The Chinese Vase Poster | Zazzle #Sold!

Health update: You may be aware that I spent two weeks in hospital with severe gastroenteritis followed by hospital-acquired pneumonia. It’s a wonderful life! I’m still not up to writing anything substantial, I’m afraid, so here’s another sale.

Paper Type: Poster Paper (Semi-Gloss)

Your walls are a reflection of your personality. So let them speak with your favorite quotes, art, or designs printed on our posters! Choose from up to 5 unique paper types and several sizes to create art that’s a perfect representation of you.

• 53 lb., 7.9 point thick poster paper
• Recommended for large-format posters
• Semi-gloss finish
• More paper types available under “Paper Options”
• Add a premium quality frame as an essential accessory

Source: The Chinese Vase Poster | Zazzle

First Night Design | Bembridge Lifeboat Station #Art #New

Click to buy Bembridge Lifeboat Station framed print (Fine Art America) © Sarah Vernon

As some of you know, our summer holidays as children were spent in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight where I now live. The other week I trundled round on my mobility scooter visiting my favourite haunts. This shot of Bembridge Lifeboat Station through the trees is just where the steps lead down to the beach and to the exact spot we invariably used for swimming.

It is true the original photograph is rather appealing and some of you on Facebook have already seen it as my header but true to form, I had to play.

I used two textures from Design Cuts — a yellow-based and a green-based one. I ran the photograph through Topaz Impression three or four times to produce different effects. I chose to layer ‘Cezanne 1’ and ’Cavedweller’ (as you do) and blended them with the textures to produce a digital painting. I hope it pleases you as much as it did me in its creation.

Click to buy Bembridge Lifeboat Station tote bag (Fine Art America) © Sarah Vernon

Part of a paper read to the Ladies of Shanklin Evening Institute, October 1951.

“It is quite possible that some among you are quite ignorant of everything connected with Lifeboat work […] I have no intention of going back into remote history, or to the founding of the Institution in 1824.  Moreover, I expect you will think that I have gone back quite far enough if I commence with the time of your grandfathers, and I select that particular time because it was then that the proud reputation of the Lifeboat Institution was built up, on the great hearts and stout muscles of the grand old men who served as crews for the small pulling and sailing lifeboats stationed round our coasts.  But to really understand the heroism of these grand old fellows, and to give them full credit for their marvellous rescues, and for their self-sacrificing efforts, one must be possessed of…” Bembridge Lifeboat

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

At The Water’s Edge Throw Pillow for Sale by Sarah Vernon

At The Water’s Edge Throw Pillow by Sarah Vernon. Our throw pillows are made from 100% spun polyester poplin fabric and add a stylish statement to any room. Pillows are available in sizes from 14″ x 14″ up to 26″ x 26″. Each pillow is printed on both sides (same image) and includes a concealed zipper and removable insert (if selected) for easy cleaning.

Source: At The Water’s Edge Throw Pillow for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Take care and keep laughing!

Thanksgiving Hideaway Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Thanksgiving Hideaway Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon. Our premium-stock greeting cards are 5″ x 7″ in size and can be personalized with a custom message on the inside of the card. All cards are available for worldwide shipping and include a money-back guarantee.

Source: Thanksgiving Hideaway Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Take care and keep laughing!

Scent Of Pines Tote Bag for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Scent Of Pines Tote Bag by Sarah Vernon. The tote bag is machine washable, available in three different sizes, and includes a black strap for easy carrying on your shoulder. All totes are available for worldwide shipping and include a money-back guarantee.

Source: Scent Of Pines Tote Bag for Sale by Sarah Vernon

First Night Design | Saint-Étienne Re-imagined #Art #Repost

As you know, I can never resist altering a modern photograph in order to give it a vintage feel. The original photograph of Saint Étienne Fontaine du Square Jean Cocteau in Paris is by Daniel Vill…

Source: First Night Design | Saint-Étienne Re-imagined #Art

First Night Design | At the Water’s Edge – New #Art

At the Water’s Edge Framed Print at Fine Art America © Sarah Vernon

I confess to being inordinately pleased with how this turned out. Taking a photograph of rotting hulks on the Isle of Mull by DeFacto from Wikimedia, I gave it two coloured pencil treatments in Topaz Impressions. I inverted one of my muddy terracotta backgrounds so that it became blue. The final touch was to layer the photograph over the background in Photoshop’s Multiply mode.

All the usual products are available.

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | A Burgundy Rose in Snow #Art

Thank you all so much for commenting on my Rose in Snow post and giving me the confidence to upload the piece to my galleries. I made one change, which was to ensure the rose itself covered the whole area so that no background green is showing. I like it better this way.

A Burgundy Rose in Snow Flask by FirstNightDesign

A Burgundy Rose in Snow Throw Pillow by FirstNightDesign

A Burgundy Rose in Snow Card by FirstNightDesign

A Burgundy Rose in Snow Postage by FirstNightDesign

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | The Sports Pavilion #Art

The Sports Pavilion © Sarah Vernon at Crated

The Sports Pavilion uses a photograph from a store called Clark Street Mercantile who have added what I assume to be their brochure photographs to that great free resource, Unsplash.

In the first instance I used Topaz Impressions’ chiaroscuro effect but I wanted something else. To this end I added 2LO Texture Artists 2 in the Multiply mode and enhanced the brightness and contrast. The image now appears to be a charmingly aged print of an old sports pavilion from, say, the 1920s or ’30s. Well, I like to think so!

The Sports Pavilion Tote Bags © Sarah Vernon at FAA

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | Shadow Deer #Art

Shadow Deer © Sarah Vernon Greeting Cards

I was profoundly moved recently to read about the carbon ‘imprint’ of a man who had been sitting on the stone steps outside the Sumitomo bank in Hiroshima when the bomb fell at 8.15am on 6th August 1945.

The ‘shadow’ left by his body was visible for many years until time and weather all but erased it. “Receiving the rays directly, the victim must have died on the spot from massive burns. The surface of the surrounding stone steps was turned whitish by the intense heat rays. The place where the person was sitting became dark like a shadow.” Google Cultural Institute

When the new bank was built, the steps were taken to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and an etching of the ‘shadow’ was created in memory of that fateful day when so many lives were ruined or — depending on your point of view — many more were potentially saved.

Shadow Deer © Sarah Vernon – Samsung Galaxy Cases & Skins

Whether this happenstance was in my subconscious when I decided to do something with Paul Earle’s photograph of deer in Bushy Park, Hampton (near London), I cannot say. If you like to ‘read’ things into other people’s work, you might say it’s my stand against the destruction of nature and wildlife where the planet will soon be a world of just such shadows.

My tongue is slightly in my cheek because I’m always amused by the things the critics read into the work they’re discussing and the ideas they attribute to the creator. I can just imagine the said artist or writer looking down from above and pooh-poohing the symbolism being expounded. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous — I wasn’t thinking anything of the kind!”

Shadow Deer © Sarah Vernon Throw Pillows

The deer in Earle’s original photograph are already in silhouette but putting the image in Linear Burn mode over the Ancient times 20 texture by 2 Lil’ Owls has increased the effect and given the image a rich, vibrant hue that you could say portends future atomic destruction!

Shadow Deer Flasks by FirstNightDesign

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!