Does this offend you?

Ok I admit it I like to sketch nude ladies ...what is worse I often like to do it quickly ...do gesture studies, two minute sketches of torsos, I have been posting this on the net for some time. Some sketches have been heavily criticized, by self opinionated wankers (the wankers bit is my opinion btw) but I hope enough people see beauty in my work as well. However I suspect I am fighting a loosing battle over the censorship of nudes on the social webs ...and that is because these places quickly adopt the manners and conventions of the crowd ...and that is unfortunately that nudity must equal porn ..it doesn't! I know that! I'm a grown up!

For a while there I thought Flickr had got it right offering a content filtering system that let you mark the content safe, moderate (and they had prepared good guidelines, so this equals exposed breast) or restricted (full frontal nudity and other things offensive!) They also had 18+ groups for grown ups. All was ok but then they started marking folk like me unsafe, which means if you don't log in and click that you are old enough to look everything I do is hidden from you. At Least they didn't remove my account. From recent discussions in some flickr groups a lot of accounts have been summarily suspended. The anti nudity witch hunts are probably increasing, yet I think there are just reasons, there is way too much stolen porn and other folk's photos and artwork being re-posted in flickr and all across the net these days. It is theft and plagiarism gone feral and it is distasteful ...Unlike my art!

The real rub for me came today when I discovered I have been suspended on TwitPics, presumably for posting the sketch above. No reason give no correspondence, just messages at the end of links that image no longer exist and member suspended. Such is life.

So Artists may soon not able to display their own original and real art, if it doesn't conform to the latest web stampede/fashion on popular social networks. The trend is worrying, aussies should particularly watch out for the net censorship noose (aka clean feed) proposal Senator Stephen Conroy is fashioning for australian web users (he is suddenly quiet about it at the moment? that's right there is an election loaming, but the stupidity is still their on the books).

Vive Le Art

chalk on my fingers ...again

kool portrait,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I haven't used my pastels anywehere near enough for a while ...I like being able to apply the rich pigments directly mixing the colours on the surface ...but i think i need to have a watercolour wash of use coloured paper to really see that richness ...which doesn't scan well by the way

...Vive le pastel

dark torso

I've started to find my own way to work in corel painter essential ...I like to start with a little bit of "borrowed" colour into a quick background wash,(broad wash brush) then add a few tiny little details (using the edge cloner brush) or just tracing some free and easy fine lines (using the 2B pencil brush and purple colour) and splash or two on the nipples for interest. Still not quiet 2 minutes but getting faster and freer. Hard to image it is done on the computer ...or am I pulling my own leg?

giving it a red hot go

Its winter here now and has been cold, rainy & cloudy for a few days ...great time to stay inside by teh fire and watch the rain ..and maybe practise with my hand at painting on the computer ...I have a new wacom bamboo tablet with corel painter ...still in the learning stage ..those demos & tutorials make it look easy but ...but ...ok there are lots of buts ...and hows? ...and arhhhh! So there I was with a blank canvas and staring out the window with a bad case of "painters" block ...just as the sun was setting it was beautifully silhouetted against a large banksia tree and some dark clouds ...strongest of warm colours (almost the colours of the aboriginal flag) ...I had to go for it ...and it was easier than I expected. Choose the brushes (impasto followed by opaque arcylic), select & mix a couple of colours and wow ..you can push the colours around on the canvas just like real paint...not as hard as the instruction seem to make me believe.

I think I could get used to this!

the apron

the apron
Originally uploaded by sighclone

watercolour, pencils & felt pens on paper

Stop nagging me gmail!

I must admit once the sun comes out, I feel i'm well on the road to recovery ...ok a bit slower than before but my creative juices are starting to flow ...and I know I've missed a lot of conversations and posting but I get a guilty conscience whenever I look at my gmail account ... its nagging me ... UNREAD EMAILS ...UNREAD BUZZes ... buggar it they can stay unread ...sorry if they are yours ...I have my life to live ...those things that slipped under the cracks may just have to stay there

C'est la vie

Joanie sketch

Quick sketch, not exactly a torso, but close enough to two minutes. Testing out some new Neocolour II water soluable wax crayons, with some pencil and wash as well.

That is some cyber woman

You would have to admit that the cyberwoman on tonight's re-run of Torchwood, puts those cyber nasties on Dr Who to shame.