Have Mercy MJ Collage

Before I post this collage, I'm just going to say something that I need to say. I've lost a lot of subscribers/followers since I started posting my Michael Jackson art on my blog. I can only presume that some people don't like Michael, because the loss of subscribers always follows my posting of MJ art. I find that rather sad. Not because I'm losing followers, but because there are so many people who seem to buy into the tabloid B.S. and outright lies about Michael Jackson.

Clearly, I am a fan. I'm not in any way ashamed of that fact. I'm also an educated, logical, practical, and open-minded person, who refuses to let the  narrow-minded and confused judgments of others sway my way of thinking about him. Michael was a GOOD person. A compassionate person. A loving person. He was not a freak, nor was he the monster so many have labeled him to be simply based on lies and false accusations waged against him. And I will continue to create art with Michael as my subject matter, because he inspires me not only to be creative, but to be a better human being. If that costs me followers, I can live with that.

If you're not a fan, that's fine. We are all free to like whatever and whomever we want to. But if you're not a fan based solely on lies, I can only suggest that you do your research and learn the facts and truth about Michael Jackson before you judge him. Every bit of truth about the kind of man that he was is readily available in books, on various websites, and in court transcripts. The facts don't lie.

Michael didn't deserve the constant ridicule, judgment and hate he was subjected to in the media and by the general public. He was different,  yes, but he was also human...with real feelings, real emotions. And he hurt, just like anybody else.

And that's what this digital collage is about. Its text is from a handwritten note by Michael himself. And the photo I used is one of my favorites of him. With June 25th marking the 2nd anniversary of his death, it seemed like an appropriate way to remember him...and to remember that we should never judge people until we've walked "two moons in their moccasins."

MJ Have Mercy Michael Jackson Art


I've also entered this into the 3 Muses Written Word Challenge. And I'll just end this post with a variety of favorite relevant quotes.

When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.

The more one judges, the less one loves.

Do not judge and you will never be mistaken.
To sit in judgment of those things which you perceive to be wrong or imperfect is to be one more person who is part of judgment, evil or imperfection.

Very often when you look at the moon, you see only a part of it, but you know there is a much larger object there. Very often we look at a person, and we see or are aware of only a small sliver of their life, and we may think that is all there is. But there is always more than meets the eye.

Before you judge me, try hard to love me. (Michael Jackson)

Sea Sisters Digital Collage

Last week's challenge at the Collage Obsession blog was to use some vintage photos of mermaids in a collage. I didn't have time last week to create a collage for this challenge, but I still wanted to use those mermaids to create something to add to my Digital Collages collection. So even though I'm tardy to that party, here is what I created using the 2 mermaid images they provided.

Sea Sisters Digital Collage


I started with a digital photograph of a rocky beach shore on Lake Erie that I took while on vacation a few years ago. I altered that photo quite a bit and added my usual watercolor effect, and then I added in the mermaids, along with some flowers for an extra pop of color. And that is my Sea Sisters digital collage. I really like how it turned out. :)

John at The Lake

My time in my studio has slowed down such a great deal the last month or two. I'm hoping that will change come this fall; but for now, when I am unable to spend the hours I'd like to getting down and dirty in the studio, I focus my creative energies on my digital art. It's kind of funny too, because I never thought I'd be one to get so excited doing digital art. But I really do absolutely positively love it! I hope you enjoy my creations a bit too.

This digital sketch I've created is from a photo I took of the Hubs at Lake Michigan last year. We always try to spend a weekend by the water somewhere for our anniversary each year, so this was one of those trips.

John at the Lake Digital Art

Ahh, memories. That's the stuff, isn't it?

I Do Believe in Fairies

I'm sure it's fairly clear by now that I love taking pictures of my granddaughter. I also have a thing for fairies. And it must be equally clear that I'm rather obsessed with digital photos and digital art right now. So please forgive me if I post another digital image creation of my granddaughter. Or should I say, the fairy who looks just like her...

Fairies Digital Art


I absolutely love how this turned out.  My husband even requested a printed version of it. Believe me, THAT is a compliment. And somehow I think there are more fairy photos in my future. ;)

Love Swans Digital Art

The theme for this week's challenge over at Collage Obsession is in Swans, so I decided to join in and create a digital collage so I can participate. My collage is called Love Swans, or just L'Amour.


Love Swans Digital Art




I started with a digital photo and transformed it with various filters and digital elements in PhotoScape. I like the pastel hues and the fantasy quality of it and I really like how it turned out. :)

Say Cheese Altered Kraft Envelope

I was feeling like doing some Altered Art when I was finally able to make it into my studio for a couple of hours. And since I have a whole bunch of Kraft envelopes out there, I thought I'd go ahead and alter one of those. My Say Cheese project is the result.

Say Cheese Altered Art


I started by using some Tea Dye Distress Ink all over the envelope, adding extra to the edges. I wanted it to look fairly grungy. Next I added some blue patterned scrap paper across the top. Then I added a vintage photo of some lovely ladies, who look to me like they're having their photo taken. I added some alpha stickers on the photo to spell out "Smile, Marcy." I used some Tim Holtz clear film down the right side to go with the photo theme and also added a flower near the top of the envelope. Then at the bottom I added my Say Cheese paper sentiment, along with a camera image and a button. Granted, the button doesn't make much sense. But it's blue and I just needed something with color down there. ;)

Your Beach or Mine ATC

I had so much fun altering an existing Altered Art piece recently (Altered Mona Hangtag) that I decided to do it again for the City Crafter By the Sea Challenge.

Your Beach or Mine Altered Art


I took my original Life's a Beach ATC, which is made out of paper products, and I altered it digitally to become a new ATC, Your Beach or Mine.  It's really fun to take something made out of paper and then use digital means to alter it into something new. It lets me combine two different art passions, Altered Art and digital art, into one medium. I was glad I could stretch those skills a bit for this challenge!

Altered Mona Hangtag

Last year I created a Mona Lisa hangtag...I love using famous artworks in my own projects! So when I saw the recent 3 Muses Challenge, Altered Mona, I thought I'd have fun and actually digitally alter my existing What Mona Wants Altered Hangtag to turn it into new artwork for this challenge. And this is my result...

What Mona Wants Hang Tag

This was really fun! Since I can't get into my studio right now, altering some existing altered art in a digital way was the perfect solution. And it still let me be creative, which is so important to me, even when I'm crunched for time! Hope you like it too. :)

It's Destiny

It's been nearly a month since I've been able to get into my studio. So unfortunately, I haven't been able to do much creating of late. I've only been doing digital art during that time, mostly of Michael Jackson, since he's pretty  much my favorite subject matter these days. :) But I did do one edit of a photo I took of my granddaughter, Destiny, on Easter. Thought I'd share that since I haven't been able to share much else lately.

Destiny Photo Edit


I decided to make the background of the photo black and white, and leave Destiny in color to make her really pop out more. I love how it turned out. And I know I am not impartial, but doesn't she look adorable in her Easter dress? ;)

I'm quite fond of using this technique in my digital work. It's really a great way to add emphasis to almost any photo. I post all of my MJ edits and digital art on my ArtChick4MJ blog, if you have interest in seeing more of what I do there.

When I can't get into my studio, digital art is my creative outlet and refuge. Whether it's just editing digital photos or creating different types of digital collage or other digital art, it's what gets me through until I can get into my studio again.