Al BaMass - In The Sky
Brunton
Maureen Maxwell
Andrew Haysom - Spiralling II
DOWN UNDERartists
Australia and New Zealand
Happy New Year and welcome to Artists Down Under 2025.
I hope everyone had a safe Christmas and got to spend some quality time with their loved ones. The past year has seen it’s ups and downs for most people and I think most of us are glad to see the tail end of it, let’s all make this year a good one. Starting with the first magazine of the year and what a ripper it is, full of creativity and inspiration. I hope you all enjoy it.
This year we reach a milestone with our 100th edition coming up in July, it is a very exciting time for our artists and I know they will have something very special in mind for you.
This month we have two special Art Series from two talented artists that I am happy to share with you, Ilona Abou-Zolof and Rosa Perry. Our monthly artists challenge is an Aussie theme and we have another image in our very popular Chinese Whispers series. The girls from The Art Buddies proudly share with you another in their Quotes Challenges, this month set by Ilona Abou-Zolof. We have artists achievements and an amazing interview with Julie Powell on The Dapper Rabbit, a must read. Andrew Haysom shares with us his Photoshop knowledge on Edge Blending with the remove tool, a must have for everyones arsenal
From myself and all my team, we would like to wish all our artists and readers,
A very
Happy, Prosperous and Creative New Year.
Foxy Squirrel
Jai Johnson - White Lane Studio
Pam Henderson
Rosa Perry - Zebra And Baby
Christina Brunton - Coledale Wave Dancer
https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/dennis-rickard/
SHEARING SHED
https://www.juliepowellphoto.com/ https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/julie-powell/
PEACOCK AND PEONIES II
https://photos.kogekar.com/ https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/hemant-kogekar/
ONCE UPON A TIME
https://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/mick-rooney/
DRAGON EYES
KISHORI
https://www.facebook.com/snapnshootdesigns/ http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/pam-henderson/
artists Achievements monthly down under
artists down under facebook page
The Artists Down Under Public Facebook page has been set up to allow the artists in the group to showcase their work and to enable them to share promotional information about themselves, e.g. exhibitions, awards etc...
You can find the Artists Down Under Public Facebook page at this address; https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtistsDownUnder/
So, if you are an artist in the group, don’t forget to regularly share your work and information here, and to let your friends and family know about the page if they are interested in viewing the latest art and news from the group.
If you are a reader of the magazine who does not have access to the page, please click the link above and request to join. When you request to join you will be asked to answer three simple questions that will allow us to determine if you are an eligible artist who may wish to join the group and therefore be able to post on the page, or a member of the public who can view, comment and like the work on the page. It’s a great place to see some great art from this vibrant group every day!
Three ADU members receive a special gift
Our very good Awake friends Katherine Zdonczyk of Magical Reality Designs and Diane Stafford from WhiteLaneStudio continue to give gifts as a reward for members of the Artists Down Under group who contribute to the ADU Facebook page by regularly posting their artworks and supporting other members with their comments.
Katherine, is well known for her fantastic sets of digital designer backgrounds, masks and all kinds of wonderful elements ready for designers to add to or build a wondrous creation.
Katherine Zdonczyk can be found at @ Oscraps http://bit.ly/3tTMUfM @ Etsy https://etsy.me/3RWjmpU
Diane Stafford from Chester, UK, designs Photoshop textures and overlays for photo artists and photographers to use in their digital artworks. Diane has created another special kit just for Artists Down Under for the month of JANUARY.
Two artists will receive a Diane kit each.
Diane Stafford can be found at https://whitelanestudio.co.uk/biolinks
The JANUARY lucky winners are
Magical Reality Designs Gift Voucher
- Tim Blake
Diane Stafford (WhiteLaneStudio) Texture & Overlay Kit
- Kevin Sims
- Sarah Swain
LIVING THE PHOTO ARTISTIC LIFE
https://issuu.com/thephotoartisticlife/docs/issue118-final?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
Congratulations to the following artists for having their images chosen to appear in the International magazine “Living The Photo Artistic Life”.
Sandra Dann
- Winter Solstice
Rosa Perry
- Nicholas: Spirit Of Giving
Maureen Maxwell
- Another Adventure For Ivy
- Dreaming
Sonia Pusey
- The Whole Of The Moon
- Faces Of The Moon
Helen McLeod
- Living On The Edge
- In The Hare And Now
Ilona Abou-Zolof
- Cold Beauty
- Jingle Bell
Christina Brunton
- Ranfurly
- Love Shack
Kim Ricci
- Trusted Friends
Penny de Jong
- I’m Not Really Peeking
- The Sorcerer
Maureen Maxwell - Dreaming
Sandra Dann - Winter Solstice
Ilona Abou-Zolof - Jingle Bell
Christina Brunton - Ranfurly
Kim Ricci
- Nicholas: The Spirit Of Giving
Christina Brunton - Love Shack
Ilona Abou-Zolof - Cold Beauty
LIVING THE PHOTO ARTISTIC LIFE
Penny de Jong - I’m Not Really Peeking
Sonia Pusey - Faces Of The Moon
Helen McLeod - In The Hare And Now
Helen McLeod - Living On The Edge
Sonia Pusey - The Whole Of The Moon
Maureen Maxwell - Another Adventure For Ivy
Kim Ricci - Trusted Friends
Penny de Jong - The Sorcerer
https://shiftart.com/shift-art-photoshop-challenge-results-december-2024/
TIM BLAKE ( NEW ZEALAND )
HIDDEN FALLS
MYSTIC FALLS
https://www.flickr.com/photos/88165766@N05 https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/karen-waalwyk/
CLOWN IV
https://www.sandradimagery.com/
PRUE WRIGHT ( AUSTRALIA )
GRAND CANYON ELVES
STAR CHILD
artists
DOWN UNDER
Australia and New Zealand
SOME PHOTOSHOP INSPIRATION
EDGE BLENDING WITH THE REMOVE TOOL
By Andrew Haysom
Edge Blending with the Remove Tool
When you use the Remove Background tool, or any other selection technique, to extract something from the background and place on a different background, you inevitably end up with a fringe around the edge of the object, particularly if the new background is lighter or darker than the original background.
There are many different ways of fixing these fringes, some work better than others and results vary from image to image. This article outlines another method to try using the Remove tool.
Figure one shows a sample “Before and After” using this technique.
[Fig 1 – Before and After the Edge Blend]
You could simply paint around the edge of the object with the Remove tool but this technique suggests creating a border selection around the edge of the object first to make that process more accurate.
Firstly create a selection around the extracted object, the easiest way to do this is to hold down the Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and click on the layer mask (if it has been extracted using a layer mask) or on the layer thumbnail of the object itself if it is a transparent background object and not done using a layer mask.
With the selection active click the Brush icon that will be at the left-hand side of the Context Sensitive Taskbar and choose Select Border (see Figure 2), then in the dialog box presented choose the width in pixels for the border you want to cover your edge. Allow a few extra pixels for a feathered edge to be created in the next step.
Click the Brush icon in the Context Sensitive Taskbar again and choose Feather Selection, then choose the number of pixels to feather the border selection.
The border width and feather amount will vary depending on the image and the size of your fringe. You may have try a couple of different widths, or even do this a couple of different times for parts of the same image if the fringe varies in size.
Now create a blank layer, and with that layer selected paint into the selection with the Remove Tool. As you are painting into a selection you can choose a big brush and don’t really need to be too careful (see Figure 3).
[Fig 2 – Creating the border selection]
It is always best to do this type of fix non-destructively on a new blank layer as if some sections aren’t perfect, they can easily be masked out and done again on another new layer. You will have to ensure that the “Sample content from all visible layers” icon in the Options bar is clicked if using a blank layer.
If you have the “Remove after each stroke” unchecked in the Options bar (my preferred setting) click the tick mark in the Options bar or press Enter to have the Remove tool do its thing and blend your edges.
You may find that using the Command+H (Mac) or Control+H (Windows) key to hide the selection “marching ants” gives you a better view of your edge blending as you work your way around the object.
I hope that you find that this technique works well for you.
Andrew Haysom
[Fig 3 – Painting into the selection with the Remove tool]
http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/george-koncz/ http://georgekonczphotography.com/
MARINA HOBBS ( AUSTRALIA )
BOY IN A RAINCOAT
ENERGY WITHIN
DOWN artistsUNDER
STAGE 1 STAGE 2
Pam and Maureen wish you a year
Maureen Maxwell
Pam Henderson
Maureen Maxwell
art by ILONA ABOU-ZOLOF
CRIMSON
ROBYN MCLAUCHLAN ( AUSTRALIA )
ANN ALCOCK ( AUSTRALIA )
BLACK-NECKED STORK
DENISE CAUCHI ( AUSTRALIA )
CHEEKY MONKEY
https://trish-hoskin.myportfolio.com/ http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/trish-hoskin/
art by rosa perry
The Flying fish series
CHRONICLES OF THE SKYFISH
BUBBLE MAKER
CIRCUS FISH
FLIGHT FROM THE UNKNOWN
THE KEEPER OF LOST HOURS
THE NOCTURNAL VOYAGE
https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/kim-ricci/
TRUSTED FRIENDS
https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/al-bamass/
SUPERFICIAL SACRIFICE
END OF THE LINES
https://andrewhaysom.myportfolio.com/ https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/andrew-haysom/
ANNE II
DENISE HUNTER LOGAN ( AUSTRALIA )
artists
DOWN UNDER
Australia and New Zealand
INTERVIEW WITH JULIE POWELL
By Maureen Maxwell
INTRODUCTION
Julie, you’ve been a member of Artists Down Under since the very beginning in 2017. You are also a member of a group of 10 ADU artists to have had your art displayed in every edition, which is a remarkable achievement.
You have also been a major contributor to the administration and running of our group.
Over the years you have produced many wonderful and varied artistic images. You are also known for the detailed and lengthy planning, orchestrating and developing a wide variety of series that range from fairy tales, through iconic stories to addressing some of the issues facing our society today.
In addition to these achievements, you have been regularly published in the international magazine ‘Living the Photo Artistic Life’ and numerous other magazines and other platforms.
I know our members and other readers will be most interested to read about your journey in creating THE DAPPER RABBIT series for an exhibition you held in Melbourne.
THE DAPPER RABBIT
About the Series and Inspiration:
1. What inspired you to create the character of The Dapper Rabbit? It all actually started with a dream. Kind of like Jack the Ripper meets Jekyll and Hyde, but with a life size Victorian gentleman Rabbit. It really is a conceptual series on various social issues such as drinking, gambling, spousal abuse, domestic violence and more.
2. How did you come up with the unique blend of humour, style, and drama and subtle horror that defines the series?
That’s where the rabbit came in. If I did the same images but just a man and the bride’s face was shown it would have been more shocking, I think. Dehumanising the characters made it feel less shocking.
3. What was your favourite thing about creating The Dapper Rabbit? I had never created anything on this scale. I learned so much about photography and digital art while creating this series. How to plan and prepare such creative and conceptual portraits. I loved that so many people got involved and believed in this madcap adventure which took over 2 years to create.
4. How do you balance the horror elements with the more dramatic moments in the stories? I had hoped by keeping the main characters mostly ‘faceless’ and indeed more of a caricature it would appear more like cartoon violence. Indeed I kept the blood to a bare minimum, only used it to tell the story.
The Creative Process:
1. Can you walk us through your creative process, from initial idea to the final artwork? At first, I just wanted to create the opening scene of the Rabbit in the woods. I had to find the suit, the rabbit head and convince my husband to get involved. I had such a vivid image in my mind, but getting than in-camera was the tricky part. I was still fairly new to photography back then, but hungry to learn as much as I could. From there the Scenes for Enough, 1,2,3, Australian Gothic and Through the Window came about from a discussion on building on the story with fellow creatives and a fortuitous weekend at the Beechworth Asylum. From there I wanted to really flesh out the story. I teamed up with a Horror Short Story writer who really brought it all together. Over time I became with obsessed with telling the whole story, and it grew over time.
2. How do you develop the characters and their personalities? The bride was always nameless and faceless, as is often the case with domestic violence. I wanted her to be anyone and everyone who has ever dealt with abuse or domestic violence. Edward was the perfect gentleman to all who saw him, but he had a sinister side.
3. What tools and techniques do you use to create your art? I mapped it out on paper and drew stick figures in my notebook. Planned what props and locations I would need. It was all caught back then on my Nikon D5300 camera and edited in Photoshop.
4. How do you approach the colour palette and overall aesthetic of your work? I wanted it to have an aged, desaturated look, almost painterly feel to it. I admit to being torn between colour and B&W. I wanted a Victorian feel to it but decided on a muted colour palette in stead.
1 - Edward Hyde
2 - Edward
The Dapper Rabbit’s World:
1. What is your favourite aspect of the world you’ve created for The Dapper Rabbit?
In some ways it made me feel like a real artist. It brought me lots of recognition and status. I was offered a private collection showcase at a gallery, and it was seen by a lot of people. What started out quite literally as a dream, was seen and understood by so many people. I had so much terrific and inspiring feedback.
2. Are there any hidden details or Easter eggs that fans might enjoy discovering?
Yes…certain props, which were bought or made for this series, appear – the carved rabbit head walking stick, the pocket watch, the wedding dress was worn by several different people, The Bride was not just one person, as Edward was. The cat and the body…my daughter and her cat (he just wandered in as we were shooting in the garage). So he is in the original photo.
3. What is my favourite overall image?
So many, but I guess my absolute favourite is Through the Window. It was a chance photo in an old house we drove past and decided to explore. I loved the reflections in the broken window and Edward peering out. My other is Australian Gothic and the original Edward Hyde in the forest.
4. Are there any plans for spin-offs or other projects featuring the character?
Probably not. Although I often get asked that. The Rabbit may make an appearance as another character, but not Eward Hyde. Taking 2 years to complete, I think I did this series justice.
MAUREEN’S CLOSING COMMENTS
Thank you, Julie, for giving us such a detailed look at the journey you undertook to create The Dapper Rabbit Exhibition. The amount of work, skill and creativity you devoted to this exhibition is outstanding. It is a superb series addressing such a difficult subject that affects our society today.
3 - Australian Gothic
4 - The Poker Game
5 - The Death Scene
7 - Burying The Evidence 10 - Enough
6 - The Body
8 - Through The Window
13 - Descent Into Madness
14 - Death Is Just 15 - The Beginning
https://www.facebook.com/lksmithphotography/ https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/louise-smith/
https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/margaret-kalms/ http://artofwoman.com.au
http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/penny-de-jong/
http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/maureen-maxwell/
STROLLING IN PARIS II
DOWN artistsUNDER
Australia and New Zealand
A COLLABORATIVE GROUP OF PHOTO ARTISTS
QUOTE CHALLENGE
A bit of background first:
We are a small group of ADU members from around Australia. We met in a digital painting group, Art Buddies and are all members of the Artists Down Under. Our members, Christina Brunton, Denise Cauchi, Ilona Abou-Zolof, Marie Helyar, Marina Hobbs, and Robyn McLauchlan.
We meet regularly via Zoom meeting every week and take turns to choose our challenges. We post our images every Sunday at 5:30 p.m. At the moment, the challenge is a quote. In our Zoom meetings, we give each other feedback on ways to improve.
Quote:
This month, Ilona Abou-Zolof chose the quote: “An ode portrays friendship as a cosmic force that elevates the human spirit. It suggests that through deep bonds, individuals are connected to a higher power beyond the limitations of the material world. The speaker’s friendship with Raphael symbolises this connection, inspiring him to reach for greatness and envision a brighter, more hopeful future. The ode implies that friendship offers a path to self-improvement and the pursuit of universal perfection.”
Based on the paragraph above, create three cohesive images. We each will present our three images as a TRIPTYCH in week four.
Our Art pieces:
Our diverse art pieces are all inspired by the same quote. We hope they inspire you to try it yourself and see what you come up with from the quote. We would love to see it on the Artists Down Under Facebook page.
Christina Brunton - Friendship Over Time
Denise Cauchi - Travelling Through The Ages
Ilona Abou-Zolof - Triptuch Friendship
Marina Hobbs - A Glimpse Of The Extraordinary
Marie Helyar - Shared Journey Towards Greatness
Robyn McLauchlan - Loneliness And Expectations
https://www.facebook.com/dean.hohn/photos https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/dean-hohn/
PINK PEONY IV
https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/bev-terawskyj/
https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/christina-brunton/ https://chrisbrunton.com/
FUNKY FEET
artists aussie day out photographic challenge theme: monthly artistic down under
Pam Henderson - Backyard BBQ
Karen Waalwyk - Waiting For The Surf
Maureen Maxwell - North Stradbroke Island
Bev Terawskyj - Australia Day In The Bush
Christina Brunton - Aussie Day Out
Ilona Abou-Zolof - Aussie Day Out
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