My love of National Parks began when I was very young. My father was a professor at Utah State University and every summer we would go on a ‘trailer trip’ with him to his Conservation Education Association Conference that was held in a different state each year. My dad specifically set driving routes for us to see as much of the US as possible – I had visited 49 of the 50 states before I got married. He also made a point to visit as many of the National Parks as we could! I feel so blessed!
Two of my biggest passions are TRAVEL and PHOTOGRAPHY. I love going on adventures and love taking LOTS and LOTS of photographs to help me make the memories we created. Now I was looking for ways to ‘get creative’ with my photograhs.
The pictures from Left to Right below are from 1) Desert View Tower on the rim of the Grand Canyon, 2) Ferns in the Grove of the Patriarchs in Mt Rainier and 3) Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park.
Are you learning any new skills?
I took a class this past year to learn from Bonnie Christine to use Adobe Illustrator to create surface pattern designs. In addition to learning the skills we needed to create the designs for our Scandinavian Winter Fabric line, which by the way Kira and Kayla did MOST of the work related to using the Adobe programs, I learned two new really cool things.
1) I learned to make a color palette from a photograph. Below is a picture I took in Antelope Canyon in AZ and the color palette I created from it.
2) I learned how to use the image trace feature to turn a photograph into an illustration – and I have been having fun tinkering with that ever since! I turned the picture I took of Mt Hood up the Columbia River Gorge with the wildflowers in bloom into an illustration.
Putting those skills to use!
My daughter, Kira, just started teaching Biology at Legend High School this year. She wanted to put posters up on the walls for each of her science experiment stations, and determined that National Parks would be a great theme. I have been lucky enough to have visited many of our National Parks and so I pulled pictures for 16 different parks and turned them into Illustrations. Kira then put them in InDesign and added borders and text.
I wanted to show you the before and after…. I took this picture of Delicate Arch one spring when there was quite a bit of snow. Luckily my amazing husband had a cup of hot chocolate waiting for me at the truck when I got back after dark. It was lots of fun turning the photograph into an illustration. I love how it turned out – what do you think?
I have added all of the National Park Posters I created to our website – click here to see all of them. They can be downloaded as a digital file that you can print as a 16″ x 20″ poster.
Custom Art Print?
We started a new tradition about four years ago where we take our grandkids on a ‘trailer trip’ and we always include at least one National Park. This past year we went through New Mexico and visited Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Park. I loved the picture of the four of them at sunset. I turned it into an Illustration/Poster and then had it printed on canvas so it can hang on my wall right by my work station.
Would you like an Art Print created from one of your favorite photos?
If yes, just head out to our website and provide information about the photograph and the text that you would like on the poster, and upload your photograph. Once I have designed your poster, you will receive an email with a link that where you can download a digital files – you will receive a high quality .jpeg. You can use this file to print a 16” x 20” picture on matte or glossy papers, or on canvas. Click here to check it out.
I got to go skiing at Telluride ski resort a week ago. They only had four lifts open, but at the top of the highest lift, I found frosted trees and fresh power – it brought me so much joy … and peace – and I wanted to share it with you. Download it for free on our website – just click here.
I’ll sign off with one of my favorite quotes from John Muir …. “Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life…. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees”.
Merry Christmas!
Sheila
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