I usually know if a painting is finished. Something in my gut tells me there's nothing more to do and we've reached completion. If I'm unclear, I ask myself this question: "Am I futzing or finessing?" … [Read More...] about Revisiting a Painting
Revisiting a Painting
I usually know if a painting is finished. Something in my gut tells me there's nothing more to do and we've reached completion. If I'm unclear, I ask myself this question: "Am I futzing or finessing?" The answer will lead me to my next step. Futzing equals done! Finessing means I have to make a few tweaks. I can see some thing(s) that just doesn't look right. Yet, I might not know how to "fix" it. What tweaks should I make? That's when I put it away and revisit the painting at a later … [Read more...] about Revisiting a Painting
Cropping Thumbnails in WordPress
WordPress Image Defaults When you upload an image to WordPress, it goes into your Media Library. Then, WordPress generates 3 copies of it at default sizes: thumbnail (150x150 pixels square), medium (300x300 pixels maximum), and large (1024x1024 pixels maximum). Your theme settings may vary or include other sizes in addition to these defaults. The thumbnails, used in in the blog archive list and image galleries (among other things), automatically cut off parts of the original image. Sometimes … [Read more...] about Cropping Thumbnails in WordPress
Beginner’s Guide to Gutenberg Blocks
WordPress replaced the classic editor a few years ago with the Gutenberg block editor. I encourage you to start using it! The original classic editor behaved similarly to a word-processing program: the words and images got placed inside one, long, continuous edit field. With Gutenberg, each type of content has its own block: heads, paragraphs, images, quotes, lists, etc. It's a more modular system, very flexible and easy to style. In this tutorial, I'll introduce you to the basic Gutenberg … [Read more...] about Beginner’s Guide to Gutenberg Blocks
Painting Azaleas at Auburn Lake
I've always admired a pair of azalea bushes at Mount Auburn Cemetery's Auburn Lake. Their remarkable magenta and rose colors astound me. A Cypress tree provides a sheltering border. I love to paint in this quiet, magical area, especially in springtime. It's a very relaxing spot, very meditative. The only sounds I hear are birds singing. In fact, catbirds often watch me, probably because they build their nests there. Be sure to watch the video I made, posted at the end of this article! … [Read more...] about Painting Azaleas at Auburn Lake
InDesign: Single Pages vs. Facing Pages
When you create a New Document in InDesign, one of the most important choices you'll make is whether or not you want Facing Pages. The option is in the Preset Details, where Facing Pages is turned on by default for Print documents. But, if you want a Single Page layout, you can turn that off by deselecting it. In this tutorial, I'll explain the two scenarios and provide examples for each layout. Single Pages If the pages will be seen one at a time, then you use the Single Page … [Read more...] about InDesign: Single Pages vs. Facing Pages
Favorite Books of 2021
I've loved books my whole life. When I was growing up, my mother took us to the library each week during the summer. As an adult, a lot of my reads for many years were books related to design, art and teaching. Once in a while, I go on a mystery binge. Fiction, non-fiction, historical novels, I love them all. Recently, when COVID-19 entered our lives, I started reading even more. Travel was restricted, but books allowed me to go to other places and brought other worlds into my own. My reading … [Read more...] about Favorite Books of 2021
Text Gradients in Adobe Illustrator
Three methods In this tutorial, I'll show you three ways to create text gradients in Adobe Illustrator. We use the same word for each method so you can easily compare the results. Gradients are a nice way to enhance the typography and add visual interest. 1. Text Gradients Using the Appearance Panel The first method was shared by a student in my Digital Design Essentials class. For this, he gets a big shoutout: Thanks Bryant! I thought Bryant's technique was very cool and wanted to … [Read more...] about Text Gradients in Adobe Illustrator
Can I Display Videos in WordPress?
You can display videos and images in WordPress, and there are many good reasons to do so. First of all, they make your website more interesting and engaging. They also enhance SEO by attracting and retaining visitors. In this post, I share my recommended methods for displaying videos in WordPress. Self-Hosted Videos Self-hosted videos are those that you upload to your site. By default, WordPress allows many video formats to be uploaded to the media library. This approach is not always … [Read more...] about Can I Display Videos in WordPress?