dali-esque

I haven't posted most of my photoshop projects, but here is one that I like rather a lot. It's made from scans of scissors and spools. Hope you like!

Random Exchange

This was the assignment on Wednesday, to illustrate two themes. This theme is "Random Exchange" I think, which made me think of passive transport across plasma membranes. Doubt that will be apparent to art students, but I tried to include the envelopes pinched off from the membrane etc. The other theme was "Coolness" but I have not finished it yet. Maybe tonight.

The Jury is still Out

The art class I talked about taking has started now. The first day only three people showed up and it looked like we could get away with a two days per week independent study, but then on the second class more people came so now it will be a full 5 day/week, 6 week course after all. My feelings towards the course are not too warm right now. The teacher is remarkably old, and although he knows his way around Photoshop very well, he is not very good at explaining it, or perhaps I am too dense. Regardless, I find myself confused a lot and when I ask him questions, my confusion usually increases. So yesterday was just a doodle, play around, get yourself familiar with all the buttons kind of day, and here are the two pieces I managed to create. One is finished, the other not. I wish I had a tablet to draw with, and not just a mouse. One kid in the class has one and his drawings tend to be much cooler.



Can you find the girl in the one below? Maybe I'll get to finish it up later.

"Current Venus"

Today was the big festival here in town and I participated in the painting competition. The rules were to start with a blank canvas between 10 and 11am and submit a finished work at 2pm. At 5pm they gave out some prizes and in a few weeks all the pieces will be auctioned. It was definitely a challenge but I got it done. What with the driving and all I painted from start to finish in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Here are the images as the work progressed.




The thing I like the least is the head. It seems out of proportion after all. I tried to fix it but time was running out so that is that. I love her legs. And I love the water. I am also pretty happy about the bathing suit. I think overall I am very satisfied. Also I got an award - Best Acrylic.


Here is the link to the Best of Show winner, Jime Grabowski and her painting "Chaotic Freedom".

A very artistic summer

All over sudden I am embarking on several artistic adventures. This Sunday, in addition to having my scarves for sale at the market, I will be participating in a 4 hour Paint Off, where local artists will paint at a downtown location while onlookers enjoy our work coming to life. Once finished, the works will be judged and awards given out, and then they will be auctioned off.
Then, starting Monday, I will embark on a six week electronic imaging art class, which will use photoshop, some kind of animation program and dreamweaver to teach us how to draw, animate and make websites. The class meets daily for two and half hours, so I am worried about how it will clash with my work schedule. I hope it will work out ok.

Montana Sky

So my dear friend and neighbor graduated this weekend with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. I couldn't figure out what to give her for a graduation gift and finally settled on doing a painting. She is going to be a large animal vet (equine, I believe), so I thought of painting some horses. I also thought of painting our lovely home town, but didn't know what her favorite spot was. So I decided to paint her a Montana landscape, since it is her favorite state, though I myself have never been there. Here it is, in all it's complete glory. It is quite huge, and I let you decide if it looks anything like Montana.

Happy New Year!

2008 will be the year of the Mouse.

Benazir Bhutto

Here's my tribute. A tragic end to a brave life.
June 21, 1953 - December 27, 2007

Comic of the Day

Just my favorite comic strip from today's collection.
This is Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce.

Inkscape

Yesterday I was introduced by my dear coworker to the joys of Inkscape. Inkscape is a free program that is used for drawing/editing. What is cool about it is that it uses vectors to map everything you draw or import so you can really play around with every stroke you make. There are pencil and calligraphy tools and so many fun things to play around with. And as everything that has to do with Linux, it is absolutely free! (and you can use it on Macs and Windows, too).
So here is a drawing I did, mostly from memory, playing around with the calligraphy tool.