More Still Life studies

 

 

Couple of studies yesterday. More branches which I am enjoying looking at and a strawberry leaf. I really find all the moss and things growing on the branches fascinating. So yeah, I am the strange neighbor walking around his yard picking up sticks and looking at them for waaaaay to long.

 

Painterly Encaustic Techniques

I have experimented with various encaustic recipes, some worked, some didn't. Now I stick with the traditional recipe of beeswax and damar crystals. Note that this *very different* from damar *varnish* which contains solvents. Damar varnish should not be used in encaustics as it is highly flammable and can give off toxic fumes when heated! I have also had good luck with a mixture of beeswax and a colorless synthetic hardening wax (lustre wax from www.fineartstore.com) in about a 12:1 ratio of beeswax:synthetic.

Making a note here.

Leaves Fall and Crows Flee

This morning I went out to gather my thoughts and what is all that crunching under my feet?

Really?

Summer is coming to a close and thought this would make a interesting image.  I really enjoy the textures.  Just printed it out 17x17 on Canvas and I could not be happier with it.

Portland Vs Hawaii

 

 

The beaches in Portland are way nicer then Hawaii's. I submit the following photo evidence.

Discussion over.

I see no reason to ever go back now.

 

HOW TO STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST (AND 9 OTHER THINGS NOBODY TOLD ME)

Soon after, you learn that most of the world doesn’t necessarily care about what you think. It sounds harsh, but it’s true. As Steven Pressfield said, “It’s not that people are mean or cruel, they’re just busy.” If there was a secret formula for getting an audience, or gaining a following, I would give it to you. But there’s only one not-so-secret formula that I know: “Do good work and put it where people can see it.”

 

Good read.

Number 10 is really good as well, "Creativity is subtraction."

A Conversation with Nadav Kander - Conscientious

 

NK: I think it’s a universal Western truth that we have a real problem thinking any lower than our head into how we feel about things. I think when we are always trying to make our brain do the work and separate a picture into why I like it or why I don’t and what are the reasons for it, it’s often as simple as that it touches me in an emotional place, in a place inside me that responds to this for whatever reason. Maybe the way I was brought up, maybe the way my parents were brought up. Who knows how far these things go? We all have a problem in knowing that.

Good art works on that level very, very well. Think of Rothko as an excellent example. There’s almost no information on the canvas, and people can sit in front of them for hours, with very, very strong feelings. So composition in itself and weight of composition and colour can give you very strong connections to you and your past. I think that probably explains it.

 

Sunrise

Here is a shot of our lovely garden shed filled with all sorts of wood and dirt.  The morning light hitting it with the green and reds and whites and blacks.... had to get a shot.  This could be a lot of fun to blur the crap out of and make a color field print of.

Wysteria is wild and crazy stuff.  I am training this bunch to run down the length of our fence.  It follows those "T" bars I make out of cedar. I was messing around and made this sepia toned image and really enjoyed it as this graphic piece.

In Memorium

 

Just a reminder that even death brings about life and there is a beauty in that.  Need some people to remember that right now.

P.S.A.

Wanted to get some practice in today since it's slow.  Used a Beauty dish and one back strobe on the white table.  The full shot of the knife looks better, but does not work as well conceptually. So I get to show off my lighting less, oh well.  The text is just a general rule of thumb.

 

Yee Rustic Circa 2001

Been messing around with Painter some more and worked up something from the Yee Rustic that I took back in 2001.

 

Hibernation

Winter rolls on here at pixelrust and slowly I am getting out of my winter funk / work busy period. Starting to feel the creative itch again. Set up a new bay for table top shooting so I no longer have to break it down to shoot green screen work related stuff. That means I have an area I can leave up and tinker with without work getting in the way. Excited about that. One of the things I always wanted was a table top zone I could just build things in. Here is something from almost 20 years ago I dug up while upgrading to Lightroom 3.

So fun stuff like this is in order I think. Don't have as much crap laying around as I did back then though... lol!

When shooting landscapes

When shooting landscapes what I enjoy is that to do it right you have to frame up your shot then breath for about 15 seconds to take it in. See what else will show itself to you in the frame. Maybe it will change a bit and be better and maybe not. But it's a great time to stand still for 15 seconds and just take it all in none the less.

Thoughts on Post production....

This always comes up that So and So relies too heavily on Post Production to make their images look good and it always gets under my skin. The darkroom and photography has been about manipulation since it's birth. Here is the master of manipulations himself, Ansel Adams.