Saturday, July 31, 2010

Arrangement Impromptu

 Just a few Zinnias and Ageratum make an attractive summer arrangement. Purple Tradescanthia and a green ornamental grass give some height and added color to the flowers.

M Y   G A R D E N — After I watered the vegetable and the flower gardens earlier this evening, I clipped some of the zinnias and ageratum. All the plants are branching out nicely now, from selectively pruning early buds and stalks on these annuals. Now I  can enjoy the vivid colors of these flowers indoors, and at the spur of the moment. I brought in just a few blooms in various pinks, oranges and and white. The purple Tradescanthia will hopefully root in the water and I'll be able to start another plant. It's an annual that I plan on wintering over inside. Hopefully I'll be able to make a few separate plants for next year. The frosted muted yellow glass vase contrasts well with the more vivid and saturated colors of the flowers. Just barely visible to the left, is a multicolored porcelain dragon my parents brought home from Japan in the mid 1950s.

B O N U S   C H O P S : 
Old- and New-school Cadillac Redux
Sedan De Ville returns to GM, along with its tradition V-and-Crest logo. The six-light greenhouse, or DLO in designer-speak, would be offered in addition to the more private 4 window sedan.

From the spy shots, and the advance information on the web, Cadillac's entry-level ATS, with any luck just might be as striking as my most recent little chop shows. Using the 'proportion' tool I was able to simulate a slight 'fish-eye' lens effect which adds some drama to this view.

C H O P S — To relax tonight I decide to quickly chop a couple of Cadillacs. I showed a 6 window DTS a couple of entries ago that I created two years ago, but wanted to try one that was a bit more production-oriented. I named this one the Sedan De Ville, another time-honored Cadillac nameplate. I like both of these airier Caddys, and am surprised how different I chopped them. For this one, I reprised Cadillac's old V-and-Crest logo it used for the DeVille and Series 62 models of yore. I would reserve the Wreathe-and-Crest for the upper level models in each lineup. I lowered the roof and changed the angle/shape of the C pillar, and changed out the door handles for classier units.

I also created another small entry-level Cadillac. I posted a BTS for the Chinese domestic market not too long ago, and tonight I created a similar ATS for the American market. They are both made from the CTS coupe. For this new silver American ATS, I shortened the hood of the CTS coupe, and changed the C pillar and greenhouse slightly. I made the car taller in height as well as shorter in length than the larger coupe it's based on. Yes, the rear door opening looks a bit tight to enter, fashion is fashion after all, but the 2 bucket seats in the rear would be very deep-dished for adequate head- and leg-room.

The difference between the old-school GM styling for the 6 window Sedan De Ville and the up-to-the-minute styling of the CTS-derived ATS is night and day!

(I just fixed numerous typos in these chop descriptions. It was very late when I first posted them, lol.)

12 comments:

  1. Your flowers are beautiful and the arrangement is very nice. Love all of the colors, including the vase. (That's "vace", not "vahze". LOL) I didn't grow any flowers this year so I think I'll go buy a bouquet today, inspired by YOU! Thanks! :)

    Katie

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  2. FIRST,
    TO OPEN MY COMPUTER TO A BEAUTIFUL VASE FILLED WITH SUCH COLOR AND BEAUTY AWAKENS MY SOUL WITH JOY.IT'S THE SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKES ME HAPPY. THOSE FLOWERS ARE LOVELY.
    I RECEIVED THIS E'MAIL YESTERDAY AND IT WAS PICTURES OF OLD CHEVYS. A MAN COLLECTIONS. I WISH I KNEW HOW TO SEND THEM ON TO YOU. I TRIED TO COPY AND PASTE THEM ON HERE BUT IT WOULDN'T LET ME.OH TO BE THAT RICH. IT REMINDED ME OF JAY LENOS' CARS.

    GRANNY

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  3. Oh Casey, that is beautiful...is it silly that it almost makes me cry? I LOVE it so much. If you don't mind, I think I will send it to the photo lab to print one off for me...it makes me feel so...hmmm, nostalgic, at home, welcome, and just blessed. Don't know why the reaction, but it is amazing.
    Thanks for sharing it. I know I have said it before, but I don't know what drew me to your name on Ross' site and I needed to check out your blog...SO SO glad I did!!
    mare

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  4. I really prefer this concept over the DTS you posted previously. I loved the 6 window approach in both, but the taillights of the DTS left me unsettled. Your Sedan DeVille concept IS production ready. Speaking of production ready, your ATS concept is clean, polished, and ready to go. I think the CTS coupe works better as a 4 door. Adding the lower tu tone really works on this car. And I can't thank you enough for getting rid of the ridiculous fender vents !

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  5. Zinnias offer so much bang for the buck. Great, vibrant colors!
    I used zinnias for a Hadassah, Saks Fifth Avenue fundraiser I did a few years back. Whenever you do fundraisers budget is always paramount, so I proposed using zinnias for the centerpieces. 8" tall black Saks bags were the vase(for the visual - the bags had Saks Fifth Ave in red on them, and the tablecloths were red also) The client loved it ! Very simple, very colorful.
    Nice job on your arranging skills!

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  6. I FORGOT TO SAY IF I COULD PAINT THOSE FLOWERS AND VASE, I'D HANG IT IN MY LIVINGROOM OR IN MY DINNINGROOM. THE COLORS WOULD BE PERFECT.I LOVE WHEN A PICTURE POPS OUT AT YOU WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT.

    GRANNY

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  7. MARE, IF YOU CHECK BACK I THINK IT WAS ME THAT TOLD YOU ABOUT CASEY. ALSO ANNIE.

    HE SURE IS ONE GREAT ARTIST IN ALL WAYS. IT WAS BACK WHEN I WAS TRYING TO FIND A NEW NEST TO SETTLE INTO. THIS BLOG JUST MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD.

    GRANNY LOU

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  8. I'm glad this brought a smile to some faces, and a tear? : )

    I'm one to make impromptu arrangements. Last year on a walk to town, only about 1/2 mile, I started picking some of the common wildflowers along the road and train tracks. Adding some cool tall grasses and some small well-shaped branches, by the time I was in town I had a really bouquet with black-eyed susans, sweet peas, chicory, daisies and some wild roses. I was standing in line waiting to order a coffee at the local privately-owned coffee shop (i stay away from the Starbucks in town) and the woman in front of me complimented me on the flowers. She mentioned it was her birthday but no one was going to be around until the weekend for some reason, so I handed her the simple roadside flowers. You'd think I had given her a Martha Stewart arrangement of old-world roses. She thought it was the highlight of HER day, but the look on her face made MY day. It's almost sad though when you think about it, that the act of giving someone an 'impromptu arrangement' can mean so much these days. Are we really so mean to each other on a daily basis that a simple act of kindness stands out so much?

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  9. PX: I bet that fundraiser was gorgeous! The zinnias and the color of the bag/vases and tablecloths sounds like it was absolutely striking!

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  10. YES CASEY,ACTS OF KINDNESS ARE FEW. WHEN WE MOVED INTO THIS DEVELOPMENT A FEW MONTHS AGO ONLY ONE NEIGHBOR CAME OVER AND OFFERED A HELLO. IT WAS THE NEIGHBOR TO OUR LEFT. A SCHOOL TEACHER AND HER HUBBY. THE OTHER SIDE ONLY SAID HELLO BECAUSE I YELLED OVER TO HER WHEN SHE WAS GETTING INTO HER CAR. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT WHEN FOR YEARS THIS AGE GROUPS WERE TOLD NOT TO SPEAK TO STRANGERS. SO SAD.I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER HOW KIDS PLAYED OUTDOORS UNTIL THE SUN WENT DOWN. NOW YOU CAN'T LET THE KIDS PLAY BY THEMSELVES . SOMEONE COULD WALK RIGHT UP INTO YOUR YARD AND RUN OFF WITH THEM SO SAD AGAIN.
    ACTS OF KINDNESS, COME BACK TO US BEFORE IT'S TO LATE.

    GRANNY

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  11. Thanks for your comment!

    God i wish i had the level of skill you have when it comes to chopping cars. I've spent the last 30 minutes browsing through your works and i plan to spend the next few hours watching YouTube tutorials on how to do the same!

    Always a fantastic read!

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  12. Thanks, Cameron/EliteTek. after your tutorials, if you have any questions, or if you ever get yourself into a photoshop quandary, just let me know. I've taught it in the past besides being a user for 17+ years. First thing to do is set your "History States" in the preferences to 1000, the maximum number. That way you can always go back to a specific step, valuable in many ways including the 'art history brush' which allows you to repaint the image set at almost any step in the piece, also change 'big' things like image size and cropping at the start, as the you can't go 'past' those changes with the art history brush.

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