harder than it looks

I'm new to using Conté Crayons, they were invented by the same guy that invented the modern pencil (graphic inside a wooden stem) Nicolas Conté. they are harder than pastels... they are made of fired clay and wax as well as natural pigments, such as iron oxide, carbon black and various clays and produce a sanguine tones like an old sepia photograph. They took me by surprise... they act more like a sketching device (eg pencil of pen) on standard cartridge paper, maybe because of the square shape and hardness. Their soft pastel cousins, which I think should be used more like paints...like a textured paper with lots of tooth.

The big triangle

The big triangle is a marvels visualization to help the understanding comics, created by cartoonist Scott McCloud

but it also is very relevant to understanding art in general

doodle-a-riffic-torso

roller ball & marker pen with a little paint on paper

my new friend Kate

I have been befriended by kate on bebo... not any kate ....kate modern


Watch More Videos Uploaded by www.bebo.com/MyKateModern

Put simply kate modern ia a modern twist on the old who dun-it, but rather than just being a rerun bit of entertainment, it is a project that runs right through the social networking fabric, a kind of reality TV meets miss marple with the opportunity's of audience participation... the video above probably gives you enough to figure out what it is like, but if you like there is plenty more to my newest BeBo friend.

So like mediavladski i'm left asking is bebo the new ITV?

art on technology (the humble CD)

art on CD, originally uploaded by sigh clone.

Putting art on technology, is a bit of a personal campaign for me, as regular readers will know

If you don't start enriching the sterile face of personal technology, your lives might just be a little less rich and uplifting...

one technology that is ubiquitous these days is CDs ...so it was a pretty simple step to think using that empty space, on the front of any home recorded CD, as a canvas. If you intend to still use the CD it may be wise to test you paints out first, on a CD you can afford to destroy... many marker pens and paints do not stick/set and could gunk up your player... I used matisse derivan "dimensional" acrylics and they bonded to the plastic well.

This was a 2 minute torso execise (see below)

second 2 minute torso (on a CD)

this is the second 2 minute torso, also using acrylic paint (on a CD, see above, talk about art on technology! and the CD still works!)

choir of hard knocks

speaking of art for the down and out and homeless... in melbourne we are very fortunate to have the wonderful choir of hard knocks

I notice their wonderful rendition of leonard cohen's hallelujah at the sydney opera house has made it onto You Tube.



they are a true inspiration... especially Jonathon Welch

When does the art start?

I am sort of trapped in the city for the summer... a hot place, not really my place of choice... I'd rather be at the beach, or sailing... still life goes on and i want to paint... so it was suggested I try a self portrait (...the cricket is about to go into boring mode... indian is batting) .. i set up out the back in the only space that could find to spread out in... it didn't take long to be distracted with the possibilities of shadow on my canvas .... ok i'm certainly no Raymod Crowe... but i am at least unusual



but it got me wondering when does art begin... is it as much performance as a finished product? ...is it time for a beer yet? ...has india got a run yet?

Art Start is also a successful program for the homeless in New York

resolutions....

I looked up new years resolutions on twitterverse and there was not any.. lots for new and years but nothing about resolutions .... does that mean the people who are busy telling others "what they are doing?"... are not it self improvement.... you know the old standards "Lose weight, get a new job, save money, find love, travel, spend more time with your kids, learn a new language, read more, watch less TV, blog less, blog more"... or is the resolution a quaint custom from pre-net times.... maybe it is not desirable in a facebook and myspace world of self spin and Disney-like sanitization... perhaps there is nothing further to desire in the net-self being projected... quick their is a blemish better use the glamor widget...


ok sorry I am imperfect I think a resolution of two will not go astray (well for a few days at least...)

Happy New Year!

no nudes please this is.....bebo

I know i have been posting a lot... lots have been happening and i have been doing a lot of sketching.... or anything net... when i realized nudity is a no no of bebo... I worried i'd never find a home for my art... (well the nudes)... is the USA imposing iots all nudity is pornography stance of the social networking... or is it just me out of touch with reality... no matter... if bebo says no nudity that ok its clear unlike what constitutes unsafe and restricted on flickr?

so i was interested to read in laura alte's blog that social network sites are overtaking porn...

2 minute torso

this sketch blog is getting to be anything BUT Sketchs ... so I going to try a weekly 2 minute torso session... here is the first

almost a self portrait

It started out as a doodle but became and alsmost self portrait... do you think it has what it takes to be a better buddy icon for my blog profile?

Norton Elissenhttp://NortonE1.bebo.com/

Humble apologies to everyone in my world that I accidentally invited to bebo... I'm only just trying it out... if social networking has an invitation etiquette I'm sure I have just overstepped it... still isn't that the point of social networking so your friends can be in the loop and know what you are doing... or was that just simply a different form of spamming?

having said all that if you see me on bebo say hello ....if you don't know what bebeo is watch the video below

Watch More Videos       Uploaded by bebo.com/jane.white8

giving original art

back to the importance of original art

carolyn (of art for engineers fame) is staying cosy for christmas, and offering her especialy sexy work as gift cards, via the net.... i know christmas is soon but i am guessing you still have time if you act fast

...and for truely lovelli cards, and christmas cards you can send to your mum... her made to order calendars are truely unique

giving original art is good for your soul

am I becoming invisible or irrelevant?

Know your name
And sing it loud
Know your na-a-a-a-ame
Though I'm saying this again
Know your name
And sing it loud.

When it rains
I hear that sound

From Cities / Cat Empire project

There is art out there

Geek 4 x 4, originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

If you look around enough there is art out there... on technology... for example check out Jawboneradio's podcast art on flickr.. the problem as i see it is not so much a lack of art... it more that the great gadgets and geeks that drive their development, let there wonders be marketed and sold by folk that just want to charge for everything.... the original artist is left out of the equation


but don't dispair... think about how to get original artwork on the the screen of your favourite piece of technology... and if you get lost doing that watch some of the thing i try right here.

buzz it! blog note

Twitter

sighclone wonders.... what is the shortess tweet ever? about 1 hour ago from web

Art for all

I've decided to give my slowly burning little campaign, to get more art onto modern technology, a kick along by starting a little flickr group @rt4all ... art for all... I'd love you to come and have a look at the very first steps

all suggestions more than welcome

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...