This is my attempt at painting a hedgehog which I thought would be a fitting subject for the forum. I've grown fond of it over the hours to paint it this morning so it may be ugly to others.

The shape was easy to block in as it is a potato with a protrusion for a nose. Just add a face and a big ear and I have a bald hedgehog.

That was the easy part for the difficult part was putting in the countless strokes to emulate its quills. There is layer upon layer with varying colors. It took about two hours and several cups of coffee to paint them all in.

This piece was digitally painted using a graphic painting program with a graphic display tablet and a stylus to paint with.

For automobile traffic, across an irrigation canal. For information in the Yakima Valley Irrigation Project, click here and here.

Feedback on this photo is welcomed!

Bridge over irrigation canal by Linda Shorey, on Flickr

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I was testing my new copy stand setup this week, and decided to scan some negatives from the summer before my senior year in high school.

These are from 35mm Tri-X exposed on July 4, 1972. Travelers Rest was a tiny little town then, but they had a lot of holiday spirit. It proved to be a hoot. They had all sorts of traditional 7/4 "cultural exhibits," eating contests, and activities including the greased "flag pole" with a $100 bill on top. Unfortunately, I had made about 15 exposures and had to leave because my friend got sick. These are some of the best:

I'm exploring different subjects and techniques so I wanted to try one with fur. Because I posted two of our dogs that have short hair, I thought a cat would provide a good learning challenge (I best hide this from our six dogs).

I've included images of the process I used which always starts with a loose quick sketch. I don't put a lot of effort into the sketch as it will only serve as a concept, placeholder, and guide as it often changes as the piece progresses. Fortunately, cats are simple, and it was easy for me to sketch.

The next step is to block in colors along with a bit of work on the eyes.

This is followed by a layer for the application of the fur. This would be the "make or break" point for this piece for it would be my first attempt at doing it on a computer and drawing tablet.

The final step is to add details and clean any places that look weird to me.

A few days ago I saw (another) article about the celebrated 1932 B/W photo title “ Lunch atop a Skyscraper”… IronWorkers having lunch on a steel beam, Photographer unknown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunch_atop_a_Skyscraper

OK, it’s 2024, while doing some PP for resent shoot, I came across a bunch of photos in my 2018 archives of Art of Construction that reminded me of the daring “WORK” that IronWorkers actually perform. Here’s a few shots of IronWorkers dismantling a section (brace) of the Tower Crane...Lunch came later