Drawing from a Photo: Azaleas and Dogwood at Biltmore

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I never had much artistic ability, although I have always admired people who could play a musical instrument or create beautiful art. So I became very intrigued when I learned how to create a line drawing from a photograph.

The azaleas and dogwood at Biltmore Estate were absolutely gorgeous when we visited on April 14. I thought the scene above would make a pretty good drawing. What do you think?



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Betsy and I enjoyed our last blogging break so much that we are taking another. Hopefully we'll be back about May 9.

Flowers From Our Yard: Honey Glazed Iris

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The first of our iris bloomed last Thursday (April 21). Honey Glazed is one of our re-blooming iris, so we're hoping it will put on another display in October.

Alex Cole Cabin

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The Alex Cole Cabin is located in the Jim Bales Place along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail behind Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The cabin was moved to this location after the park service gained control of the land in the 1930s. It is more representative of the pioneer days of Appalachia than the frame home of the Bales family, which was torn down.

Upper Nebo Falls

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Waterfalls near the tops of mountains usually don't have a lot of water, but they can still be pretty. Upper Nebo Falls is located just below the rim of Mount Nebo in Arkansas.

Dogwood Blossoms

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Our pink dogwood tree is somewhat scraggly, but when the afternoon sun hits the blossoms, the color is just gorgeous.

Drawing from a Photo: Rim View on Mount Nebo

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I never had much artistic ability, although I have always admired people who could play a musical instrument or create beautiful art. So I became very intrigued when I learned how to create a line drawing from a photograph.

The picture above is the view from behind 'our' cabin atop Mount Nebo in Arkansas. The line drawing below was created from this picture.



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Flowers From Our Yard: Towering Prism Tulip

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Towering Prism was a new tulip for us last year. It blooms somewhat later than our other tulips and is also taller than most of our tulips. I guess it just wants to make sure it gets plenty of attention, but as pretty as it is, that shouldn't be a problem.

Foggy Sunset

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I took this picture of the setting sun on a rainy, foggy evening on Mount Nebo in Arkansas. The sunsets are usually spectacular from Mount Nebo, but this is as good as it got that particular day. I will admit, though, that I like this picture with the golden reflection on the wet rocks.

Yahoola Creek Dam

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When Betsy and I were in Dahlonega, Georgia, in March I caught sight of this dam as we crossed a bridge over Yahoola Creek. The water flowing over the top of the dam looked so pretty that I just had to find a place to pull off so I could get a picture.

Wispy Cloud

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We've had rain and storms for the past several days, but the other night I came across this picture I shot of a wispy cloud on a beautiful October day last year. The sky was a stunning blue and that was one of the most unusual clouds I've seen.

Drawing from a Photo: Temple of Heaven

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I never had much artistic ability, although I have always admired people who could play a musical instrument or create beautiful art. So I became very intrigued when I learned how to create a line drawing from a photograph.

And I have now discovered a good use for this technique. Many of my slides are very old (like me) and don't always scan well. A slide of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the Temple of Heaven just wouldn't scan to give me an acceptable -- the colors were 'muddy' and seemed to bleed. I was disappointed.

But I then found that I could make a black-and-white line drawing (above) that actually looked pretty good.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Flowers From Our Yard: Amadeus Mozart Daffodil

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Amadeus Mozart is another new daffodil for us this year. We haven't had a great deal of success with red trumpets in the past, but this red looks pretty good to me.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven

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The Imperial Vault of Heaven is one of the major buildings in The Temple of Heaven near Beijing, China. The vault was built to contain memorial tablets of the ancestors of the emperor. According the ancient Chinese religious belief, heaven is round, and so the major buildings in the Temple of Heaven are also round.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Greenbrier Cascade

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Betsy and I have many favorite places in the Smokies. One such place is the Little Pigeon River near the Greenbrier Campground. It's a beautiful drive when the water levels are up and the river crashes over rocky ledges as it flows.

April Morning in the Glade

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Redbud trees in bloom, blue skies, bright sunshine and Old Glory waving in the breeze. How could any day get off to a better start?

Drawing from a Photo: Mt. Nebo Cabin

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I never had much artistic ability, although I have always admired people who could play a musical instrument or create beautiful art. So I became very intrigued when I learned how to create a line drawing from a photograph.

The photo above is a picture of 'our' cabin on Mount Nebo in Arkansas. The picture below is the line drawing created from it using Adobe Photoshop.



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Flowers From Our Yard: Sunny Girl Daffodil

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Sunny Girl is a new daffodil for us this year. It's a double daffodil with an unusual form, but the color is absolutely stunning.

Rim Trail View

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The 3.5-mile Rim Trail encircles Mount Nebo just below the summit. I found this scene on the eastern side of the mountain.

High Falls

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High Falls is wet-weather waterfall on Mount Magazine in Arkansas. There is not a great deal of water going over the falls, but it does have a certain elegance to it.

Redbud Trees in Bloom

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There are more signs of Spring in our yard on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. We have two redbud trees in our yard, and they are now blooming. These buds are just now opening up.