Lesley Smitheringale Fine Art

Free Animals and Bugs Icons

I found these rather cute animals icons which are free for personal use.

l to r: bugs sigma and tiny animals vista

available to download from http://www.freeiconsdownload.com/index.html

These icons are originally from http://www.iconshock.com/web-icons.php and there are more free icons available at this site also.

Featured Artist: Alberto Seveso

This talented, young Italian graphic designer has developed a wonderfully innovative, fresh and inspirational digital technique which you can’t help but admire. I adore how he has incorporated photographic imagery with vector graphics, fantasy and organic shapes with a vibrant and decadent colourful palette.

My computer career has started around 15 years ago with an AMIGA 1200 and Deluxe Paint, i’m a photosohop user from around ten years and an illustrator user from six
i use only these two software for the illustration.

You can see more of Alberto’s work at:

http://www.recycledarea.co.uk/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/indiffident/

Through the Looking Glass

When I first saw this photograph it impacted me in a lot of ways and it’s rare for a photograph to evoke such emotion in me.  For the monkey to mimic the little girl’s actions of pressing its hands against the window is incredible to begin with but look at the emotion, intensity and intelligence in the monkey’s eyes!  He and the girl are sharing a moment of such incredible, innate spontanaeity and depth that I find so moving.  The added interest of the adult monkey looking on is also quite special and the sadness of the monkeys being trapped in captivity is overwhelming.  This is probably the best photograph I have ever seen in terms of evoking emotion and capturing a special moment that I wanted to share with you.  For me, it’s an image that will stay with me and one that I will re-visit often.

The original photograph is hosted on ImageShack and taken by singeriesyq7 (I think) but I couldn’t actually find this person when I went on to ImageShack.  Whoever you are and if you discover this post, I would love you to contact me.

Featured Artist: David Hemmings

I love discovering artists, designers and photographers who are new to me, hence my regular “featured artist” posts and there is always a “buzz” when their work appeals to you. 

I am basically an amateur photographer who started with didgital photography in the summer of 2005. My main interest is nature photography. My main focus (no pun intended) is birds for know. I hope to start doing some landscape and macro this spring/summer. I live in Whitby, Ontario, Canada and I am blessed with an abundance of photo opportunities close to home.

 Check out David’s complete portfolio here

Featured Artist: Gary Fernandez

Gary Fernández is a freelance illustrator and graphic artist based in Madrid, Spain. This talented, young artist has produced a fold-out book full of his luscious illustrations entitled “INTRODUCTION TO FANTASTIC GIRLS, FUTURE LANDSCAPES & THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BIRDS EVER SEEN”

He’s also the co-founder and creative head of the T-shirt brand VelvetBanana. (www.velvetbanana.net)

Garden Guests Diary - Spider Webs - 12 April 2008

I’ve been brushing against spiders and their webs but they just keep on building them despite me accidentally breaking them apart when I’m trying to get a bit closer to nature in the garden. I do try to tread carefully but sometimes it’s hard to see the fine, intricate webbing that they weave..

See more of my abstract spider webs here

Garden Guests Diary - 11 April 2008

A big and fat caterpillar but I don’t know what kind of butterfly or moth he will turn out to be and two damselflies getting very “intimate”.

Business Cards from Zazzle

I recently mentioned Zazzle where you can upload your photographs to be printed on all kinds of products such as posters, cards, badges, mugs, mousepads etc.  They have just recently started printing business cards and I designed and ordered 100 for myself.  They arrived in the mail yesterday and I am very impressed with the quality of printing, the colours are bright and the lettering sharp.  They offer a range of sizes and numerous types of card to print onto such as linen, pearl, indestructable, plain white.  They are double sided which is fantastic and you can order a minimum of 20.  If you’re stuck for design ideas, there are already lots of pre-designed templates to choose from.  If you’re thinking of getting business or profile cards done, I would highly recommend Zazzle and the cost is very reasonable.  Here is my card.

Featured artist: Tim Flach - Equine Images

I have featured Tim Flach on my site before but this “award winning photographer was commissioned by PQ Blackwell Publishing in New Zealand to produce a fine art book of equine images. Flach immersed himself in the world of the horse in order to celebrate the animal in visual form. His approach, to the subject is ground-breaking.”

More on his website

Polar Bear Family

There’s a slight chill in the temperature here in Brisbane and I thought it timely to show you this adorable polar bear family I came across. Unfortunately, I don’t know who took the photographs and I am unable to acknowledge the artist but I couldn’t resist them.