No Need to Reach High for the Stars

There is no need to reach high for the stars.  

They are already within you--just reach deep within yourself.

~Terri Guillemets

I read this quote and fell in love with its message. We are always being told to look outside of ourselves for success and wisdom when in fact is always inside of us. I made this digital collage to remind all of us, especially women, to look inward.

See below for a series of progressions through this piece of art work.

Step 1: I took two images from my stock of digital ephemera and layered them, using layer styles and masks to get this:

Step 2: Next, I took an image from my photography library, The Sea Calls Tenderly, and layered it to the above image in the multiply mode. I then adjusted the color and contrast to get it where I wanted it.

Step 3: I layered an aura and a moon to give her a more celestial feel.  She still was not glowing from within, so I moved on to the final step.

Step 4: In the final step I added a star light radiating from the stars within her neck and temple.  Last, I tweaked the color and contrast once more. I finally felt she was finished and represented the quote the way I wanted her to.

I hope you enjoyed this rare look into my digital collage process. Since this was a relatively simple one, comparatively, I wanted to give you a sense of the process since many people ask. My larger projects simply are too complicated or involve too many steps to dictate here.

Have a great Tuesday! 

xo