First Night Design | The Secret Gate #New #Art

‘Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.’ Khalil Gibran

I took this view from one of my favourite vantage points in Bembridge before I went into hospital on the August Bank Holiday. I used a Chiaroscuro effect in Topaz Impression before processing in Photoshop by adding a Cheryl Tarrant texture in Multiply mode.

The Secret Gate Card

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Looking for Landseer Postcard | Zazzle #Sold! #Cataract

Good News and Bad News. Again

As some of you already know, I had a successful cataract operation on my right eye yesterday morning. It was a relief to get it done. It will take a while for the sight to settle down and I know from previous experience that I’ll have a bit of double vision to contend with. However, it was a quick and painless experience and no overnight stay as it was in Crete nearly 18 months ago with the left eye.

Talking of the left eye, they removed a stitch but it wasn’t one that had been causing problems and I was left with Trump’s lips! I queried it and forced them to look again. It could be many things, the surgeon said, but there was nothing they could do about it. I’m not going to leave it at that but get a second opinion from the surgeon with whom I had the original consultation. What can I say but repeat that it’s the story of my life from womb to now!

• Dimensions: 4.25″ x 5.6″ (portrait) or 5.6″ x 4.25″ (landscape)
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The most popular paper choice, Matte’s eggshell texture is soft to the touch with a smooth finish that provides the perfect backdrop for your chosen designs.

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• Made and printed in the USA

 

Source: Looking for Landseer Postcard | Zazzle

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Cosmic Collision T-Shirt for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Purchase an adult t-shirt featuring the image of Cosmic Collision by Sarah Vernon. Available in sizes S – 4XL. Each t-shirt is printed on-demand, ships within 1 – 2 business days, and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Source: Cosmic Collision T-Shirt for Sale by Sarah Vernon

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Solitude Galaxy S6 Case for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Solitude Galaxy S6 Case for Sale by Sarah Vernon. Protect your Galaxy S6 with an impact-resistant, slim-profile, hard-shell case. The image is printed directly onto the case and wrapped around the edges for a beautiful presentation. Simply snap the case onto your Galaxy S6 for instant protection and direct access to all of the phone’s features!

Source: Solitude Galaxy S6 Case for Sale by Sarah Vernon

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“By The Sea” Calendars by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

A selection of my art with a sea theme – Sarah Vernon

Source: “By The Sea” Calendars by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

Looking For Landseer Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon

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

Source: Looking For Landseer Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon

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At the Going Down of the Sun Round Clock | Zazzle #Sold!

Oh, the frustration of not being able to see clearly enough to create some new art or read all your blogs! In the meantime…

Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]

Source: At the Going Down of the Sun Round Clock | Zazzle

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Give Thanks Tote Bag for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Give Thanks 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: Give Thanks Tote Bag for Sale by Sarah Vernon

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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 | Cosmic Collision #Art

Cosmic Collision © Sarah Vernon @ Crated

Another of my moody and mysterious efforts comprising a collision between a texture by 2 Lil’ Owls via Design Cuts and a photograph by Rachel Davis at Unsplash of the Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany.

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your servants, lady !

Beautiful roses from Paul Militaru. I didn’t realise they were roses to start with!

Photo post by @PaulMilitaru.

Source: your servants, lady !

First Night Design | Solitude #Art

Solitude Framed Print © Sarah Vernon – Fine Art America

I created Solitude while I was still in Crete. Although I wasn’t thinking so at the time, you could say it symbolises my yearning for peace and solitude, as well as freedom from fear and anxiety, all of which I know that my cottage on the Isle of Wight will provide, even though it doesn’t look like the photograph by Antony Delanoix (Unsplash).  As you can see below, it’s quite bland and thus a perfect starting point for my playing. I couldn’t find any details but I imagine it’s Greece or Turkey or some Mediterranean country.

Anthony Delanoix

Solitude Tea Cup by FirstNightDesign

I used a grungy yellow background from my arsenal and a texture from Kerstin Frank and, though I say it myself as shouldn’t, I was delighted with the effect! Hope you are too.

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“Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.”
― Honoré de Balzac

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Solitude Laptop Skin © Sarah Vernon – Redbubble

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“If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre

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Solitude Postage Stamp by FirstNightDesign

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“Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.”
― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

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Solitude Watch by FirstNightDesign

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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

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First Night Design | Turning Windmill #Art

Buy Turning Windmill @ Sarah Vernon at Saatchi Art

Inspired by the work of J M W Turner, I created Turning Windmill (yes, the part-pun is intentional!) by using one of my textures, one from Kerstin Frank and a photograph of a windmill in Estonia from Wikimedia.

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‘Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on—that is, badly.’
George Orwell, Animal Farm

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Buy Turning Windmill Tile © Sarah Vernon at Zazzle

When I first posted about Turning Windmill in January 2014, I was not at all sure about it and had yet to upload the image to any of my galleries. But those of you who were following my blog at the time were enthusiastic and I went ahead and put it up for sale. I’ve become very fond of the image and am rather glad I left it as it is.

Buy Turning Windmill Service Tray © Sarah Vernon at Zazzle

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“This little piggy saved some water,
This little piggy biked for sun,
This little piggy used windmills,
This little piggy used sun,
And this little piggy squealed
‘Re-re-recycle!’
All the way home.”
― Jan Peck and David Davis illustrated by Carin Berger

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Take care and keep laughing!

 

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First Night Design | The Eel Fisher’s Hut #Abstract #Art

The Eel Fisher’s Hut © Sarah Vernon @ Redbubble

Abstract created in Photoshop with a couple of textures from 2 Lil’ Owls and a photochrom colour print from Wikimedia of an eel fisher’s hut on the Bore (Bure River) England, between 1890 and 1900.

It’s something a little different from my usual work. It was adding the textures from 2 Lil’ Owls that completely changed my original idea — yes, I had one in mind for once. I added one texture in Normal mode and overlaid it with another in Colour Burn before setting the original photograph to Soft Light. The resulting fire damage effect was far too appealing to me to let it go.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Take care and keep laughing!