

Additional information may be downloaded from the virus-free links below:

The Indian Pony - Award of Excellence - http://bit.ly/21I06Lg

Vintage Photo Studio - Special Recognition - http://bit.ly/1WgCCgU

A Night on the Town - Special Recognition - http://bit.ly/24AYuIi

White Horse in the Forest - Special Recognition - http://bit.ly/24DyXej

The Easter Bunny Song

Oh, the Easter Bunny’s coming, she’s the one I long to see.
She’s got eggs in her basket, she’s bringing them to me.
I’m looking out the window and I hope she gets here quick,
I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick.

Oh, I love Easter Sunday and it comes round every year
Right now I’m so excited cause the Easter Bunny’s here!
The Easter eggs are lovely, with swirls on them because,
The Easter Bunny paints them with her little furry paws.

We’ll take the eggs and hide them, all up and down the hill,
And I’ll go back to find them with my little brother, Bill.
We will pile up all the goodies and I’ll eat all I can take,
And then end Easter Sunday with a big old belly ache.

Oh, the Easter Bunny’s coming, she’s the one I long to see.
She’s got eggs in her basket, she’s bringing them to me.
I’m looking out the window and I hope she gets here quick,
I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick.
I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick.
I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick.

Easter Bunny Song courtesy of Nana's Corner

* * * *

My little Easter Bunny design shown above was created in Vue and is available on greeting cards, postage stamps, stickers and more in my Zazzle store.

* * * * 

I'm very fond of vintage graphics and one of my favorite websites these days is the Graphics Fairy - a resource for DIYers and crafters and features over 5,000 free vintage images. I highly recommend the site if you like hand making cards and other printables.

Here are some vintage Easter images shared from The Graphics Fairy.  I hope you enjoy them.

"Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life." ~~Janine di Giovanni

"What is the real purpose behind the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus?
They seem like greater steps toward faith and imagination, each with a payoff.
Like cognitive training exercises." ~~ Chuck Palahniuk

Gentle Giant - Horse at Work in the Forest

On October 15, 1987, England was hit by what became known as the "Great Storm". There hadn't been a storm like it in 300 years. Sadly 18 people lost their lives and there were massive amounts of damage to property and millions of trees were uprooted, many in urban gardens and parklands.

The reason I mention it is because the following year, on a trip visiting my family back in England, we came across this scene in the New Forest in Hampshire. Horse power, in it's original form, was being used to help clear fallen trees and brush.

As you can see from the image below, the trees are closely packed in this particular area, and it would have been difficult, not to mention dirty, noisy and messy, trying to clear the fallen timber with tractors.

My dad, who was driving, had caught sight of the horses and pulled off to park so we could watch them at work.  Two draft horses waited patiently while their handlers hooked up fallen tree trunks and then they would haul them a few hundred yards to where a truck and trailer were being loaded with logs for removal.

It was fascinating watching man and beast work together.  A very tranquil rural scene.  I snapped several photos, but I liked this one best.

I was recently going through old photo albums - those ones with the "magnetic" plastic pages that somehow never seemed to stick quite right and the pictures always fell out.  I had been removing the photos and dumping the albums.  Photos are either being scanned or stored in boxes.

When I found this photo again, I was so taken with the scene that I wanted to make a digital painting of it.  Working in Topaz Impression, was able to create an image that looks like it is straight off the easel.  I'm very happy with the way it came out.  If you click on the image above, you can see a larger version of it, and see more of the detail.

"Gentle Giant", as I called my digital painting, is available on canvas, prints and greeting cards at JayneWilsonArt.com

I'm also making it available on other products such as mouse pads, a jigsaw puzzle and this iPad sleeve, in my online store, 3D Designs by Jayne on Zazzle.

Gentle Giant - Draft Horse Hauling Logs in Forest Sleeves For iPads by 3DDesignsByJayne

For more information about the Great Storm, visit the Daily Telegraph website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3344946/The-Great-Storm-of-1987-remembered.html

Happy New Year!

For my final blog post of 2015, I've gathered some thoughts about the ending of the old year and the coming of the new.

But first, here's a short video I made to show off my art and photography.  I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

Another year of success and happiness has passed. 

With every new year, comes greater challenges and obstacles in life. 

I wish you courage, hope and faith to overcome all the hurdles you face. 

May you have a great year and a wonderful time ahead.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. 

We are going to put words on them ourselves. 

The book is called Opportunity 

and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” 

― Edith Lovejoy Pierce

 As the New Year dawns,
I hope it is filled with the
promises of a brighter tomorrow.
Happy New Year!

Christmas Greetings to All

Unlike many at this time of year, I'm not rushing around buying tons of gifts and cooking all sorts of food. My family is on the other side of the Atlantic and my husband's family are scattered from coast to coast. So Eric and I will be celebrating a quiet Christmas at home together, just the two of us.

As I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I thought I would share some of the winter and Christmas themed art I made into Christmas cards this year, as well as some Christmas quotations.

"Winter Fun" - Available as a greeting card at JayneWilsonArt.com

Snowman in the Moonlight - Available as a greeting card at JayneWilsonArt.com

Christmas Toy Store - Available as a greeting card at JayneWilsonArt.com

At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.
~~ Thomas Tusser

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
~~ Norman Vincent Peale

Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.
~~ B. C. Forbes

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!
~~ Charles Dickens

Light Space & Time Award Winners Announced...

A few weeks ago, I submitted my entries into the 5th Annual "Animals" International Juried Art Competition, sponsored by Light Space and Time Gallery, in Jupiter, Fla.

The results have just been announced and I'm very happy to be able to announce that two of my pieces won awards!

In November the gallery conducted the 5th Annual “Animals” Online Art Competition. 2D and 3D artists (including photography) from around the world were called upon to make online submissions for possible inclusion in to the Gallery’s December 2015 online group art exhibition. The “Animals” theme was considered to be any art which depicted mammals, birds and any animals that live in the water for inclusion into this art exhibition.

The gallery received 724 total entries from 39 different states and 22 different countries from around the world, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Monaco, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, St. Maarten, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

My first winning entry, “Bison and Calf in Yellowstone”, earned an Honorable Mention, placing it in the top ten entries in the Photography & Digital Category!   This digital painting is based on a photograph I took while Eric and I were on our road trip to Yellowstone earlier this year.  It's available as prints and on canvas on my artist's website

In addition, “White Horse at the Stable Door” earned a Special Recognition, placing it in the top 60 entries in the Photography & Digital Category. This digital painting started out as a 3D render that I created in DAZ 3D.  The final render was then treated with digital painting techniques to give it a painterly feel.  It reminds me of the cover art of the "pony books" by English authors like the Pullein-Thompson sisters and Ruby Ferguson that I adored when I was a young girl.  This piece is also available on canvas and prints, as well as pillows and tote bags, on my artist's website.

I was thrilled to have two entries included among the winners - quite an accomplishment with over 700 entries!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates.  I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with family, friends, good food and good company.

I love these vintage Thanksgiving greeting cards, don't you?  As always, you can click on them to see a larger version.

"We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning." ~ Albert Barnes

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"The things that we most of the time take for granted are always those that deserve our gratitude. Be thankful to that thing or person today and make every day of the year a personal Thanksgiving one." ~Kurt Avish

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude." ~E.P. Powell

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." ~Henry Van Dyke

Picture Postcard Cottages

Back in February, I blogged about an art program I had recently purchased, called Topaz Impression.  You can see that post here.

Since then I have spent many happy hours working in Impression to create original artworks from my photographs, as well as using it to enhance some of my digital artwork created in Vue or DAZ.

In my blog post today, I am going to share my latest series of digital paintings, called "Picture Postcard Cottages."

I'm originally from England and whenever I go back home to visit family, my dad always enjoys taking us out for a ride in the car to visit some picturesque village he has discovered.  

One day, he took us out into Hampshire, to the village of Micheldever located between Basingstoke and Winchester.

It's the most picture perfect collection of thatched cottages and I took literally hundreds of photos!

To create this series, first I took my photographs into Topaz Impression and processed them with a variety of painting and drawing effects, saving each version as it's own jpeg file.  I primarily used the presets that come with Topaz, with the idea of blending and changing opacity and depth later in the process.

Each of the final images consists of at least two, sometimes three layers, blended to allow the layer underneath to show through and with strategic masking to get the effects where I wanted them.

I really like the vintage postcard appeal of this series.

The first of the series is Heather Cottage, and according to the Micheldever Village website it was built around 1600. 

 Heather Cottage

Available on prints and cards

Excerpted from Micheldever Village website:
The original property was probably just 2 rooms, one up and one down. The bedroom still has a wattle and daub wall made of dung and straw, and there is a doorway which is only 150cm high (less than 5 feet). 

It would appear to have been extended during the 17th century, hence the irregular front timbers. There is a small window looking down church Street and it is rumoured that it was used as a look-out to warn visitors if there was a press-gang coming up from the river. The well is still inside the property and was still in use in 1964.

*****

 Old Cottage, built in 1580.

Available on prints and cards

Excerpted from Micheldever Village Website:
The Old Cottage was built in 1580. The central part of the cottage was a smoke bay into which the chimney stack was later inserted.

The left hand half was extended in two stages in the 17th century, and the wing to the rear was added about 1850.

*****

Thatched Cottage in Micheldever

Available on prints and cards

I'm not sure what the name of this cottage is, but it appears to have been built around the same time as the others. It's timbered, as are many other buildings in the village, and thatched, although an outbuilding on the left has since been roofed with tile.

I hope you've enjoyed this "virtual visit" to a lovely village, and that you like what I did with my photos.

Quotes About Autumn and Art

I love to be out in nature, going for walks, photographing the natural world around us. The problem is, let's face it, the heat and humidity of a Texas summer is not exactly conducive to such activities. Of course, that gives me the perfect excuse to spend time indoors working on art, or editing photographs -- but I do miss being outside like I would be if I still lived in England.

But now autumn is here, my favorite time of year, and I can actually spend some time outdoors.

For my blog post this week, I thought I would share a sprinkling of inspirational quotes for artists, as well as some quotes about fall and autumn. I hope you enjoy them.

Fall Color at Ratcliff Lake by Jayne Wilson - Animated gif created at LunaPic

"Winter is an etching, spring a water color, summer and oil painting, and autumn, a mosaic of them all. " ~ Stanley Horowitz.

“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters on Cézanne.

"Nature always wears the color of the spirit." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Animated gif courtesy of http://www.gifprikol.com

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." ~ Henry Ward Beecher.

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest,of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." ~ Edwin Way Tea.

"For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life.. the air and the light which vary continually. For me, it is only the, surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value." Claude Monet.

Autumn Companions by Jayne Wilson.

"Everyone should take the time to sit and watch the leaves turn." - Elizabeth Lawrence.

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way — things I had no words for." ~Georgia O'Keeffe.

"As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life." ~ John Lubbock.

"Art is Man's nature. Nature is god's art." ~ James Bailey.

Country Lane in Fall by Jayne Wilson

That's it from me this week. I know my blogging is horribly erratic, but I'm making plans to be more consistent with it, so hopefully things will improve.

See you next time!

Lovely Ladies Series

Being a digital artist, I have found that the quality of my work is not only influenced by my level of technical expertise with the software I am using, but also with the quality of the digital models available.

When DAZ started out, their basic male and female models were Michael and Victoria.  When I got started in 3D art, Michael 3 and Victoria 3 were the models of choice.

I get a chuckle out of looking at my really early work because the models were still pretty basic and my own proficiency levels with the software were lacking. 

DAZ just released Michael 7 and Victoria 7, but actually I prefer the previous iteration -- Michael 6, and a female model named Olympia 6.

Below are a few portraits I have done recently, using Olympia 6 as my model, which I have come to think of as my "Lovely Ladies" series.

Vintage Photo Studio

Available on canvas and prints here.
(this piece recently earned an Award of Special Merit at the Light, Space & Time Open Art Competition. The competition received 734 entries! Woo hoo!!!)

Pretty in Pink

Available on canvas and prints here.

 I wanted to do something different with this one. I tried several different Photoshop actions on the final render, but the one I liked most of all was this black and white version.

 Summer Breeze
Available on canvas and prints here.

I'm still working on this last one.  It's the first render I have done using DAZ's new NVIDEA "iRay" render engine.  (I would explain that, but I'm not actually sure about it myself!)

Untitled

Iray rendering takes lighting to a whole new level and allow use of physically based environments so that with the correct tools and setups we can replicate real world lighting. (that's the theory, anyway!)

Yesterday I purchased a new add-on for DAZ, the Ultra Genesis Studio 1 light set from Traveler and Syyd at Runtime DNA.com and thankfully, the creators provided a handy .pdf file of instructions on how to use the lights, the cameras and the environments.

I'm looking forward to playing with it some more and getting more proficient with it.

It's like having my own personal modeling agency and photography studio!

Watch this space for more!