St. George's Day Pagent

St. George rides onto the scene to discover the dragon about to eat the Princess.

"Stop!" he cries.

The dragon is distracted and the Princess runs to safety as the dragon turns its attention on to St. George.



It breathes out fiery breath but misses the nimble rider.

St. George advances with his lance ready.



He skewers the dragon slaying him on the spot.



Then St. George and his horse take the Princess home.


Credits

St George......................... Lady the Ladybird
Princess............................Little Cow
Horse................................Himself
Dragon..............................Dalek

Throughout the background used is Selime by Jean & Nathalie

Wikipedia's alternative version of St George and the Dragon.

All the answers?

Today I noticed that this book - the promisingly named "Book of Answers" has instructions for use on the back - having read them I thought the most obvious question to ask was whether the way that I'd just read was the best way to use the book. So I opened it, using their instructions, with this in mind....



It said Never!

So then I thought perhaps I'd better ask if the way I normally use the book was better. And I got:



There is good reason to be optimistic!

So I will continue to just hold it, think of something silly to ask, and open it right up.

If you would like to consult the book please leave a question in the comments and I'll answer it via the book.

What is Art?

What is Art? by Caroline in Painter IX.5

---

I hadn't been expecting to consider such a philosophical question today but that was before I discovered that flickr had flagged my account as safe but also as NIPSA - this meant no-one would ever find my images through a public search because they weren't showing them there - not that I'm expecting flocks of people to find me - but as a great user of searches myself it seemed rather antisocial to not be contributing too.

It seemed to all ride on the fact that I hadn't marked my content as being art when it was, or photos or screenshots when it was those. I don't know when this change came in - completley passed me by! But you can set a default and then change anything that is not standard individually.

So now I know the answer - art is anything that is not a photo and not a screenshot.

Which is a great way of freeing up the inner artist to play with some completely digital dribbles of paint.

Hands up those who thought it was a test for colour blindness?

Can you see the numbers?

:-)

IF - Fortune

Remix using images from flickr with appropriate cc licenses:

Nagahama Hachimangu well by MShades
four leaf clover by Greencolander

I consider Illustration Friday's choice of word very fortunate as on Tuesday I got both of these up on Flickr and also published a bit about where they came from and the ten other images in this series on my card blog.

Good luck to you all!



Remix using images from flickr with appropriate cc licenses:

Wishes to Buddha by Suviko
Chorten and Ama Dablam by Sam Judson

Fun

Red Face by Caroline - This is a remix of the following images: Water Droplet by Editor B , caducity by /baboon , DSCN2023 by ramikey

---

A few days ago I realised that I was feeling a bit stale - I'd been so happy making SoulCollage® cards using all this digital remixing that I hadn't noticed the need to use the same skills for different purposes. I wasn't conscious that I'd started to search for other ways to express myself but had, looking back, been doing so.

I'd made a few SoulCollage cards for other people: Reluctant Nomad (who posted it on his blog), this one and this one for someone else. Over the weekend I also did a collage for Andrea from her own work.

Then yesterday I twigged that I wanted to make something that was just for fun. I did this:


(88-91 by Caroline - Remix of butterflies with appropriate cc licenses: 88 by Rigmarole , 89 Butterfly on the Road by ARKNTINA, zafiro by dsevilla, Malachite by code poet )

It started by noticing that there was a butterfly that appeared to be called 88, presumably because of its markings, then that lead to an 89... so of course I looked for remixable butterflies with other numbers too and, flickr provided a couple - though not ones with numerical markings to match.

And then I posted yesterday and did lots of illustrations just for that one posting...

Somehow doing this all just for fun gave me the strength to complete a rather long posting that I'd been working on for my card blog - it needed 12 images uploading to flickr - all the attributions putting on and of course visiting all the providers of those images to say thank you to them and to let them see, if they were interested, what had become of their photos. As well as the writing for the blog posting of course...

And having done all this one of the people whose photos I'd used commented on flickr "You're welcome. :) Was this for some group or project or just for fun?" - a good question! I'm sure it had started out as fun but having to actually finish it became more like hard work and that needed something else as fun to sweeten the way.

The image at the top of this posting was done today - just for fun!

I think maybe now I've understood - if that is a relevant concept - the synchronicity of Cream / Creme eggs the other day.

Tinking Award

My eye photographed by Jim and then put through the hexagon tile effect in Corel Painter IX.

---

The ever wonderful Tinker has awarded me a Thinking Award - now I've noticed these and variations of them in some of the blogs that I read and so far no-one else (that I've noticed anyway) thought I deserved one. Of course that meant a bit of me felt left out and rejected but another part was feeling relieved, because unless you are the first in your circle of bloggers to get one almost everyone has already received one or two and it gets really hard to find someone new to pass the baton on too. And now that I've got one several other parts of me are leaping up to be noticed...

(This is a remix using the following flickr photos with appropriate cc licenses that allow remixing:Knitted brain by urbanmkr, Normal Invert by jovike, Ancient Cliff-Dwelling by laszlo-photo)

Pedant: "Meme, meme, meme.... "

I'm not going to let this part go on about memes again. It had its say ages ago. Its enough that I've made this grotesque picture for it - another variation on my critic... If you actually want to you can see it bigger by clicking on it.


(Remix using: poppy by mafleen, Antisthenes the Cynic by Alun Salt)

Cynic: "Have you noticed that everyone who gets this award is asked to link back to the original posting that started it? They are getting a huge number of links out of this. And search engines love the places with the most links to them..."

But not from me.

If you want to see the original wording visit via the link on Tinker's posting - I'd rather link to her than to someone whose blog I never read! Though yes I did actually go and read the posting that started it all off. And the cynics in me have an awful lot more comments about this that they are going to keep to themselves! (Oh oh I've gone plural in my inner cynics... :-)

Time for someone who is not so keen on thinking, I think:


Zen Unthinker:

"There really is too much thinking and not enough thought."

Well thank you for the paradox... Some of my inner parts can be a little hard to fathom...

Arising out of all this I thought it would be fun to have some new buttons to award.

The first is for all those people who think too much:




And the second to those who have managed to go beyond thinking, even if only briefly and know that I mean as its not something that can be easily described:



And of course as I cannot tell what you are thinking you will have to decide for yourself which to take - for most people who visit here I'd recommend both!

If you like you can link your award back here - but that's entirely at your own discretion.

Which would you like?

Laying chocolate eggs

Golden Egg for Easter that I didn't get around to posting here before:
Images used in the original remix of Gatekeeper to Success are all from flickr with appropriate CC licenses: North Lees track by Roger B., Gatekeeper by Ben Werdmuller, Gardening Trophy by east_lothian_museums, Glum beardy man by hugovk
Eggness created with dumpr.net - fun with your photos

---

Cream has just asked "Did Lucy lay them chocolate eggs, Caro? "

And next to the email alerting me to his comment was an email Jim sent me with this link - about a bird attempting to hatch some Cadbury's Creme Eggs.

So what's the message?

Should I be eating more chocolate?

Happy Easter

Lucy Lamb and Chocolate Eggs photographed with my new compact digital camera.

After months of research I've finally got a little camera that I can take anywhere - it is small enough to fit in my small shoulder bag so really no excuses now.

Jim noticed that the Panasonic DMC-FX01 was on offer from Comet at either the store or on-line (£150) - so he went to our nearest store and, having managed to say no to all their attempts to sell extended guarantees / insurance etc. (who does pay £60 to guarantee a £150 camera?), came away with my new take anywhere toy!

I'm feeling very lucky today. Thank you Jim!

As you can see the sun is shining here - we are having beautifully warm spring weather.

I hope Easter, if you celebrate it, is finding you replete with chocolate (or a suitable alternative), if not sunshine too.

Easter and its more pagan roots are all about the transformation of death into life - or winter into spring - which makes the card I made yesterday all the more appropriate.

I noticed Tinker mentioning Easter frocks on her blog - I never had one, in fact I had never even heard of them before - what celebrations and traditions do you associate with this time of year?

IF - Green

Relax in Green by Caroline using Corel Painter IX

Images used in this remix include from flickr with appropriate CC licenses:

Here Be Squirrels by Nyx
Fluorite octahedron by MShades
Regal Queen by laszlo-photo
morning glory by only alice
nuez (a tropical nut) pendant with malachite inlay by kafka4prez
Graphium sarpedon by melop

---

I have recently been making SoulCollage® cards which are done by collaging whole images together . I love the effects created by the changes in background and juxtapositioning of previously unrelated images. Most people do these with magazines, scissors and paste but I've been mostly doing them digitally. The above image is a variation on one that I call The Relaxation Teacher - I put it together specifically for this week's Illustration Friday's theme of Green.

Links:
More of my SoulCollage® cards
Illustration Friday
soulcollage.com

Spring Mandalas

Kaleidoscope images at top and bottom of this post derived from more originals from Beth of Mother Luck Flower Essences. This time in spring colours especially for Mr Nomad.

---

Having returned from Ireland I'm continuing to get more and more synchronicities that involve Ireland - right now I'm listening to a Radio 4 programme about Henry IIs invasion of Ireland...

Document

A Laudable Invasion?

Series using documentary evidence to throw new light on past events.

The story of a flawed dossier and an unlawful invasion. The Laudabiliter was a papal letter which for 800 years became the legal precedent for English occupation of Ireland.

Plus I've just heard that someone else I know has just gone there for Easter.

---

This got delayed in posting as the electrician needed the power off - this phase of our re-decoration is almost complete! Its a shame that the storm damaged rooms we'd decorated recently but at least they are now looking good again. I've been very impressed with these builders - how often can one say that? (Benchmark Contracts - for anyone in the Bristol or Clevedon area who is interested.)



What colours do you associate with the spring?

Beech Towel

Kaleidoscopic mandala made using a picture of beech trees taken by Beth from Mother Luck Flower Essences.

---

I spent the weekend with Imelda the GreenishLady - who was more than welcoming; such a joy to be with her and to stay a couple of nights at her place! What's more on Saturday I went to her SoulCollage® workshop which was also wonderful. I really feel so amazed at her hospitality - she picked me up from Belfast airport and took me back - even though it turns out that's more than a two hour drive each way from her place. Such incredible generosity to someone she had never met before. I feel truly blessed. Thank you Imedla!

Update: I've now posted a review of Imelda's workshop on my card blog.