IF :: the ashes are safely home

for Illustration Friday's topic "pheonix"

This drawing/painting/cartoon is an attempt to restart my artistic endeavours... ofter an busy and distraction period... i'm determined to get back to the 50 paintings, one drawn it day discipline

The illustration friday topic seems like a perfect way to start

But most this illustration is mostly about cricket,... one of the distractions... and the great battle (much closer than the score line might suggest) for a largely symbolic urn containing some ashes... I don't like like cricket? oh no, I love it...

the fall of linda's hair

Painting 10 looking at how light falls on linda long blonde hair

Watercolour on paper with some extra work using aqulla pencils

so torso

Painting 9 returning to a favourite subject... I'm experimenting with the washes to get maximum "movement" (flexing) into Love Love's wonderful wave inspired pose

watercolour on paper

on the jungle track

on the jungle track
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I'm up to painting 8 .... and well to the honest this is a pastel sketch not a painting.... but i am working on it like a painting.... sudeenly pastels are making sense to me amd I'm enjoying bringing out the tones (in much the same way as i build up watercolour washes.... but using a midtone colured paper I can move to darks (the shadows) and lights at the same time.... and pastels are pure colour

I started this a couple of days ago and have just added a few more "highlights".... it is so big it wont fit on my scanner so the full image here is a photo and you can see it larger on flickr (just click on it)... the images below are highlights that could be scanned at once.

the ballad of nigel kelly

Painting 7: Watercolour on paper also for illustration friday topic : mask

Nigel kelly... decided to become a streaker at the cricket and instantly became more popular than his great uncle ned.

pais tropical two

painting 6: waterciolour pencils (aquella)on paper

pais tropical

Paining 5: neocolour crayon on card

unfinished torso on yellow

(painting) 4: ... well i know it is a pastel and not a watercolour, but it is the only art i got a chance to do on monday

santa baby

Painting 3: I know this sketch is a bit late for the december calendar girl but I did promise lotta (santa's very favourite helper) I would do it... so here it is... hope santa brings everyone the gifts they desire

still burning

painting 2 - the beds are burning, and the bushfire continue

neocolour crayon & aquella pencil on paper



postscript peter garrett the leader of midnight oil has just been announced are the shadow minister for climate change... yes that is a real position in the australian labor party

haze over baghdad

this is the beginning of a small challenge 50days of painting and posting watercolours one a day for 50 consecutive days.

i am not a mug!

men and apples

men and apples
Originally uploaded by ***passiflora***.

It would appear that we... men that is... will never learn... a woman with an apple and we are swept away... no seriously I loved this photo by a flickr friend, i just had to sketch it.... as i was sketching i just new the apple would have to be coloured... RED of course.... what a temptation but have i been sensitive enough with the pencil?

the mural painter

mixing the media

I have had a lot of contradictory advice... all well meaning i think...
slow down (take time to feel the sensitivity)... work with your
emotions, go with the flow, work faster... don't be restrained
with your colours... use less red...try different and new media before
you get stuck in your ways.... maybe they are all the same advice in
disguise... practise more but only show us your best stuff!

Exciting Eh!

Looking for more sensitivity with my pencil

This was an exerise in trying to show a little more sensitivity with my pencil.... I actually had to think about it for some time... the changed from my abrupted and fast pace attempting to develope the shape and shade, wih heck tick strokes and much finger rubbing to spread the tone... to a more calm and controlled building of tome upon tone with the pencil itself... have I found sensitivity?

More importantly will linda recognise they are both of her?

lots of clones on flickr

There are way more clown... sorry make that clones, on flickr... than sighs

how do I know this I put them to a tag fight, one of several great tools created by netomer

more about art on technology

I realise I love my ipod even more now... so many slow hours wasted waiting in hospital, where at least made bearable... but I was using the ipod so much i started to have to charge it each day... normally it lasts a few days... and that meant i had to give and let itunes update itself... (a big risk when you can not see so well)... appart from the fact that it "lost" half my mp3 collection (don't panic it is still there... the new itunes just refuses to see it and I have lost patience trying to figure out why) I was very impressed to see that not only have they added album art, they have a great alternate view of your play list call cover view


We need to congratulate folk when we see art on technology... well done apple

Thanks

Happy flower
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I'm on the road to recovery... thanks folks for all the kind thoughts in Flickr & Yahoo

a bit of a buggar

i made this buddy icon for last.fm last week... and it has been very prophectic.. I had a bit of an accident and now find it hard to do anything... especially see the bloody mouse pointer even... so I might not be on-line much for a little while... and don't worry i'll be fine... but thank god i can still use my ipod

Now you can listen as well

I have been a convert to the ubiquitous ipods for some time now... they are almost mandatory to all travellers...and I have started to collect a lot of the strange music I have collected on my travels and "rip" them to MP3.. yes I have resisted using the proprietary formats offered by apple and microsoft... now I have found out about last.fm... which socializes the process of listening to music... so you can watch music inspires me... down the bottom of the right hand side bar stuff... hope you listen along

yet another flickr toy

Online Jigsaw Puzzle

This an application that lets you create an on-line jigsaw

hmmm.... now how do I fix the formating... well it does work... sorry about the format.

Many more returns?

I was looking at the my blog traffic statistics tonight and I realised my demographic (whatever that is) has changed... I used to get about 40-50% return visits... in other words I had a loyal readership that dropped by from time to time... now I have hardly any return visitors... am I boring you? Please tell me if I am... and that's changed as well... hardly anyone leaves comments anymore... is that more evidence that I am not interesting... NAH! Its probably to do with the extra word game you have to now do to post your comments (which is designed to stop the comment spamming bots)... well i hope it is.

Maybe its the new layout... in blogger beta... which I like by the way... am I drifting away from original task to explore my art... and inspirations.... do you want more BBW ladies? More meaningless waffle. Are you scared away but all the flickríng. Don't be affraid to let me know what will make you return

The joy of art

Watercolour on paper (some pencil & neocolour crayon overworking)

I for one firmly believe it is wrong to label any nude, pornography, just because it is a nude.... especially I get depressed when anything nude on the net... is seen as stocking

nudity is a very natural state and I fear that the nude in art is being tarished by unjustified woserism... why? No idea... I'm also getting a biy weary of the stereo type that to be art a nude must be so abstract... so high contrast.... so disspassionat.... that you hardly recognise it as human in inspiration... its time to have passion and joy back in nude art.... models can be happy, cheecky and even flirtive....

Having said all that I do think filtering of "mature content" or warning that there may be "some nudity" are worthwhile options to help parents and reduce the chance that nudity will be forced onto children... but at the same time I realise an adolescent that really wants to will find nudes.... it the library... in art galleries as well as on the net

But for those of us, a little more grown up, who want to celebrate life... where do we look... back into art history... do we still find it in niave or folks art... or like gauguin must we travel to far off lands trying to discover the primative art... I think not collectively a little more understanding of beauty and not instant celebrity and self absorption may let it be found on the net alredy... I trust this is one place that beauty can flourish

Outdoor light

Watercolours on paper (by request)

torso'ing on

LoveLove in damatic pose, Pencil 4B on Paper


Returning to LoveLove's torso in stronger colour.
Watercolour and neocolour crayon on paper

Linda in muted tones

Watercolour & neocolour crayons

experimenting with new more muted colours, oxide green & umber in initial washes.

what is a fakr?

fakr
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

A fakr, is a faker in flickr, someone that takes (steals is probably the best term) images from websites and post them on flickr as their own... they are swarming all over the more "adult" groups at the moment...

I have grown very weary of sending them polite emails before i remove them from the groups i moderate... so now I am just posting this "toon-like" image in their photo's comments.... I have realised they probably don't read much, but they may get the cartoon!

The stretch

watercolourand neocolour crayon on paper

based on a wonderful photo by GVK of Daisy Stems

More of Love Love

Watercolour & neocolour crayons on paper

Purple & Orange torso

returning to the torso

Watercolour on paper
'Love Love's Beautiful Torso in Red & yellow'

Art on Deviant Art

"Yes it is actually a deviant art gallery, after all"
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I did join up to deviant art with an open mind... but there are many of the same issues... image thieves, fakers, and a lot of "look at me" I'm a celebrity types... and good people in tears... what is happening to web communities?

BUT how tiny is everything on deviant art? I mean the icons for art in the gallery is positively large at 100 by 100 pixels (thats the maximum!) and what size font is that minus 10! ...its all to much for an old bloke with failing eyesight... big pity cause a lot of the art is wonderful AND they have a downlad to you mobile phone feature

Art on Flickr

Seems the NIPSA police are out and about again on flickr... anyone with a significant amount of art work on display is banned from public display... not that I am too worriwed I've been NIPDA'd for a long while.

Posting NUDES in public groups might also get you NIPSA'd or even deleted from Flickr

A lot of the nudes are just stollen from websites(more likely pornsite) so I'm not worried if such faklers get booted.... it just that there was a nice art community growing on flickr... so I might have to join deviant art after all

Art on the net

From time to time I like to add a post about interesting things or places I find on the net... or more specifically thing i found on Wikipedia in this case... and today I want to post a little bit about art.net... it was at the places I am now, over a decade ago... and has already thought out many of the things about artist being on the net... well before me...

so visit them ...
If you are an aspiring artist read their manifesto and maybe join

If you appreciate good art visit some of the artists studios

If you want to read other art blogs

the torso

The torso has been a classic nude subject in art for centuries... the venus de milo is the example most know.. why do we remember her she has no arms.. her legs ar hidden.. at least she still has her head... why do so many artiost draw the torso... is it a blantant sexual act.. i don't think so... is it just to avoid the difficulties of drawing foreshortened limbs... maybe... is it the potenital beauty in the simple forms and curves... yes I think so... long live the torso in art

this museum space was created with dumpr.net museum

the greybot (s)

do you recognize this man... the greybot burglar... you have probably seen him (or her) without the mask... possibly a lot... that mystery flickr contact, with the name like "hotpants" ""sxyjane" "hugejon"... they always want to be your friend... but they don't have any photos and no buddy icon just the greybot.. be cautious they may not be who they seem... you may find your private posting stolen and posted elsewhere.... maybe everywhere

sea nypmh

Strong outdoor lighting is so hard
to paint... they range of tones is really too much for watercolour...
so I have had to cheat a lot... white paper... no wash at all... is high key
and some strong background color wash now... actually it looks good... i should do that more often... so cobalt and altramarine blue have been added to my pallette.

Linda's watercolour

The Icon idea

stop thief
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I trust this is not too mundane... I loved the bling text.... but it does not reduce in size well (something you need to remember when selecting an icon

Oh well back to the drawing board