Caterpillar in the Dill

I discovered this colorful visitor in my garden a couple of days ago.  It is a caterpillar who will later become a swallowtail butterfly.  He and a friend seemed to be thoroughly enjoying my dill plant for a summer solstice picnic and have since invited other friends over to join them.  They are destroying the plant but they are so interesting looking and the butterflies will be beautiful so I let them stay and eat the dill.  

I really loved the art that spilled forth from their beautiful spirits.  The dill added strong lines as well as a light  feathery  pattern to play with.  I've created a slide show below to share the artwork.  You can click on it to view a larger version or use the buttons at the bottom to pause or move backward and forward through the images.

White Blossoms

I took this picture last month as the spring blossoms were just coming into full bloom.  The flowers, stems and deep contrast with the background created beautiful patterns as I cut and pasted and played with the image.  

Using color variations on this piece were especially effective in creating a whole new feeling with each new change.  Sort of like looking at life through rose-colored glasses...we can look through our tangerine shades, turquoise spectacles or our psychedelic lenses....just taking a slightly new perspective, tinting things with a new hue, can create a whole new feeling in our lives and in our selves

(click on images to see a larger view)

Iridescence

We went to an outdoor wedding celebration last weekend where they had beautiful peacocks and swans wandering about the property.   I think the amazing iridescent blues and greens of the peacock have to be my very favorite color combination.  

I looked up the definition of iridescence ... "a lustrous or attractive quality or effect" and "a play of lustrous, changing colors".  Having just returned from spending the weekend visiting two of my favorite women on the planet, I'm feeling  rather iridescent myself. 

I used both of the photos above to play and discover even greater magic inside of these beautiful birds.

Click on the images to see a larger view . . .