Gypsy Intrigue

It's just the beam of a flashlight on a dark night - or maybe a flash of lightning.  You see just a little bit of the picture - but sometimes it is an unforgettable one.  I've been trying new techniques with my cat painting, and I thought this one turned out well.

The original was a still from a movie of 1918.  Thanks to my parents, I have two books of old movie photos, and they are a continual inspiration.  This was a silent version of Carmen starring opera diva Geraldine Farrar.  Farrar was good looking and knew how to act and pose to effect. She later did a silent film on Joan of Arc that gave my adolescent father the willies.

 This cartoon is another experiment from the old movie book.  I wanted an illustration for an article about the Barclay's Bank scandal for Examiner.com.  The old books came to my aid once again.  (I'm beginning to get a little better at people!)  These figures were taken from a still of the 1938 Dawn Patrol with David Niven and Basil Rathbone.  If you have artistic leanings, cherish all the old family picture books.  You'll find things there to use in a variety of ways.

The cartoon captions above are courtesy of Google +.  I'm delighted they have the old Picnik and expanded graphic tools available.  Their picture editing function has enabled me to photograph saleable art work.

This photo of my son Lawrence was another experiment helped by Google +.  I had never tried night photography before, but he wanted to try a noir shot with his trumped.  This is obviously noir with a tip of the hat to Miles Davis.  I still don't see how anybody could play a trumpet standing in that position!