Monday, December 29, 2014

Grownup Art on the net ...?

Great Illustration by Luis Quiles
I'm getting less convinced that good art on social networks get correctly noticed, perhaps noticed at all...

I'm defintely not an expert or even a frequent denizen of the social web, yet posting a bit of tumblr I am largely unwatched and on twitter and flickr there are regular/friends who leave comments, Outside this I see that my more intimate sketches are popular and get reposted without attribution (aka Stolen), but little other interest. So this is a bit self-indulgent and presumes I think my art is ...well worthwhile art.
It might not be but...

It is perhaps time for me to start drawing attention to what I consider original and good art floating around the net. I'll start with the Spanish illustrator Luis Quiles

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The great unviewed

I'm not writing this out of malice or even much research, this is really more about some observations. I have enjoyed trying to get back involved in the social side of the web, well mainly on sites other than facebook.  Specifically I have sent myself the challenge of doing something (eg a sketch Creative each day and post that). I started out trying out tunblr, and I really like the tumble log idea and simplicity of how to post.

The real problem I have with tumblr is I remain largely unwatched. I've tried hashtags and reposting as tweets but I have so few hearts/likes I know I am posting into a void. The few I have followed up seem to be from the more voyeuristic, reposting porn side of the troll community and I'm sure my art doesn't appeal to them. However there has been more interaction via twitter, particularly once I found #thedailysketch hash tag. Twitter still feaes like posting into the void but the trolls there are mainly celebrity chasers or wanna be celebrities and a tine community of artist who don't mind sharing their inspiration and some of their works. However it is two services I have used for a long time (and had drifted away from that clearly gve me the highest interaction. They are Flickr, and I know most of the folk that still interact with me have known me for a long time and Blogger, which still gets a reasonable number of hits/views daily (without as many comments). A little surprising is my google+ profile, which I only set up so I could keep using blogger (it was almost 100,000 views?) and it definitely brings folk to my blog posts (hopefully those that can understand and appreciate it.

So enough navel gazing. I think there can be community on the net for art, and a good place to practise and share but there is a lot of superficiality and trolls to avoid. Perhaps it is important to think about where and who with your want to share rather than number of hits/views/likes or 1+'s

with apologies to Lord Lytton for the misquoted title

Thursday, November 20, 2014

A Wash First

A number of folk who should kniw these things that my work might stay looser if I start with a wash and then add the sketch detail (just where it is needed rather than getting too detailed). Well They might be right!
first wash (tone & form)



sketch in detail (and refine composition


start a new sketch/wash




Its hard to get the composition right the first time but ... i might be onto something

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Tanlines

Pastel on Coloured Paper

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Art, Beauty & Love

More daily sketches


I was pleased with my compositional in watercolour in a couple of washes. So I swapped over to pastel.


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Friday, November 07, 2014

The Smiling Selfie

Watercolour & marker pen

Pastel on Paper

Thursday, November 06, 2014

Another Day Another Selfie to Sketch

marker pen on paper, composition sketch

Keeping it soft, Pastel on coloured paper

Saturday, November 01, 2014

The Spring Carvinal is On


Looking for Trouble


Time to have a day at the races and wear a little (but expensive hat)


Pastel on paper

Friday, October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween Hair

Halloween is not a bit deal in Oz (yet!) but I do have a bowl of lollies by the door ready.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Relax


watercolour on paper

Saturday, October 25, 2014

The broken links....and what to do about them

One of the causalities of my brush with hackers and low life's is the fact that I have been banned on a few services (nothing to actually do with me! BTW) or considered UNSAFE on others, so a lot of otherwise legitimate posts now have broken links in here now. There are so many I don't know where to begin fixing the links, or even if it really matters.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Having second thoughts?

pastel over watercolour on paper
My latest on-line project to hand drawn selfies posted by others, seemed like a good idea at the time, but has not meet with much enthusiasm. Perhaps it is was too many naked breast and just the whole nudity thing corresponding the leaking of a lot of naked instagram and snapchat celebrity images. I hope not.

Anyway I would appreciate conmments and feed back on weather sketching selfies is art? or whether it is even appropriate for the public social web?

PleaseArtMySelfie on tumblr
Selfie sketch book on flickr (I'm considered UNSAFE so you will need a flickr account to see me)

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

I'm tweeting a bit again

One place you can find me is on twitter. Even though I do feel "I am shouting into the void" I can see this is a legitimate place to reach a larger community of potential art appreciators

Monday, October 20, 2014

Pastel progress



Friday, October 17, 2014

The underside of the social web

I know I haven't been posting in here much, I am still drawing and enjoying life. It was just that I was having a welcome, albeit long, break from the havoac of trolls and hackers. Luckily blogger's comment spam filter did a good job sending a lot of low life stuff into libo. I do apologize to the few wonderful people who's true comments where also quarentined. They are now back on public display.

The saddest thing about this is I don't really care, but I do understand how powerless you can feel. I think the lesson remains "don't feed the trolls" (without the oxygen of exposure and response they wither away)

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Monday, August 04, 2014

Pastel Play



Thursday, July 31, 2014

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

#Hashtag Congestions


















Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Sketching is good for your health

The social networks have changed a lot while I have been giving them a rest, they seem to be a heck of a lot of ego and stalking rather than a place of collaboration and conversation, but it might just be me missing the point. However I have found the discipline of sharing one sketch a day (well almost daily) very rewarding and should I think it is better for my health. That 10 to 15 minutes of concentrated seeing and mark making and appreciating a good coffee has done good thing for my blood sugar and pressure, but perhaps less so for my waistline (ok I am exercising as well, weather permiting)

You can watch me on twitter @sighclone or on Flickr in my short black & inspired album.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Posemanics for gestures sketches

For those that are fans of quick gesture sketching. It is fun and good for your health as well as your artistic skills. I have found a get website called Posemanics, which gives you a wide variety of poses and just 30 seconds to perform them (you can set the time longer but only two 90seconds)


Monday, June 23, 2014

Did you miss me?

Its been over a year since I've visted here, thought I'd better get rid of the cobwebs. I can see a lot of links are broken (c'est la vie) but I thought it is time to get posting some sketching again. I have begun over on twitter with a shortblack series most days I will post a simple quick gesture sketch. and if the work out I might post them on flickr in an album called short black & inspired
See you around