My last Photoshop work for the school year

ABC Adult School wrapped up its 2012-2013 classes on Friday.  The worst part about it for me is that I have to part ways with Adobe Photoshop, as I do not have it installed at home and cannot afford to pay $19.95 a month for Creative Cloud, which includes a version of the program.

So for now these glimpses of Barefoot family life will have to do.

Up first is an improved version of the Christmas gift idea that I put up in this post last December.  This time, I used content-aware fill and the clone-stamp tool to cover up the parts of the Jimmie Johnson car much better than I did before.  Red and green borders symbolize the yuletide colors, and I have also included a personal message from Buddy Wayne.

Next is what B.W., Ralph, Harvey, and Hambone are about to present to Popeye for Father's Day.  I took a watercolor painting displayed on the Internet and modified the frame that went along with it.  The caption reflects that this is a childhood depiction of Alonzo Barefoot, who we now call by a nickname he received as a teenager from a high-school classmate.

The last thing I created this semester shows Jesse "Boo Boo" Barefoot, a cousin of Buddy Wayne's, doing the classical summer belly flop into the family pond.  Boo Boo is portrayed by a participant in the Redneck Games in Dublin, GA, who actually dove into a mud pit.

I'll have to think of some things to do with my characters over the summer, but for now, have a great Father's Day weekend and so long.:)

Use of my characters in Illustrator class

DISCLAIMER: Some portions of the following material include non-generic telephone numbers, websites and social media addresses.  Please do not attempt to contact the Barefoot family with this information.  This contact info may belong to actual people or companies; if so, I am not responsible for any actions taken in relation to them.


In addition to Photoshop, I take another class at ABC Adult School.  It is called Adobe Illustrator CS5 Part 2 and I take it in the afternoon.  The teacher is Nabawia el-Soudani Olivera.

In this class, my final assignment is to assemble selected works that I have done and place them in a portfolio.  This is similar to what I have done with some of my Adobe Photoshop works on this blog.

The first thing I will present is the cover of the DVD to the mythical "reality television" series Gone Barefoot.  I placed my "family photo" as an overlay wrapping around both the front and back covers.  The front is the show's logo and the back is a brief description of the program and some of the main characters.

Up next is a brochure promoting the farm my "second family" owns in rural North Carolina.  It includes a brief description of all 13 clan members, another panel describing what is on the farm, as well as contact information.

Some time ago, I posted Jennifer's "business card."  One of the Part 2 assignments was to build eight different versions of the card as part of a bigger identity package.  The other part (not shown) includes another business card, a letterhead, and an envelope.

Finally, there is an "ad" for donations to the Bluebird Fund, the charity that Brenda founded.  I wrote about an aborted telethon it had in this post.

It has been a pleasure taking these classes at ABC Adult School.  Hopefully, this summer will find me with a new job, ideally in an office setting in a hospital or clinic.  If not, I would love to come back and be a student again there next fall.

More images of life, both in and out of the house

As the 2012-13 school year winds down, I have three more pictures imagining life both inside and outside my second-favorite family.

I begin with a file converted from Photoshop to Illustrator and back again.  It is a "promotional poster" for a "reality TV" show starring Buddy Wayne Barefoot's wife, Brittany Spears.  (She has her middle initial to distinguish herself from Britney Spears.)  Makes you wish you could watch it, huh?

The difference between this file and the Illustrator file is that the Illustrator version has four pink stars scattered over her blouse to fulfill a requirement of the assignment.

Brittany's head is superimposed over that of real-life North Carolina mom Lindsay Barefoot and her son stands in for Spears' daughter Blanton Elizabeth Spears.  Hopefully, he's at an age where one can't tell gender apart.

Up next is the aforementioned Dillon Bowling.  I teased his eventual appearance in this post, and now I deliver.  The photo collage, which includes fictitious website and social media addresses for my mythical Oklahoman, shows him doing what you would expect him to do.  The frontswing and backswing shots are intended to be from the same roll, but from two different angles.

I now end with the proverbial bang.  Here is the very reason for Hambone's nickname.

What I did here was to choose a video capture from the "Hambone hambone" video and place the arms on top of the rest of Reba Pearl Barefoot's body.   Since the picture still showed the original artist, I used the clone tool extensively to substitute a greater backdrop and remove the other person.  The amount of fun she is having here can't be understated!

Mud lovin' Hambone

Another picture I've finished on Photoshop is a "promotional" picture of Hambone getting ready to go onto the mud bog racing circuit.  Inspired by the 2011 TV show Mud Lovin' Rednecks, she not only got involved in the niche auto lifestyle, but even convinced the rest of the family to set aside land for the bog.

Hambone, her cousin Randy Barefoot, and other friends and neighbors visit the bog weekly for races, challenges, and hot laps.

All about the 'Handy Jam'

As promised, here's more on the annual Barefoot-Johnston County Family Reunion, informally known as the "Handy Jam."


The event celebrates six generations descended from Handy Barefoot Stewart, Sr.  Born about 20 years before the Civil War, he married Beulah Mae Cobb, for whom Buddy Wayne Barefoot wrote the hit song "The Ballad of Beulah Mae" (and who I wrote about here, although as often occurs with the strange way my mind works I gave her a different name at the time).  They had a son, Handy Barefoot Stewart Jr., and two other children.  Of those, only the elder Handy survived into adulthood; his younger brother died in infancy and his older sister lived only to be five years old.  Therefore, this reunion honors the hard times both Handy Barefoots went through as much as the wonderful family legacy both left behind.

In all, the elder Handy Barefoot had three children, five grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren (including Popeye), 78 great-great-grandchildren (including Ralph, Harvey and Hambone), 59 great-great-great-grandchildren (with Bobby Ray, Buddy Wayne, Brandy, and Bunky among them), and six great-great-great-great-grandchildren (including Belinda).  All of them, their wives, and even their friends are invited to attend the one-day reunion.  The potential total of attendees is 225, but due to some of them being judged to Hell and for other reasons, the actual numbers are between 150 and 160 as I implied last week.

The Handy Jam is a one-day event that takes place on the Saturday closest to the Independence Day holiday, sometime between July 1 and July 7.  The Barefoot family farm in Newton Grove always hosts the reunion.  That means Popeye, who organizes the reunion, has to make room for a little more than 10 times the number of people that live in the house.  ("At least I don't have to try to find a place for all of them to sleep!"  Popeye has said of the one-day-only format.

Despite the limited time, Popeye has found a lot of things for the attendees to do.

It all begins at 8:30 a.m. when the out-of-town guests begin to come in.  The first event is Reverend Ralph's Fishing Derby that takes place at mid-morning in the family pond.  This may not be the Bassmaster Classic, but it is highly competitive among the clan nonetheless.   The morning also sees the opening of a carnival midway with rides, games, and open house for all the kids in Bryson's treehouse.

However, starting at 11:45 a.m., people start moving to the huge picnic shelter set up between the pond and loblolly pines to eat lunch, the first of two meals of the day.  The menu is classic summer picnic food:

• Hamburgers
• Hot dogs
• Garlic French fries
• Soda bar (all are made with Brookshire Creek water and are served in a device similar to Sodastream)
• Fruit cup, including watermelon

The bandstand just in front of the shelter then plays host to a talent show at mid-afternoon.  A typical program includes these acts, with entertainment both traditional and modern:

• Hollerin' (hog calls) - Oysbert Barefoot
• Southern gospel - Barefoot Boys (Alonzo Barefoot, Ralph Barefoot, Harvey Barefoot, Landon Barefoot Jr.)
• Southern rock - The Hunting Club (Boo-Boo Barefoot, Cooter Barefoot, Donnie Barefoot, Ronnie Barefoot)
• Traditional country - Kimberly Strickland
• Ballroom dance - Brandy Barefoot with Hylton Tripp
• Comedy - Dwight Herring
• Bluegrass fiddle - Shelton Barefoot, Jr.
• Lip rock (imitating pop music songs) - Beth Barefoot, Becky Barefoot, Brookie Barefoot
• "Hambone" (music with body) - Reba Pearl Barefoot
• One-man band - Bunky Barefoot
• Country guitar - Buddy Wayne Barefoot

Right after the show, there's a wild scramble to get changed into formal clothes for the next part of the program - the formal dinner and family tribute.  First, all the attendees arrive in order of their generations,

starting with the elder Handy and Beulah Mae Cobb, who of course are seated at the head table.  Next comes an invocation and "Dixie" (the Confederate "national anthem) just before this meal is served:
Appetizer choices

• Brunswick stew
• Briar patch salad with Italian-style dressing

Main course choices

• Meat: Barbeque baby-back ribs or classic fried chicken
• Side 1: Baked Irish potato, baked sweet potato, or briar patch rice
• Side 2: Briar patch corn
• Bread: Barley biscuits or hush puppies

Dessert
Red-velvet cake or peanut butter pie topped with "Brenda's Best" cake batter ice cream
Beverage
Sweet tea brewed with Brookshire Creek water

Then, it's on to a large room attached to the barn for an traditional country dance that often goes well into the night.  Both square and line dancing are being offered.  Married couples dance together, while young people are paired up to join them.  Instead of a disc jockey, the music is performed live by the Spears Family Band.  At the end of the night, B.W. and Brittany L. Spears typically come together to perform their duet hit "When the Bough Breaks."

That's followed by the toughest part of the night for the family farm residents - having to clean up behind all these people, and finish in time for the 11 a.m. church service the next morning!

I wanted to do more, but...

I started a few more Photoshop projects this week, but I have only one completed work to show in this post.  This is, in part, because I had one fewer day to finish up this past week, due to a teacher furlough at the ABC Unified School District.  In turn, this is an unfortunate consequence of severe cuts in public education funding throughout the state of California.

What I have to share with you is a "photo" from the Barefoot-Johnston County Family Reunion, known informally as the "Handy Jam."  As I posted in this revision last week, the name comes from Handy Barefoot, a common ancestor of the attendees who lived during the 19th century and produced six proud generations of the clan, including all 13 who live in the Barefoot house.  The "Handy Jam" is a one-day event that attracts as many as 150 people, all direct descendants in some way.  Attendees are served two meals and participate in various activities, which - I promise - will be detailed later.

The setting is just before the lunch service, for which the menu includes hamburgers, hot dogs, garlic French fries, soda made with natural water (with something like the Sodastream), and fresh fruit.  The picnic basket represents the plate settings.  Also pictured is one of the activities, bunco, which - again as I wrote - Popeye is the family master.  Here, he is being challenged by his wife Annie and "niece-in-law" Jennifer.  I would have tried to finish a companion piece, set at a more formal dinner, but now that will have to wait until at least Tuesday. *sigh*

I also hope to have a "publicity photo" of BMN's newest reality star, Dillon Bowling, next week.  I introduced Bowling in this post last winter (although with a different name at the time).  His new "show," Strikin' Out, is to start next week, but he won't feel like celebrating, and for good reason.  Bowling lives in Oklahoma City, and last Sunday one of his friends lost his house (in Edmond, a suburb at which his "home bowling alley" is located) due to a tornado that was part of an outbreak.  Of course, an even larger tornado hit Moore, which is on the other side of the "OKC" area, on Monday.  It's the latest full-scale disaster to hit the United States, and it fit the same patterns as the others: huge loss of life, a town compared to a war zone, the emergence of heroes, and a symbolic logo of support as shown below.  As always, the American Red Cross is the go-to organization to turn to if you want to help the victims.

Here's a "head shot" (actually college baseball player Cody Dent), and front and back shots of what Bowling would wear while he is, well, bowling.

 

My biographies have been revised

I have changed the profiles of all 13 of the Barefoot family members, to provide for more comprehensive and accurate descriptions of them.

In future days, I will do the same thing for the descriptions of their home and family lives.

Here are the new bios:
Part 1 (Popeye, Annie, Brenda)
Part 2 (Jennifer, Bobby Ray, Ralph)
Part 3 (Harvey, Buddy Wayne, Brandy, Hambone)
Part 4 (Bunky, Belinda, Bryson)