An awesome gift!

So now that the office flood (or leak, really) is getting taken care of and the carpet is being cleaned tomorrow, I can think about moving back into my workspace. In the meantime, my makeshift office has done well and I have gotten a chance to play with my fabulous Christmas gift - thank you, Santa Art! - a medium-size Wacom Intuos4 tablet!!!

Okay, why is this so cool? Well, I am a lefty, but ever since we got our first computer when I was about 7 or 8, I have been "mousing" with my right hand. This worked for me because I am pretty ambidextrous anyway and point-and-click is not really detail work anyway...plus I play trumpet with my right hand, type, did gymnastics on the right side, switch hit in softball, etc. etc...BUT! As I started to use Photoshop and other image-editing applications, I thought, wouldn't it be nice if I could mouse with my right hand and draw and edit with my left? Gosh, I wish I had one of those tablets that you "write" on to do your edits.


I got to try an Intuos tablet at a workshop I attended and decided that this would be a great addition to my editing arsenal, and my loving husband agreed. IT IS AWESOME!!! I don't know how I went so long without it. I think that once I get even more used to it, and with some additional Photoshop work and practice, I will want to put more of a "fine art" spin on some of my pieces. Certainly for painting, drawing, and detail work this thing is going to help me immensely.

I still have photographer friends who could never see the appeal, and even my brother who is a graphic designer doesn't see the point and doesn't plan on converting anytime soon, but for me, the lefty, it's a whole new world, and I love it!! More to come as my skills develop...mwah ha ha!!!  ;-)