Real Art Studios Blog

Serenity Moments® Hawaiian Islands DVD Now Available on Amazon.com!

noreply@blogger.com (Real Art Studios) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:44:00 +0000

I'm happy to announce that my first Serenity Moments^® Hawaiian Islands relaxation DVD is now available on Amazon.com and will make a great gift for the holidays! I'm also thrilled that my trademark filing has finally been approved by the U.S. Patent & Trademark office and the Serenity Moments brand is officially born! So what better way to celebrate than to head back to the Hawaiian Islands? This time I'm going to the garden isle of Kauai and will be acquiring more beautiful footage for a future title.

It has been a long journey completing the first in the Serenity Moments scenic relaxation video series... conducting extensive research, creeating a prototype, securing the best talent, administering usability tests to collect feedback, refining the product under the guideance of seasoned professionals and enhancing it even more --which ultimately has resulted in a very unique and high quality product that we hope will be appreciated by our customers. We also ensured it is earth friendly by using paper from well-managed forests. The relaxation DVD is now available on Amazon.com with the Blu-ray version coming soon. Fortunately we have have had the priviledge of working with some pretty amazing people who have generously shared their talents and time to make this new series of therapeutic videos happen... Thanks to all for their support and assistance making this product a reality. Thanks also to the numerous medical professionals who have provided their recommendations and all those who have already pre-ordered the product!

And now the really hard part comes... Letting go and launching the first in the series. I have to admit that birthing a new product is like sending a child off to college, it's hard to let go... but the time finally arrives when you must let go and let it blossom. So here's to hoping our little gift to humanity blesses others and provides some comfort to those who may need relief from stress in their lives or those who desire inner healing or just enjoy a virtual vacation.

If you're looking for a great holiday gift this Christmas perhaps you might consider giving the gift of relaxation to your loved ones or even yourself! To order, please visit us on Amazon.com

Soon to be released other titles include Glacier National Park and The Canadian Rocky Mountains. If you'd like to learn more about our unique therapeutic relaxation videos for stress relief, please visit the Serenity Moments Web site.

Below is a sneak preview of the Hawaiian Islands Relaxation video. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Islands Highlights

noreply@blogger.com (Real Art Studios) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:30:00 +0000

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my Hawaii photos from my trip there last Summer. While there I videotaped the wedding of my sister and also acquired some HD content for my royalty free stock footage business, Royaltyfreestore.com. We stayed on the islands of Oahu and Maui and after returning home I was surprised how deeply relaxing the footage was while editing her wedding video and realized others might it beneficial as well. Subsequently I decided to create a series of scenic relaxation videos which I'm now producing under the brand name of Serenity Moments. The first in the soon to be released series features the Hawaiian Islands and includes beautiful, original music composed by Mladen Milicevic and the soundtrack also includes Alpha, Theta and Delta waves which help the brain relax. If you'd like to learn more and see a sneak peek, visit http://www.serenitymoments.com/. Upcoming releases include Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rocky Mountains the music is currently being composed. Other titles will be released as well.

This lovely flower is called Hawaiian Ginger. The vibrant colors in this photo are unenhanced what struck me when I shot some video of the flower was how it glowed in the sunlight. I also enjoyed seeing plumeria flowers which I had never seen before and was surprised to see they blossom on trees rather than a shrub.

After basking under palm trees in the hot sun and cooling off in in the Marriott Ocean Beach Club's turquoise pool, I headed up the rugged Maui oast with my HD video camera in tow and captured some astonishingly beautiful coastal and rainforest scenes which I've included in my DVD / Blu-ray disc. Now whenever I feel a little stressed or bored with what is on TV, I slip in my Blu-ray video of the Hawaiian Islands and enjoy it on my HDTV and can immediately relax and almost feel the cool ocean breeze as I begin to breathe deeply while watching the video and relive the experience. Since I also enjoy practicing meditation I find the video very helpful in gaining deep insights. Its really interesting how viewing beautiful scenic videos can instantly transform one into a state of deep relaxation and tranquility. I enjoy shooting and editing video and can't wait to release them to the public so others might enjoy them as well.

This is a photo of my sister taken at the Hilton Hawaiian Village wedding chapel. The Hilton Hawaiian Village resort on Waikiki has lovely grounds with lush tropical landscaping. Its a huge resort so you never have to leave the premises (almost by design....?).

The people of Hawaii were extremely friendly and their "Aloha Spirit" made our stay very memorable. I hope to return there someday soon.

Maui Highlights

Here's another of my favorite beach photos of Maui, this one was taken inside Mama's Fish House restaurant (which is one of the best kept secrets on Maui). The water was several shades of ultramarine blue and turquoise and in the distance deep purple. It was hard to believe I was really there as I had never seen anything so beautiful before. I almost envied the palm trees for being able to live there.

The food at Mama's Fish House was phenomenal. The art director in me insisted on waiting patiently for my Mai Tai to arrive so I could get the shot of their cool Tiki Mask glass with their artful presentation. This was lobster stuffed mahi mahi (which isn't dolphin by the way, Flipper is quite safe). The sauce was divine and tasted like lobster and mangos. Yummmmmm!

And dessert wasn't a disappointment either. I had asked the waiter what their most artistic item was and he presented their "black pearl" which was chocolate mouse in a pastry clam shell nestled in passion fruit sauce that was sublime. So if you find yourself in Maui be sure to go to Mamma's Fish House for some great food and an amazing view. They also have lodging with ocean views also although I didn't tour those. Don't be fooled by the rustic boat off the highway, the grounds and beach view are extraordinary. It would make a great place for a romantic getaway or honeymoon. To learn you can visit their nice web site at: http://www.mamasfishhouse.com/ Just don't tell anyone as we want this to our secret ok?

Ater our exquisite lunch we girls indulged in a helicopter flight over Molokai and enjoyed viewing its impenetratable lush forest, beguiling waterfalls and dramatic verdant cliffs jutting high above a lapis lazuli jewel of an ocean far below. The groom and best man opted to rent harleys and enjoyed cruising the rugged coast and a game of golf at the Ritz Carlton. Life is good.

Thou Shalt Not Covet

noreply@blogger.com (Real Art Studios) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 02:48:00 +0000

It isn't easy trying to obey the 10 commandments when one can easily be tempted by the beauty all around us, but perhaps appreciating beauty isn't a cardinal sin when one keeps in mind the origin of its design and gives credit where credit is due. So I didn't feel too guilty when trying out my new Sony Cybershot 10 megapixel camera on a beautiful bed of iris growing in a nearby affluent community, after all they were just along the sidewalk and so beguiling, and hey, I had to learn how to use my new camera.

I must admit the camera is really cool and came in a nice variety of stylish colors and so I had to choose the red one since it was just so unique. I've had good luck with Sony products and trust their brand so I didn't have to spend too much time comparing it to other products (but then I was captive in the Sony Style store and what else would I have purchased anyway?) Having my hubby beside me telling me he read it was a good bet was all the convincing I needed to splurge.

So this is one of the first things I shot with it (along with several other neighbors flowering shrubs). The resolution was pretty amazing as it shoots in HD and the images are massive. So after scaling it down in Photoshop I had a little fun with it as I wanted it to look more like a watercolor painting by applying some filters to it in Photoshop.

To achieve the watercolor look I wanted, I first saturated the colors a little and then I adjusted the levels to get the dramatic lighting desired. I then duplicated the orginal image onto another layer and applied the Dry Brush filter to that layer. I then set the layer properties to luminosity at 100% and then flattened the image and exported it as a jpg. As an artist I get a kick out of experimenting with filters to achieve the look I'm after and Photoshop always delivers. So next time you get the urge to do a watercolor painting, try this quick technique to satisfy your artistic urges. And try not to covet your neighbors flowers, I know, its really hard!

Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Real Art Studios) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:54:00 +0000

Welcome to my first blog post, well it's not really my first blog post, I'm actually an avid blogger within Intel Corporation, but decided it was high time I started pointificating my views outside of their firewall and reach out to the rest of humanity to share my thoughts and perspective on this little blue dot called Earth.

I hope you enjoy visiting my Web site and blog. I'll try to impart a few words of wisdom to the next generation of designers and perhaps to a few potential customers and my contemporaries who'd like to connect with moi on an informal basis. I may stray off the topic of design on occasion as I have many interests so please don't hold me to one topic. As they say, variety is the spice of life. And what turns me on the most in life are endless possibilites. (Yeah, I'm one of those creative types, although I'm not the flakey variety, I'm actually pretty reliable and competent).

I've been with Intel for the last nine years and have learned a few things so perhaps I can help you with your challenge if you have a question on best known methods of Web design, multimedia authoring and video production. And if you're someone I've met along the way, feel free to say hi and let me know how you are doing and what you've been up to lately.

What's it like to work at Intel? Well, it is a very dynamic, challenging and competitive environment which can be both good and bad at times. But I do like challenges and I prefer to focus on the good things in life and will do so on this blog. I've worked with some wonderful folks there over the years and have learned a lot from working with some of their senior leaders on some of their high profile projects which I was thrilled to be part of such as the Intel WebOutfitter Service, numerous sites on intel.com and their Intranet. If you are interested in working there your best bet is to visit their Jobs page at www.intel.com/jobs.

I've enjoyed working in a variety of design related professions from traditional oil painting, graphic design, art direction, Web design and multimedia authoring and my current passion video production. I do like to learn and toy around with technology so if you'd like to share some of your thoughts feel free to express yourself. I will be moderating this post, so please abide by the rules of common courtesy and respect and I'll do the same.

Cheers!