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

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!

First Night Design | And for my next trick… #Art #Repost

FROM THE ARCHIVE 4th October 2015

And for my next trick, I have used the same Venetian Harbour in Chania photograph (Overlay mode in Photoshop) to show baking hot, sand-encrusted houses overlooking the sea.  The underlay (Normal mo…

Source: First Night Design | And for my next trick… #Art | First Night Design

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!

View of a Harbour – Caspar David Friedrich Card | Zazzle #Sold!

View of a Harbour – Caspar David Friedrich Card created by FirstNightVintage.

Source: View of a Harbour – Caspar David Friedrich Card | Zazzle

Take care and keep laughing!

Swallow with Flowers Mouse Pad | Zazzle #Sold!

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

Source: Swallow with Flowers Mouse Pad | Zazzle

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!

Stained Glass Fish Sticker | Zazzle #Sold!

How pleasing to sell a sheet of round stickers!
Shape: Classic Round Sticker

Make your unique style stick by creating custom stickers for every occasion! From special mailings and scrapbooking to kids’ activities and DIY projects, you’ll find these stickers are great for so many uses. Add your own designs, patterns, text, and pictures!

• Dimensions: Available in 2 sizes:
  • Large: 3″ diameter, 6 stickers per sheet
  • Small: 1.5″ diameter, 20 stickers per sheet
• Printed on white acid-free paper
• Vibrant full-color, full-bleed printing
• Scratch-resistant front, easy peel-and-stick back
• Available in a matte or glossy finish
• Use the “Customize it!” button to choose between 7 different shapes

Source: Stained Glass Fish Sticker | Zazzle

Take care and keep laughing!

“The Lookout” Framed Prints by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

Sight update: I’m seeing the ophthalmologist at 9:30 am this morning!

Features / British Artists 30 March 2015 / The Group-Gallery of Art & Photography 13 March 2015 / Photoshop / Photograph by Fré Sonneveld at Unsplash / Textures from 2 Lil’ Owls /

DOVER BEACH — MATTHEW ARNOLD [1822-1888]

The sea is calm tonight. / The tide is full, the moon lies fair / Upon the straits; on the French coast the light / Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand, / Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. / Come to the window, sweet is the night-air! / Only, from the long line of spray / Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land, / Listen! you hear the grating roar / Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, / At their return, up the high strand, / Begin, and cease, and then again begin, / With tremulous cadence slow, and bring / The eternal note of sadness in. / Sophocles long ago / Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought / Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow / Of human misery; we / Find also in the sound a thought, / Hearing it by this distant northern sea. / The Sea of Faith / Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore / Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. / But now I only hear / Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, / Retreating, to the breath / Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear / And naked shingles of the world. / Ah, love, let us be true / To one another! for the world, which seems / To lie before us like a land of dreams, / So various, so beautiful, so new, / Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, / Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; / And we are here as on a darkling plain / Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, / Where ignorant armies clash by night. • Also buy this artwork on wall prints, apparel, kids clothes, and more.

Source: “The Lookout” Framed Prints by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

Take care and keep laughing!

“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

Lighthouse Impasto Large Clock | Zazzle #Sold!

Sight update: Even though I’m doing so much less in order to rest my eyes, boy, are they sore. The good news is that the hospital had a cancellation and the 6th January appointment has been brought forward to this coming Monday. Mind you, it’s still only a consultation so no resolution for either eye. Grrr! But hey. I’ve sold another clock, which is heartening.

Style: Round (Large)

It’s time to show off your favorite art, photos, and text with a custom round wall clock from Zazzle. Featured in two sizes, this wall clock is vibrantly printed with AcryliPrint®HD process to ensure the highest quality display of any content. Order this custom round wall clock for your walls or give to friends and family as a gift for a timeless treasure.

• 2 sizes: 8″ diameter (medium) or 10.75″ diameter (large).
• Material: Grade-A acrylic.
• One AA battery required (not included).

Source: Lighthouse Impasto Large Clock | Zazzle

Take care and keep laughing!

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

Take care and keep laughing!

Beached Dinghy Framed Print by Sarah Vernon #Gifts #Christmas

Beached Dinghy Framed Print by Sarah Vernon. All framed prints are professionally printed, framed, assembled, and shipped within 3 – 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options.

Source: Beached Dinghy Framed Print by Sarah Vernon

Take care and keep laughing!

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 Stroll Along the Seafront #Art

A Stroll Along the Seafront © Sarah Vernon at Crated

This is a delightful vintage photograph from Wikimedia of the seafront at Southwold (not ‘Southwell’, as the site erroneously calls it) on the Suffolk coast, blended with several textures created out of my photographs. I adore the grainy, textured look. I feel it has a touch of John Atkinson Grimshaw about it…and another artist whose name escapes me. Are you reminded of any other artists? Not, I hasten to add, that I’m putting myself on that level! To enhance the whole, I did quite a deal of work on the tone, sharpness, brightness and contrast and so forth.

A Stroll Along the Seafront Throw Pillow 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 Lookout #Art #Repost

FROM THE ARCHIVE 14th March 2014

Photograph by Fré Sonneveld from Unsplash. Textures 2 Lil’ Owls.

Dover Beach — Matthew Arnold [1822-1888]

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the Fr…

Source: First Night Design | The Lookout | First Night Design