sketching in paradise

for illustration friday's topic your paradise

returning to the sketching

P1010001,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

Thought it was time to get the sketchblog back to what it was originally intended to be... an online sketch book... so here it is... (but the scanning won't be the best since I'm traveling and don't have access to a scanner so they'll just be photographs or sketched instead) ... as I'm trying out the email to flickr route to do the posts... hope it works

Fields of Gold

So she took her love,
for to gaze awhile,
among the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
among the fields of gold

Pastel on paper

amber inspiration

pastel on paper

The sketch book is dead ... long live the sketch book

as part of stream-lining my on-line existence (trying to get rid of the time consuming bits and stuff that just waste bandwidth) ... i've decide to kill off my original sketchbook ... its not actually the original which was in MSN groups but they threw it over to world groups because it had NUDES ... yes people without clothes ... no one had visited it for years so its gone... but that leaves a big hole since flickr only has my recent work so i'm working on a more refined sketch book using googles picassa web albums and a version on my notebook to managed the big mess that is my electronic scapbook of my work ... so softly ...softly I will create some on-line albums with my earlier images ...watch this blog for links there ... BUT remember there may be NUDITY!

Nudes & Torsos

soft 25 hours of flickr (the rejects)

soft 25 hours
Originally uploaded by sighclone.

Yes this is heavily based on Dali's persistence of memory (better known as the soft clocks) ... i had been invited to the 24 hours of flickr rejects group and realised I had missed the whole thing due to other things taking my full attention on saturday... when i noticed they just had a black icon (at least it wasn't an undefined grey bot) ...and the whole time draped over the tree of life thing hit me ...

By first I must set the scene, I'm having a late night coffee in a cyber cafe and I didn't have much at all to create with... certainly no art gear ...well expect a felt pen... so i scribbled the back of a flyer. Instead of digitizing.. I photographed it on my phone ... uploaded it using bluetooth (with about 5 minutes of frustration in the process) then found the usb port on the cafe computer, and plugged in my memory stick ... with it's portable apps system and specifically gimp.. converted the image to black & white, with a couple of bits to edit and then colour fill ...viola, about 10 minute later my idea is on flickr and uploaded as the group logo overnight...

not bad for an old bloke ...I have even impressed my self

Is this really me ...

I decided I needed a new, more web 2.0 style, buddy icon come profile pic ...Maybe i'm geting old and grumpy but those folk without a profile pic or even some descriptive text all get assigned to ignore land these days ...too many little annoying trolls and otherwise antisocial types seem to hide in the guise of anonymity ...ok they can do that but the will not be accepted as my friends

so conversely I want other to see me as a little creative, not to complex and basically harmless ...do you think this suits me? ... do you even care?

Twiquette

"Should good girls wave at a bligmobile"

car(toon) for Cherrie Exx

what are you doing?

In line with my scaling down for better portability ... I've become a twitter(er) ...its a little strange to describe ... some call it a microblogging ... basically you just use the web, email, IM or even SMS from your mobile phone to answer the question "what are you doing?" ... and then the fun starts BUT beware it can be addictive and expensive on OZ if you do i via SMS ;)

... so if you are interested you can now see what I'm doing, and countless thousands of others are up. look way down the bottom of the righhand side of this blog and you will see the RSS feeds of my stuff and a twitter feed ...watch that cube-head roll around the net ...boring yet! or maybe you's like to join in the conversation?

So where is the art?

don't despair ... i am still drawing, just not things that can be posted here (at the moment) ...in the meantime here is a cartoon, well cartoon-ish drawing ...is it just me or is there a misguided blurring of focus on the difference between celebrity and tacky meaningless behavior ... is miss world abort to be replaced by Slut of the Universe?

Are silly, but harmless, old artist that post nudes on the net really responsible for this trend?

take five

take five,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

my newest passion, on last.fm ... is to listen to the same songs, by different artists, ... it was a simple enough discovery, if you sort your itunes library or playlist by name (or title in monkey media), there they are all side by side ... just waiting to be played one after the other ... I have several version of take 5 by Dave bruebeck .. there is a long one, a short one a mid length one but my favourite is the Dave Brubeck trio with gerry mulligan, recorded live in Berlin, which last over 9 minutes ... anyway the weaving of the rhythm and melody across the sax(ex), piano, base and drums needed illustrating .. so here is my attempt

well how about that

On my yahoo 360 profile page I have, an art quote of the week link ... this weeks is ....John W. Gardner "Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."

So I put this into the flickr search and it couldn't find anything :( Then I started taking out the little words until i just has Life art drawing ... and well it found mt life drawings, (not that surprising you say when you see the tags ... but I do love this series.

So then I went over to google and guess what there were exactly 248,000 matches to Life is the art of drawing without an eraser ...towards the top are a couple of artists over on deviant art, sandpiperw, as in the bird and monaattya, then quiet a few links to the quote again.. I suspected looking at more would not help much.

so I turned to blog radio, and guess what? ...nothing found, but i did fine the art of life by X Japan, never heard it before and it is kind of epic, and a live version to boot



Such is life & art

more self filtering

Don't be discouraged ... deviant art has followed flickr and added self filtering for mature content ... I fully support this, it means that grown ups (like me can "publish" works without worrying about them being "accidentally" viewed by minors (those innocent children of mythical importance) ... yet i hate to be a spoil sport but the big problem of the moment on lots of on-line communities is that most of the pseudo pornographers, images trolls and generally annoying folk on the net are young adolescent people, and very immature at that ... probably in their bedroom while mum & dad think they are doing homework!

still I would rather not risk corrupt a purely innocent soul, so I applaud the self filter move.

My presence on deviant art has been a bit sparse to date ... maybe there will be more now

...quilting?

No I haven't hit menopause ... well i don't think I have .... but i have taken up quilting

This widget from last.fm will let you see the albums I own and listen to.. impressive don't you think? ...watch way down on the right hand side of this blog, to see my current favourite artist that I listen too anywhere, my ipod, web-radio, from podcasts...hear what inspires me! click on the pictures and find out more if you want

something nothing

is it just me or is second life really the web 2.0 incarnation of the B ark (hitch hikers guide to galaxy fans will know what i mean)? its an interesting concept and is at its center a just a game ... but how obsessed are the airheads inside their ... such conspicuous spending on nothing, (or more precisely something-nothing) ... where are the real bohemians, the creative folk, the intelligencia ... the self obsessed inhabitants inside are all supposed to be the smartest people around ... not the one's i have meet... where did that myth come from, they just seek fame and instant celebrity... then again i decided to be poor ... which translated into being totally ignored ... ok I'm a little older and a little wiser, and no damage done to my wallet, and I can get on with my life ... enjoy the journey without me, second lifers ... i know what happened to the golgafrinchans

Powered by ScribeFire.

mixing media (again)

this small sketch was just a playful experiment, using pastel over a watercolour wash ... but i was thrilled with the colours ... lotta on the other hand would have rather her eyes where the same size ;)

Art for Arts Sake

Art for Arts sake
Originally uploaded by big al davies.

I guess this is not a big deal for a lot of my more net & flickr savvy friends ... but I have just at some good fun typing simple quotes into the flickr search everyone's photo box at the top the the flickr page ... for example art for art sake got this great photo and a lot of others

So I have decided that I might make a visual &/or musical quote search a regular feature on the blog ... hope I don't bore you all to quickly


I also wanted to add the sond art for art sake by 10cc, but i could not locate anything on blog.radio and you will only get a scrobbled snippet from last.fm. On Utube the only thing remotely like the song was by the Bon Fuher ...which was a very hopeless attempt at sing really and being dress like hilter is way.... not now or every was... sorry that was so bad I won't bore you with that clip ... so please make do with the scrobbled bit from last.fm

armed & dangerous

If you see an old bloke in a cyber cafe armed with a handful of electronic thingos, and a sketch book, and maybe drinking a short black (espresso to the coffee heathens) don't be alarmed he will probably be harmless old me ... i've decided to downsize my hardware... an particularly get rid of all the bloody cables... I've been puting my best art on my ipod for a while now and it now has a great gallery, with a wicked miles davis soundtrack... my phone is filling with art as well ... it is web aware so i can email and even find myself on google maps ... the orange thing is amazing its the new Australia next G network wireless broadband modem, on a USB plug... works anywhere my phone does... but the best bit is on the memory stick... I've moved over to using portable apps ... and it was painless.... i can now have my own same old work space, favourites, bookmarks and all and software on any computer that takes the USB plug... even crappy old cyber cafe 'puters.

Whilst I am deeply saddened to hear about the Virgina Tech massacre, ... it doesn't surprise me ... guns kill people ...as an Australian I know gun control people works ... those folk in the USA please look at the stats you are far more likely to be shot my someone you know, because they have easy access to a gun when they get annoyed. Remove that access and you will stay alive! ... but your president says it better than me

Mr Bush: "It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time"

(UNHEARD part of the interview ---

Reporter: "And what place was that Mr. President?"

Mr Bush: (looks blank for a while) "Errr ....America" )

soul food

I've been so involved in my pastels of late I have neglected my simpler cartoon like sketches and doodles ...such behaviour was good for my soul ... viva the goddess ... good music... and purple

An on-line exhibition worth visiting

My very favourite "grown up" web artist is carolyn weltman (aka sophi,
aka art for engineers) ...she's a lovely person as well. anyway she has been selected as the as the featured artist on the british museum of erotic art website (look under the exhibition section, while it lasts)... congratulations carol

It is definitely worth a visit if you are not familiar with her work ... especially the sensuality in the way she does her shoes... but take your time to have a look around at the originality and creatively that still exists in the art world ... the all to boring "me too" celebrity/pornish/fackr copyism and image theft doesn't have to be the only thing you can look at on the net you know ... there is life outside second life,myspace, yahoo & flickr!

I love it ....

wondering why the artistic output is down ... well the wordl cup cricket is (still) on over in the west indies... the complete opposite time zone to here... and being a bloke I can't watch TV late at night and sketch ;)

opps

Sorry about forgetting to update the blog calender ... ok you loyal blog viewers how about reminding me ;)

And another thing ... just discovered that the nude suduko has stopped working... seems that changing the public access filtering has hidden my nudes from third party access ... i'll see if I can fix it first, but don't be surprised if that link disappears

Raison d'Être

Whilst I still draw on paper ... butI am getting more and more convinced that art has to make the move onto all our personal technology ...otherwise that technology will remain cold and remote... showing some creatively on your personal things will enhance your life ... and it doesn't even have to be a nude ... the problem is really the rate at which the technology changes ... does your mobile phone now have a camera? ... have you personalized your PC yet with an original wallpaper ... do you want to? would you rather wait for the video ... have you ever thought about
it.

Should I start to consider making more of my art for technology ... such as screen wallpaper ...or is blogging art enough ... willflickr (and yahoo) ever let the art flow ... are the millions of screens of the rapidly developing range of personal devices the biggest art gallery of all? ... perhaps I am a pioneer ...not just an eccentric

missing chatting with me?

If you miss my pressence in the chat rooms.... or my terrible typos.... the old yahoo ones, or MSN, Trillion or Pal talk ... here is your chance to have a nice chat with me without the chat room

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Monthly FlickrMat

Monthly FlickrMat,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

This is a nice idea, inspired by artjunkgrl. These are recent works (not exactly all last months, but hopefull a nice start to my monthly flickrMat routine.)

1. gucci rush, 2. pastel torso8, 3. gemma in pastel, 4. torso1 in pastel, 5. fees famous backside, 6. torso2 in pastel, 7. ayame in pastel small, 8. kimy's secret in pencil, 9. aussie louise in pastel

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

another Pastel Torso

Life drawing, Pastel on paper.

Light is a thing that cannot be reproduced, but must be represented by something else – by color.

Paul Cezanne

Have you noticed the E

Have you noticed the euro symbol after my signature?


My friend fee, and recent model, has convinced me to return the old E to
my signature... (it belongs there by the way) not to show that I have a love for the euro.... but primarily so she can tell others she is a norte (pronounced "naughty") girl... which she may well be!

She has also convince me to think about merchandising, yes the "m" word... putting a logo on some very exclusive apparel on my cafe press shop. So if you have been sketched or painted by me and feel the urge to let others know you are a NortE girl well now you have the chance.

no grey bots

no grey bots,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

once again i am cleaning out all my contacts... flickr... yahoo... email... if you are a grey bot, that is you don't have profile details or a buddy icon... i'm afraid i'll delete you.

if i was a spy in the house of love

I'm a spy in the house of love

for illustraion friday: spy

torso.. times two

Studies from life, pastel on paper

reflections of a pinup

pastel on paper

A sketch of another flickr friend, Pinup Gurl... I was quite pleased by the ripples and reflections... the light on the mode is pretty pleasing as well... so is the model for that matter

blacked out photos... don't panic

some of you on flickr may have noticed the blacked out (tv noise style) image appearing a lot... don't panic it is not big brother gone wild... it is a new type of self filtering... that allows responsible folk to categories and classify their images so they wont be accidental exposed to minors, wowsers, grandmothers (or the easily offended)...


I for one think it is a good system and everyone should think about using it... If uou see a black screen and it is someone you know and trust.. click through... if you don't know them and they have a greybot buddy icon... don't bother

there is even an implication that art does exist on flickr... (may the NIPSA witch hunts for art, and artist works could be a thing of the past)

the art of things

framed but is it art or arse?,
originally uploaded by FeeMac.

This is a small pastel sketch from life..(live model that is, something I'm supposed to concentrate on, or s I'm told)... my model is a young and talented friend that is an very beautiful artist in just about anything she takles... this torso study came about after she boasted that her bum is probably the most viewed thing on the net at the moment... (see her manipulate photo on flickr)...

Most people I know think that i'm crazy

whilst i was up in singapore a legend of australian rock passed away...

one of his hits was quiet a personal anthem


and if you liked that follow this link for a bit from the recent long way to the top concerts, with an intro by bryan brown... its not to shabby for an old bloke in his late fifties!

bye billy....he will be missed by a lot of us

more pastel work

Soft Patel on paper

I must admit I am rather proud of this sketch... I feel I am getting to know how I can "paint" with pastels... Its not all that dissimilar to using watercolour... you can byuild a richer look using one colour ontop of another, for example the pink over the orche looks natural... and the orange over brown takes on the glow of hair... a big advantage of the soft pastels is that, with care, you can draw in highlights over darks (something impossible in watercolour washes)... se the reflection on gemma's glasses... my progress my be slow but i think I am understanding that you must npt only seethe shapes and tones but also how they can be built up.

This is based on this photo of a flickr friend mad gemma... I loved the coy look and great composition... so half the artistic challenges were already solved in her photo.

I look like I'm after something..
Originally uploaded by mad_gemma.

Cheap wine & a three day growth

Whilst singapore is a terrific city... life there never stops... it full steam ahead for everything... well maybe its full stream backwards a lot as well... it is good to get back to oz... down to the beach and out into fresh air and do... well nothing... maybe a drink or two, and a yarn with mates... I know why this cold chisel song appeals to me...

Croissants and mobile phones

Things have been far more hecktick than i had expected up here in singapore... not to worry the beer and night-life is still wonderful

Not so the pastries

I obviously had grown used to the dried out and burnt outer layers and tough uncooked layers in side last time I was here last... but at in singapore you can have a coffee and danish or coffee and croissant,( croissant au chacolatte even)

The other thing i have noticed is it is mobile phone everythong.... gone are the days of all squeezing around the screen in a cyber cafe... everything... including the reading and writing of blogs is being done via mobile phone.... hurry up blogger and uberme and make that simple and seamless

all locked up

Sorry folks... my block has been locked by blogger because the suspect it is a spam blog I'm not sure why that might be but i appologise in advance if anyone has been emailed beacuse of reading my blog... it certainly wasn't me

My other theory is it may be that I have got a lot of "Flag As Objectionable" because many of my sketches show nudity... again sorry if i offended anyone I don't intend to... and for the record I don't post thing i think as "Objectionable".... and please leave a comment if you think i do

Hello,

Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that
it will no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and
sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your
patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

Recieved 13/2/2007 some ten days later

living in SIN (again)

Sorry about the lack of blog posts and art... probably it is the art i need to be more worried about... i'm not sure i have any regular readers any more

Anyway I am back in singapore (SIN is the three letter code for changi airport,,, looking after a collegues post, so they can have a break.... living down by te beach and having house guests most of the summer i had eased into a genter life style... so hitting the single block expat life sytle back here has hit me for a bit of a six... must be getting old... its not that i'm not enjoying it... its the struggling to keep up.... also singapore has had web access everywhere for ages and it is mostly free if you know the right coffee shops and cyber cafes.... but it is so slow.... I mean s l o w

anyway thats it for now the coffee has arrived

testing last.fm links

I decided I must try testing the new last.fm embed links.... they seem only to play 30 secondish previews.. but that's fine... If you like the track I'm confdent you will go buy it or even download it via itunes to your ipod.... Not that there was anything wrong with blog radio... I just like last.fm better and have started a music inspired sketcbook style journal in there...

A lighter portrait

Pastel on paper

I am still using orange and ocher to get the skin tone to glow but I have
lowered the key and lightened the tone... perfect to create the gorgeous richness and underlying cheeky sensuality of a new friend from flickr

another sketchbook blog

Form time to time I do find that I am not the only creative person
using a blog as a sketch book... but here is one great lady doing it in
style, in her BrokenEyeball blog so much art is souless these days... so do yourself a favour and have a look at how expressive the carol's figurative works are... some of the doodles are a little macabre and sometimes the expression is loneliness and/or pain.. but these are definitely work with a spirit that I sure will enchant you as they have done for me

too darn hot

The weather down along south-eastern australia is hot... too darn hot

My beach house is having a constant flow of guests and other interlopers... but because of the hot nights and no air conditioning, (heck I'm used to tropical heat and just prefer over head fans) so most are guests are not sleeping and so i have a house full of crabby pants...

So I'm hanging out for that cool change

The other plan is to introduce a compulsary siesta!



Could not find cool change, on blog radio, which was a big hit here for the little river band... so you'll just image it while listening to another of their songs...

beautiful red butterfly

Pastel on paper

Portrait of a friend from flickr

nude reclining (in 3 media)

I think it is good to vary the media I am using... well at least occasionally... I think there is les need to vary the subject