Fun with Photoshop - Artist Julie Deans

Playing with Photoshop settings to make images look "vintage". It's a whole heck of a process, and I haven't got it quite set the way I want, but I had to showcase these two results.

Above, of course, is the little dog in all her glory, with toy in hand, uh, I mean mouth.

And below, well, I just had to share this because of the artist value and hilarity of the photo. Little E is a wonderful, entertaining subject.

(No babies were harmed in the creation of this photo, and all safety precautions were taken with the little fella during the shoot)

Portrait Contest

I thought it's about time I posted the information for entering the 5"x7" pencil portrait contest, so here we go.

This contest is for, as stated above, 1 free 5"x7" pencil (black and white) portrait - shipping included for Canada and US only. This portrait can be either a pet or a person. All I need from those entering is a clear, close up head shot of your pet/person of choice, and a little paragraph (a couple sentences) explaining who the pet/person is. Please send all files in JPEG format.

All submitted contact information (except first names) will be kept fully confidential. Please be aware I will be posting the first name of the winner, and the first name of the pet/person in the portrait on this blog, as well as an image of the final portrait and the photo that accompanies it (this info will also be posted to my website).

Please send all entries to:

juliesillustration @ hotmail.com (minus the spaces between the "n" and "@" and "h" of course, spaces are for anti-spam purposes only, sorry for the inconvenience).

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. This contest will be a random draw, and will be open from today, January 24th, 2010 to March 24th, 2010. The winner will be contacted and posted on this blog on March 25th, 2010.

To view more of my artwork, please visit:

www.juliesillustration.com

Samples of 5"x7" pencil portraits below.

CPE Fun and More Site Updates...

Photo by Gabrielle Deans - Agility on a nice day, rare appearance at an outdoor trial, from a past JRTCC event 2009

The weather really hasn't been cooperating. I usually like fall, but fall is disappointing me this year. The cool dampness doesn't make for ideal outdoor days. Spending an hour in the pouring rain last night while the little dog and I soak it up like two sponges in a sink full of dishwater, sloshing around in the car on the way home, and having clothes not dry over night because of how wet we really were ... well, that's not my ideal fall fun. Class was good though, minus the rain.

This leads up to why I prefer indoor agility trials. Indoor heated agility trials. Indoor heated CPE agility trials on dirt with a Q rate of 100%. The little dog prefers it too. We had a couple of "opps" moments at the CPE trial on Sunday, but ended up with 4 out of 4 qualifying runs, and we remained dry and warm, something that has become more dear to me in my later years.

Photo by Gabrielle Deans - Again, agility on a nice day at another one of our rare appearances at an outdoor trial - Ontario Regionals 2008

My website is continually being updated at this time, with the new designs and drawings that I have available. The brand new site is up and active, and I much prefer it to the old design. I needed a change, something fresh and new, with a little more colour, and a bit more emphasis on my fine art as well. Not to worry, portraits are still available to anyone who interested, I've just added a gallery of Fine Art as well as some Photography.

Have a look, and visit often within the next week or so while I get all the designs uploaded and ready to go.

Here's hoping this weekend will bring out the best in fall, not the worst. Though I have heard that my hope may not be fulfilled this long weekend.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Everyone!

Coming together ... slowly

Progress is slow, and sometimes tedious, but progress is progress none-the-less. I can now say that things are coming together for the re-vamp and progressing (I know, too many progresses) at a better rate than before. I've managed to get a lot of drawing completed over the past couple weeks, and it looks like I may be able to roll this out sooner than later - we'll see.

And the mighty printer, you ask? Well, it really is quite something. I'm still learning, and probably will be for the next 20 years, but I think I've got the hang of a few things on this beast, and again, the quality that it produces is excellent. So, needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

So keep an eye on the website in the next week or so for the new changes. But first, Brandy and I will be attending the JRTCC Nationals this coming Sunday. The event is being held at the Paris Fairgrounds, in none other than Paris, Ontario. The weather network has been toying with my emotions for this event, rain then no rain, cloudy with sun, then rain. Please, no rain, please...my little dog doesn't compete well when she's wet, and she looks ridiculous. It's no excuse, but it's the truth.

If you want more information about the nationals, please visit: www.jrtcc.com

Happy Birthday Brandy!!!

A tiny little baby Brandy

Today my little dog turns 7! I can not believe how much time flies. It seems like only yesterday, on a cool, sunny October morning in 2002, that we picked up the tiny little biting and humping bundle of energy.

I can honestly say that it was the best $350 we've ever spent, hands down. She was a challenge in the beginning, but once we found out that this little bugger loved to learn (puppy class being our first indication), things turned around, and in a heart-beat she became "the perfect" dog.

Through the years she has been my greatest teacher in regards to training dogs (or dogs training people, however you'd like to interpret that), and has been a willing, flash hating subject in all my photography and artistic adventures.

She's been everywhere with me, and is a testament to her breed. We dubbed her the "Love Dog" (with the "Love Boat" theme attached to it) because a day has never gone by without someone making a positive comment or smiling at her while we were out and about. From the old, to the thugged out youth (the term "sweet dog" has been used on occasion), they all fell in love. She is a people lover, and will go out of her way to meet and greet, which adds to her appeal.

Independent, stubborn, tenacious - yes these all describe her, she is a JRT you know, however, she is also sensitive, loving, comical and a willing worker. Surprisingly she does like to please, but on her terms, nothing like a golden retriever or a border collie though. She is awesome at agility when she wants to be, or more like when I don't throw her off, and she has quite a few titles to her name so far. And, with a little help from me, she even went and got her rally novice title, something that I never thought possible because it involves obedience - not her strong point, kind of like math is not mine.

Photo by Gabrielle Deans

Over all, she is a fantastic sport partner, a great teacher and a wonderful best friend. There will never be another Brandy - she really is one of a kind and I'm greatful for every moment that we spend together.

Happy Birthday Brandy, and here's to many, many, many more years of fun and friendship!!

Photo by Gabrielle Deans

Photo by Gabrielle Deans