the return of the torso

Pastel on paper

unofficial survey

I ran a very unofficial survey of what some young friend throught of my blog...
after the laughing died down... here are few things overheard

"way to go old man"

"some of the illustrations and cartoon are wiked"

"Youtube video links, that so yesterday"

"you really post this stuff? serious?"

A "sad" eulogy... but great satire

The chaser team are back in hot water, all because of a wonderfully satirical eulogy song, It was on their website earlier, but seems to have been removed. but luckily the song is still available on last.fm

Andrew Hansen – The Eulogy Song

What is wrong with a bit of honest humour? All those that have taken offense need to take a good look at themselves!


WARNING: OK, if you are a Lady Di fan, or a Steve Erwin fan... or ok there are too many to mention... if you are easily offended...look away

a big weekend

The cats are still out on the town down in geelong and why not 44 years is a long time to wait for a victory, and over night there was anoter sound win in the "other" code of real football, congratulation to the melbourne storm

What better way to chill out after all the euphoria, than with the cat empire... and say hello

puck U miss

Move over Kath and Kim... there is a new show in town that everyone is watching... (and hoping they don't see themselves in)... its another little mockumentary called summer heights high...best of all they have their own website with some fully excellent ways to waste time, like with games, video clips and such.

belated party feed

Its the last saturday in september and I'm hosting a "not really a grandfinal" party, this afternoon, there is music and videos inside for te anti-AFLtypes, but I wanted to have a place out on the balcony... (not for the smokers... they were not invited and anyone my age who smoked is already dead anyway) but for those who simply must be kept in the loop... so I had the idea of looking on twitter and fortunately their is an AFLBOT which I can put on an old TV screen... for the more keyboard obsessed there is also the aflcast which points you to breaking afl news and other related netfeeds.... if your don't know what AFL is? too bad!

Was a good idea but didn't work out... ended up getting the audio of the ABC Grandstand coverage

Congratulations to the cats.

where are the bobos?

No its not a typo in the title... For some time now i have been called the "bourgeois bohemian"... with a specific single handed double quotes gesture... I was starting to think of it as some kind of award...I thought it was because I always ask, "where are the bohemians?", as a rather stale attempt at party conversation that has since become a bit of a habit. I do actually like interacting with the true bohemians... they are always interesting and passionate and couldn't care less about money and other social conventions... they are people that i find it easy to like... even when, or maybe because they commit worse fashion crimes than I... anyway i now discover that I am actually supposed to be a BOBO (as in Bourgeois Bohemians) and that term comes from a recent book called "BOBOS in Paradise"... it is well written and I am having a laugh, because I recognize so many of the characteristics of the idle rich who yearn to be BOBOs... so know I will be asking "show me to the poor bohemians"

IF you are late for your wedding?

For IllustratonFriday's theme weddings

I was thinking about the angry penguins, a group of radical writers in the 40s,in an otherwise very conservative Australia, not weddings or marriage and this cartoon just popped out.

reclining

Soft Pencil Sketch (photogaphed rather than scanned)

the lifeclass

Get your ART fix everyday

I was looking at the range of google gadget, and found one to put art on your technology, called art for today... there are gadget for everything including games. I'll add a couple these gadget down in the other places of interest section on the right hand side and change them from time to time.

mucking around with different media (again)

This is another lifeclass series of quick sketches of the same pose but each in different media, starting with soft charcoal and soft pencil, through compressed charcoal stick and onto watercolour wash.

Is there something deeply psychological in the fact that i was the only one to draw the shadows

We are (not) amused

In actual fact i did think the false motorcade, and osama costume was both funny and a sad reflection on the fultility of all the extra security hype that is cluttering our airways.

"The only thing they posed a risk to ultimately is our senses of humour,"

The boys have been naughty again.

I like the ABC Chaser's War on Everything so much I now subscribe to their vodcasts, if you have itunes, you can subscribe using this link... my ipod nano doesn't do video but my psp does.

Here is some of their work, also about APEC security, from earlier this week -

toktok pidgin

I'm trying to simplify my on-line life, go on a email/chat/IM/social network diet so to speak... and it sound easier than it is. I would not describe myself as an addict but as twitter has shown me it doesn't take long to get out of the loop these days, flickr/yahoo are conspiring to frustrate me, myspace and facebook are not my scene and second life just leaves me cold. So what does an old bloke do.... start speaking in new language of course...

NO it is not a new languauge at all Pidgin is the portable apps upgade of GAIM, that lets you converse across several IM systems, including GTalk, Yahoo and Msn... and while I'm here I should plug portable apps, you can install them on a USB memory stick and carry around your most useful applications, including even the great free graphics software GIMP... everything useful on one memmory stich now that is a diet!

flickr hiccup over...

September FlickrFunMat, originally uploaded by sigh clone.

We'll it looks like my earlier harsh judgment of flickr was a bit premature... now all i ill have to do is figure out why i am unsafe when I have always been a advocate of self filtering...

st

ok I deserved it...

ok I deserved it... I'm a crank pants... but my fellow life class student's made me buy a beyondblue wristband... so I looked up the beyondblue website and realized just how many people are suffering, anxiety and depression in silence, so if thats you don't... ...seek help ...and as for me ...the blue wristband will stay on till my splints come off.

What did i expect...

cyclone mad,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I have been mulling over where to shift my yahoo photo collection for some time.... you see Yahoo bought out flickr and they want to close their yahoo photo facility... and they offered to send your photos (in my case dominately art work) to several other sites, which included flickr... i procrastinated, what do you expect... but notice they now offered 3 months pro-account on flickr.... so I signed up.... i new i had a few images duplicated, bu i figured with the added power of a pro account I would be able to sort it out.... i'm also laid upo at the moment so it would be a good project or so I though.... ok i had to wait a few days till the transfer was done but then i got the message that every thing was transfered abd the public images from yahoo were now private... click here to make them public again.... Hmmm





I did follow instructions, seems its a little more than hiccups, now I am totally locked out of access to the organizer.... such is life, on the unsafe side of flickr iI suppose

on the mend

I'm working on the principle that...
a sketch a day will keep the doctor away

watercolour wash on paper (mainly wet on wet, limited palette exercise, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, ultramarine)

I trust this one is not too cheeky!

Does NUDE always have to be considered LEWD

The australian public are being bombarded with a lot of governent funded ads, many about something-nothing (ie just to make the unthinking actually think that the government is doing stuff, co-incidentally just before an election)... anyway last night it was the netalert campaign blitz, and the govenrment are providing free anti-porn filters for anyone to download. Is this, along with the security fence in sydney good use of tax payers money? Am I becoming too cynical?

Don't get me wrong, I do encourage the use of net filters and parental invovlment on internet usage, it is just I feel strongly that a piece of software is not a substitute for parental care. Parents please take an interest, share your time and experience with your kids (including the net savvy adolescent ones, whom these filters are unlikely to stop anyway).

The net alert site even has some good advice here.

continuing the protest theme

Billy Warhol, a flickr mate, active over at the orange fridays, drew this to my attention, the imagery is wonderful and the song isn't so bad either.

The cost of freedom

Sydney woke to find it has become traversed by a big ulgy fence.. is it caging the inhabitants in? .... keeping the unwelcome out? ... or it is the cost of being allowed to protest? ... correction thinking we are allowed to protest? ....or truly just security for those visiting APEC that have a lot on death and destruction on their conscience? ... will it keep terrorists out, so they can kill the innocent, instead of the guilty?

NO maybe it just to scare us all a little

inspiration into art

Pastel sketch becomes a painting

When does ART stART?

Is it in the first few marks made, during the inspiration, extracted as the work is developed, or is it only fermented in the mind of an appreciative viewer?

This is my attempt a special "gift" to my regular readers, for bring this humble blog all the way to 20,000 visitors...

new toys

There are an ever increasing number of applications and "toys", turning up for twitter these days... well i call them toys, they are fun things to play with... Twitter blocks is an amazing 3D staircase world that tracks conversation threads across your friends and followers... but don't get yourself too deeply embedded, you may never return from this esheresque labyrinth.

IF through the looking glass... sort of stuff

for illustration friday's topic alphabets, loosely inspired by alice in wonderland meets vegetable soup, and the I ate this trend on mobile phone cameras and flickr

....it is also my first artwork, since i had my broken wrist strapped in a splint!

deja vu...

This cartoon, by hugh of gaping voids blog, really amused me.

congratulations carolyn

If you are a long timer reader of this blog you will know that one of my favourite on-line erotica artist is carloyn weltman of art for enginners,she has been asked me to donate two of her pieces to their permanent collection, which is huge, and is part of their Kinsey Confidential exhibition which is now showing and will continue through to December. AND if that is not enough she is also involved in crybaby's FOURPLAY exhibition

what is art? (again)

Photo from uncyclopedia

Came across the Uncyclopedia by accident, its no more (un)authoritative than most other web locations but it does appeal to me, especially the art section, if you are serious about art please scroll down a bit and be warned about the seven deadly arts.

IF - Visitors

for illustration friday's topic visitors

BTW its a twitter joke

still life - limited palette

Oil on canvas board

Exercise using a limited palette, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber

still life - new media

this is an acrylic underpainting on canvas board, with a some pastel overwork

it is meant to be something quintessential australian

more from the life class

rapid (5 minute) sketches in pastel on paper

the life class

pastel sketch on coloured paper

life classes are a traditional way to gain experience and just perform art... it is time i did it!

there is a time

self potrait with brush
Originally uploaded by sigh clone

just letting you know to expect a slight change in my art... everything will be from life... nothing from photos (for a while anyway)... i'm attempting to relearning some techniques... well i hope I'm learning them.... plus a lot of stuff might just be about the work (the progess of the work, or ideas, sketches etc) rather than finished works... it is a time for learning... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven

i want my art to embrace life!

Even the cyber me has dyslexia

This is part of a conversation between my cybertwin & wing, who also sent me a postcard from secondlife

sighclone: i'm an adenrurer and occasional cartoonist

Wing : what is and adenrurer

sighclone: Depends if we are talking cyberspace or the real world. Assuming cyberspace, what do you think it is?

Wing: i think its a misspelling

sighclone: Why do you think that?

Wing: because not in dictionary

sighclone: I'm not a dictionary, I'm a CyberTwin. I'd much rather chat with you than regurgitate definitions all day.

Wing: are u an adventurer

sighclone: Am I? Guess.

Wing: so you say.

sighclone: Me? Yeah, what about me?

Wing: i am an explorer.. of two universes.

sighclone: Two what? I am not a calculator program, I don't like arithmetic.

Wing: i looked at your sketch site, keep it up

If you'd like your own animated avatar (such as mine above) try visiting Meez and get your own unique 3D ID

Hello Mister

The Bar Girls, drawn last week with chinesse ink, a felt pen & highlight markers... at the time I thought these where a little in the sophi (of art for engineers) style... but perhaps I'm wrong (I'm not worthy)

Size really does matter

In the tit for tat world of international prudity it seems the germans are getting censorship from the USA (a bizarroo world inverse of the Flickr german user Censr)



It would appear a grown up author of children's story is pulling the plug on her american publisher who wanted to remove an illustration of a nude sculpture in the background of a museum scene

On the page, the sculpture stands at a very unthreatening seven millimeters tall and the appendage could, at first glance, be dismissed as a wayward brushstroke. The "little willy" as Berner called it “was barely half a millimeter in length.” The sculpture is an aside in the overall museum scene and is in no way prominent to the storyline on that page, she added.

Found this story on Ms Naughty's Blog

search not working?

I'm trying out the new search this blog widgetty tool over on the right hand side BUT it doesn't seem to be working.... any one know what I'm doing wrong?

IF dogs were poets?

"Happiness is having a scratch for every itch." ... Ogden Nash

Although it late friday here, the new topic isn't posted on illustration friday yet... so I thought i should go for it... always wanted to be last on the list

As all cartoonist will tell you there is something deeply satisfying in just sliding in under that deadline.

Maria (the pirate) Blablablanik

Maria the Pirate
Originally uploaded by locarbhiflavor

I found Manola Blablablanik via twitter and probably dropped in at a bad time ...she is recovery from a medical scare... but such is life

If you have time, the archive of her "Sex and the Beach" blog are very well written, totally entertaining and a little bawdy ;)


PS: srcohiba deserves a mention for the pirate photoshop work

Am I a true Bohemian revolutionary?

The speed of broadband in singapore is amazing... and cheap...maybe the mythical pacific broadband bottleneck is real... anyway the extra bandwidth makes it easier to explore the video and vlog worlds and there are some creative folk already in there... maybe the true bohemian revolutions isn't a myth either... but what if you want to view the stuff when you are at lower bandwidth altitudes... well i found a nice little program called Vdownloader, which just needs the URL link details and can download video from several popular sites (including YouTube) into several popular format (including PSP and IPOD compatible format) ... so now their is no excuse not to have good art on your personal technology



For those that like a bit of surreal self reference, the first video I downloaded to my PSP was the John Bulter Trio's Good Excuse video... Its about turning off your gameboy and going outside and experiencing the real world.... now if that isn't revolutionary i don't know what is?

au revoir pour tandis que

Make your own "polaroids" here

IF [Disc-cover-Y]

for illustration friday topic discovery

This was done as a direct scan of the objects, placed flat on my scanner glass... is this a collage or more like photograph?

what is everyone doing...?

where is the confusion?

I'm guessing the confusion that lead to me becoming unsafe on flickr is the common confusion of NUDE and PORN, which has been a specific US problem for some time... but maybe one that is spreading around the self righteous net ...please don't be confused

W A R N I N G
this site only has nudes!

IF its cool to be geeky?

For Illustration Friday's topic geeky

I am still searching for a new computer generated style in my cartoons... hand drawing and computer colouring, does speed things up... but it is still not WEB 3.0 enough... or is there a better way?

amber necklace..

watercolour on paper .........pastel on paper

I'm still working on colours that bring the skin tone to life...especially the shadows