If you are like me there has been some point in your life where you have looked at one of your photos and said to yourself, "Wow, that could almost be a painting!" Were you aware that there are digital techniques that you can use to transform your photos into a watercolor or pen and ink painting or charcoal drawing? Once you have transformed them they then can be printed on canvas or fine art watercolor paper for that true art feel and permanence. Digital photography methods today are bridging the gap between "fine art photography" and simply "fine art." What could take a painter days, weeks and months to create now can be done digitally in a few hours. And many techniques can be applied to the same image. It all depends on how you want to "interpret" your art work. Photoshop Elements has many amazing filter tools that only require a little bit of time and experimentation in order to figure out how to use them to enhance your photographs. Adding a bit of "noise" or "Gaussian Blur" to your photograph can do wonders to transform your ordinary photo into a work of art. As you practice you will become familiar with many of the filter tools available and you will soon figure out that you will want to apply different tools to certain parts of your image. A simple way to do this is to select an area of your picture that you want to apply an effect to and "cut it" from the main photo and copy it into a new folder. When you have done this you can then work on each part of your image independently. Finally, once you have finished adding your effects to the part you had cut away you can simply copy it back into the original image and relocate it to the proper position. It will literally "snap" into place when you line it up with where it needs to be. Photoshop Elements has some wonderful "Effects" tools and experiment with some of these to see what they can do with your image. Ahhh, and when you have created some masterpieces, try converting them into black and white or select portions of your image as black and white while other portions remain in color. You will get a "painted effect" on the color portion. When you are using these filters you are literally altering the pixels of the image. This allows you to make the image far larger without the loss of resolution that you would experience with a normal photo. For example, we have applied some techniques to an image taken on an 8 megapixel digital camera and have then printed that image at 30 x 40 inches on canvas and it is stunning...and it can easily go larger.
A teak chair evokes a lot of praise about its durability, attractiveness grain and coloration and its popularity in patio furniture. However, teak was once a part of the art world. Modernism, an art movement prevalent in the mid-20th century, was not confined to just galleries and expositions. It had crossed into the public sector as a functional design movement, and one branch of it, Scandinavian Modern, saw great success in the American market, where a new life was breathed into the teak chair and other furniture made from the special hardwood.
The Beginnings of Scandinavian Modern
This Scandinavian school of design first came about around the start of World War II, where designs like the bent-plywood prototypes of Alvar Aalto were displayed at the 1939 World Fair in New York. It was not until the end of the war, though, when formerly occupied Scandinavia, had the freedom and outlet to express the years of oppression and hardship they had faced. What resulted was a look to the past as inspiration, in the form of traditional crafts like pottery, weaving, glassblowing and woodworking. However, finding materials did not prove easy as a result of wartime shortages, and artisans could at first only work with limited natural materials like oak, birch, linen and clay.
New Materials
As the movement gained momentum and reached a larger audience, so too did the materials become more exotic, and this where the teak chair and other previously hard to find materials became available. Though native the Southeast Asia, teak had already achieved worldwide success as a building material for structures, furniture and ships by the mid-19th century. It was a only a matter of time, then, that Scandinavian craftsmen took up the flexible and workable wood.
Early Practitioners
Two of the main names associated with Scandinavian Modern are Hans Wegner and Finn Juhl. Wegner was called the master of line and detail, while Juhl had perfected the art of structure. Together their works encompassed a style that was both avant garde but approachable. These first designs laid the foundation for the school of design, from where it gained acceptance and further exposure on a grand scale.
Introduction to America
When it first appeared on the American market, Scandinavian Modern was thought by many people to be austere and forbiddingly expensive. To say a teak chair other high-end goods are expensive to begin with is one thing; match that with the ?of the moment? art movement and watch the prices go up. As a result, most middle class citizens could not afford it, and it took the help of one Edgar Kauffman, Jr. to convince the people otherwise. Kauffman worked at the New York Museum of Modern Art, and as the son of the owner of Frank Llyod Wright's ?Falling Water,? he had secured for himself a prominence in the New York design scene. His enthusiastic opinion on the modern movement proved to be a vital turning point. From there, Scandinavian Modern popped up in local stores like Bonniers and Raymor, where well-to-do New Yorkers began buying up pieces. A subset of the movement, Danish Modern, was especially popular during these few decades. After the furniture began to sell in New York, there was a trickling effect outwards to the rest of the country. All of a sudden, younger generations were reveling in the distinct postwar style. At the same time, large retail stores began building their own versions of the Scandinavian teak chair and other furniture stylings. Americans in particular were more receptive to the exotic woods like teak, wenge and rosewood.
Peak and Decline
Because of the mass market influx, prices for Scandinavian Modern furniture dropped significantly. By 1963 the movement had reached an acme, where pieces were seen in practically every home and store. The 1960s also saw an era of more experimental design, but in the end the most important factor was that now the furniture could be seen selling at every price point. For the well off, there were the big names like Wegner, Juhl and Jense. For the middle and lower classes, the furniture could be purchased at Sears and Penney's. However, by 1966 the trend was starting to wane. A new style, Mediterranean had grabbed the public eye and Scandinavian Modern was on its way out. However, in recent years, it had seen a marked resurgence, especially in conjunction with the European retro chic designs.
Article Source :
About Author
Both David Peters & Tonya Kerniva are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
David Peters has sinced written about articles on various topics from Forex Guide, The Internet and Personal Desktop. Did you like this article? Curious about ? Well now you can by getting this. David Peters's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Tonya Kerniva has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Concerns, Home Management and Room Furniture. Tonya Kerniva is an experienced research and free lance writing professional. She writes actively about and. Tonya Kerniva's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.