Mosaic of Life #3 – Pen & Ink Plant
One of my first attempts at analog artsy Continue reading Mosaic of Life #3 – Pen & Ink Plant
Mosaic of Life #21 – The St. Lawrence Fisherman
It’s been thirteen years since the Canada trip.How could time have flown by so fast?It was a month-long adventure that I won’t forget.Especially that sunrise along the St. Lawrence Seaway. We were traveling in the hinterland between cities.We were determined to follow the Seaway to its source.It was getting dark, so our attention was for a place to sleep.We feared we might have to sleep in the car. Then suddenly a small sign appeared on the side of the road.We were desperate so we took a chance.The person in the small shack labeled “Office” only spoke French.But his wife knew … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #21 – The St. Lawrence Fisherman
When The World No Longer Sees You…
Trotsky, says, “…the biggest surprise in a man’s life is old age.” Youth and good looks are king. And there’s a sad place, somewhere around middle age, when we realize that we’re beginning to disappear. I am at the tail end … Continue reading When The World No Longer Sees You…
Mosaic of Life #40 – Galena Illinois
Galena, Illinois is one of my favorite historic towns. If you ever get a change to visit, I think you would agree with me. When you go to Galena, you almost step back in time. The downtown area is unblemished … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #40 – Galena Illinois
The Rise & Fall Of…
The Roman Empire. No, no, that’s Not right. What I meant to say was The Rise & Fall of Social Media Although to some Gen Zs, it might seem as though the same thing. It’s no secret that Social Media … Continue reading The Rise & Fall Of…
Mosaic of Life #50 – Wordless Wednesday – Feeding Frenzy
Mosaic of Life #53 – Four Things That Draw Me In…
Now that I am beginning to populate this new artsy site, I have discovered that there are certain types of artsy that draw me in more than others. Those are Containers, Flowers, Texture and Reflections. I am a regular visitor of historic sites and almost all of them have an old-fashioned general story filled with containers. Flowers are probably the main reason for RJsMosaics. Their beauty, variety, and mind-boggling intensity fascinate me. The closer I look, the more I am entranced. Texture, specifically brick walls, as shown in today’s M53-mosaic. I don’t really understand this one, so I will let it go … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #53 – Four Things That Draw Me In…
Mosaic of Life #52 – The World’s Most Beautiful Junkyard
As soon as I saw this place, I immediately stomped on the brake petal. I knew I HAD to have a picture of it. It has remained on my wall since that April day in 2015. When I read my first book about the “Mountain Men” as a teenager, I have always dreamed that in a previous life I was a mountain man. When I say the movie “Jeremiah Johnson” in 1972, that thought was permanently welded into my mind. As the picture says, it was taken near LaFruto in southern Colorado. Like so many other times, the only regret … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #52 – The World’s Most Beautiful Junkyard
Mosaic of Life #34 – The Reenactors
I spent most of my roadtrips in 2020 going to reenactments, and I must say the guy in the picture above is my favorite for authenticity. I often wonder what he does in the 21st century version of himself? There will eventually be many posts reporting on specific reenactments, but for this one I just want to point out some of the best of the best reenactors. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #34 – The Reenactors
Mosaic of Life #38 – Wordless Wednesday – Sheer Beauty
Mosaic of Life #5 – Piano Flowers — The Analog Approach
I seriously started my Artsy project in mid-2023. For a few months, it was almost exclusively freehand doodling. That got my confidence up that I could at least do some rudimentary hand-to-eye things. Maybe I should include some of those sketches on my artsy wall, but I kinda think of them as “pre-artsy”. As almost everyone knows, to be good at anything takes PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Some of the things I attempted in those first three months were just plain awful. They stayed out of the trash can about 3 seconds after they were done. But, they were learning experiences. The … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #5 – Piano Flowers — The Analog Approach
Mosaic of Life #51 – Old Quebec, Canada
A major stopping point during our 2011-month-long trip across eastern Canada was Old Quebec. It was the part of Quebec that has been completely restored back to its 1600s roots. That is except for the 21st century add-ons. Above is a picture of the main square in that area. Old Quebec was a very festive place as shown in the picture gallery below. The painted murals on the walls were of the magnitude and beauty I have ever encountered. I ended up spending quite some time just trying to take in the details. Even though I could not hear them, … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #51 – Old Quebec, Canada
Mosaic of Life #12 – Artsy Bird – 1st Vector Attempt
I need to show you my early attempts at vector graphics, so that you know how far I have come since then. This was my first serious attempt at using a combination of vector and raster graphics. The photo from which this originated was of a bird in the birdbath at our homestead home of 20+ years. At first, I was going to do the whole scene, but then decided to Simplify and just concentrate on the bird itself. All the various colors you see are filled-in vector shapes, while all the scratching used a raster app. I don’t think the result … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #12 – Artsy Bird – 1st Vector Attempt
Mosaic of Life #49 – Story About “On The Mountain”
In looking at my first twenty posts here at RJsMosaic, I see it is about time for another story. I do love telling stories, so here goes. To get a full 30-year pension, I moved to New Jersey in 1996 as that was then where my job was going. When I hit my 30 years in 2000, we moved back to Indiana and bought an 80-year-old farmhouse on nearly 3 acres of land. Most importantly, it had a 24 x 48 ft barn that allowed me to start my own furniture making business. I was only 54 at the time, so … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #49 – Story About “On The Mountain”
Mosaic of Life #9 – Stone Walls
I have always been fascinated by stone walls. This one was at one of my favorite places to visit at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village near Lexington KY. This mosaic was made via the analog method using marking pens. It was very tedious work drawing all the stones, but I think the result is one of my favorites in the analog mode. I will limit this post to artsy, and reserve the story of Pleasant Hill for a future post, or posts. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #9 – Stone Walls
Mosaic of Life #47 – A Favorite Homestead Picture
This picture was taken in January 2014 This picture was taken at our 21-year homestead that I left almost 3 years ago. Due to my deafness and resulting loss of balance, snow was always a hazard for me. Over my life … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #47 – A Favorite Homestead Picture
Mosaic of Life #46 – The Story of Firsts…
All of us have plenty of firsts in our lives. It starts out with probably the first time you wet your diaper, and ends with the first (and only) time you will meet your maker. I’m sure I will have many posts here at RJsMosaics about firsts, but I want to use this one to tell you about the year I most likely had more firsts than any other. That year was 1970. Let’s get to it… I know this is a pretty crude image above, but it is about the only photo I have of my very first car. It … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #46 – The Story of Firsts…
Mosaic of Life #7 – Indy Skyline – In Pen & Ink
If you read the previous post about “Analog Artsy” you probably get the idea that I will likely avoid this technique in the future. There is some truth to that, but some of the creations I made even impressed me, and I am a hard person to impress. One of those is the Mosaic #7 above of the Indy Skyline. I spent the better part of the day doing this one. As usual, it started out with a photo that I traced the basic features I wanted to convey. From there it was all freehand. Since this picture was to be “pen … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #7 – Indy Skyline – In Pen & Ink
Mosaic of Life #29 – I Know Artsy When I See It
And this is definitely artsy. These Artsy Ladies were in the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens which is located in Rockford, Illinois. When I visited in 2017, the Bruce Monro Light Exhibit was the current attraction. This was in the beginning phase of my search for artsy. I don’t know if these ladies were part of that exhibit or a permanent part of the conservatory, but they did fit very well into landscape of the dome. They were about 5 feet tall and made of glass, but I can’t imagine exactly how they were actually constructed. The conservatory itself is certainly in the top three I have … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #29 – I Know Artsy When I See It
Mosaic of Life #23 – Digital Artsy – The Tools – Part 2
/im A few posts ago, I told you about how I spent 3 months doing analog artsy and then 3 months doing the digital version. This is the second post defining the digital version. (Click HERE if you want to see the first post). When I seriously started studying digital artsy, I had high hopes that I would find something that I totally enjoyed doing, and indeed I have. Of course, being a techie, I had some previous experience with digital tools, but this time I looked far and wide for just the right tools. I think I came close to … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #23 – Digital Artsy – The Tools – Part 2
Mosaic of Life #18 – The Digital Stage Of Artsy – Part 1
This post is the second part of my six-month experiment with becoming artsy. I have already told you about the doodling/analog stage, so this is about the digital stage. The mosaic picture above is one of the first attempts at digital art. It started out pretty much the same as an analog pictures, in that I traced the basic outline from a photograph I had taken years before. But, this time it was done by manipulating layers in a digital app. The picture was put on the bottom layer and the penned outline was made with an iPad and digital pen … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #18 – The Digital Stage Of Artsy – Part 1
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 