Photo Art Monthly Competitions July Artistic Theme

When we were in Nashville, we visited the Parthenon, a museum to look like the Parthenon in Athens Greece where the first floor was full of paintings and beautiful art.  We could not photograph the art, but I would have loved for you to see it, it was amazing, full of wonderful textures.  I am continually amazed at an artists ability to take a paint brush and use it to duplicate what they see or create a unique effect.

One painting had a woman in a creamy white dress.  Her face was perfectly detailed to such an intensity that it looked like a macro photograph (a photograph taken with great detail and is the same size as the actual object).  Her arms were flawless as well, without even a slightest sign that a brush had been there.  The dress was an impressionistic affair with heavy paint and thick signs of brush strokes that up close looked like a barrage of random strokes and glops of paint that you could feel.  Stepping back you could see the perfect line of the dress and couldn't even tell it was painted.  You could even see the sheerness of the short sleeves, and see her arms through it.  The genius blending of realism and impressionism was amazing to behold.

Another lady stood in front of a fireplace in a painting so accurate you could almost read the titles of the books on the mantle.  I almost could not believe it was a painting until I got close and could see the hairline cracks in the paint of the 1800 work.  She wore a satin dress that was painted in such detailed beauty that you could see the folds in the dress where it had been put away.  (Apparently they didn't have steamers back then - LOL!)  Every shimmer, every dip, every graceful billow, was perfectly recorded.  Even the bold color of the pink satin stood out in the dark masculine "Den-like" room full of tans and blacks.  It was a visual treat and a testament to a feminine force to be reckoned with.

We are not one of the greats, we do not create art with paint from a blank canvas, but our blank memory cards are calling to us.  We transform the black void with our creativity.  It is in the angle, the lighting, the ability to capture the unusual.  In all the technical advanced afforded us, we can create something brilliant.  I can't wait to see what artworks you can come up with in your camera or on a photo editing software.

My trip to Nashville inspired me to choose the artistic theme for July:  Texture

Since this is a learning group, we will also host a most helpful post competition along with the photo art competition.  In a post, please publish your photography or photo editing  techniques on achieving texture.

Helpful Post Competition Rules:

1)Please publish your photo editing or photography techniques on achieving reflection.   Please include:

• Examples of your process
• If you have them, please include other shots that were less desirable.
• Try to explain the process as if you were speaking to someone who does not know anything about it.  It will be appreciated by those of us just beginning - like me!  :D
• Before and after shots would also be helpful.

2)Tag your entries with "Texture" and "Helpful"

3)Naming your post with a unique title will help others recognize your work in the polling.

4)You can combine your entries with current themes from other groups.

This competition will run from July 1, 2009 to July 31, 2009. We will be judging completely by poll.  If you would like your entry to be included at the start of the poll, please have your most most helpful, on theme post submitted before the last week of the month, July 26th.

Photo Art Competition Rules:

1. Should have an artistic quality that you would appreciate seeing at a museum.
2. Altered and unaltered photos will be accepted.
3. Please include your photographic and editing processes so that we can learn from your experience.
4. It may or may not be your own interpretation of a classical artwork, but not a downloaded original.
5. Tag your entries with "Texture"
6. Naming your artwork with a unique title will help others recognize your work in the polling.
   
7. You can combine your entries with current themes from other groups.
   

This competition will run from July 1, 2009 to July 31, 2009. We will be judging completely by poll.  If you would like your entry to be included at the start of the poll, please have your most artistic, on theme photo submitted before the last week of the month, July 26th.

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Photo Art Monthly Competitions