Dear friends at Creative Tuesdays - I was very happy to note that CT is back in business! I loved this co-op, and the way it allowed for things to emerge due to the therapeutic nature of, a task a week, a creative task a week, really brings out things.
I have been updating various web thingies lately, which brings me back to blogging - was happy to see in Sunday Sketches that CT was on again - and seeing there might be a prize - well! I just had to jump in - this was drawn freehand on Photoshop, experimenting with layering
The theme immediately took me back (see? therapy, har har) to one of the more traumatic events in my childhood (possibly more than once?). I was incapable of diving/jumping into a lake from a rock. It wasn't that tall of a distance but for some reason, the thought of hitting my head terrified me. Never mind that all the other kids did it, and were taunting me to do it - I stood there for like an hour, paralyzed, unable to either give up and go do something else, or jump in.
This drawing is a homage to all the fears and dangers, real or imagined, that have kept me from doing so much in life.
I am haunted by all the things I have been incapable of doing in life. Япреследовалвсех вещей, которыми я был не в состоянии сделатьв моей жизни
THe soundtrack to this little moment of joy was brought by Shostakovich - probably explains why it came out as it did - thanks to all!
For today's Creative Tuesdays, I briefly illustrate the case of the Pinkertons, one of the most famous private detective/goverment security firms, still active to this day, at one point as a branch of the Swedish company Securitas, and now seems to be Pinkerton again.
Famous for allegedly thwarting an attack on president Lincoln (alas, the one before the theatre), the Pinkertons were also famous for bringing many Wild Wild West outlaws to justice, and reputedly were the ones who came up with the idea of mugshots - collecting a database of images of 'undesirables' of all stripes so as to help law enforcement efforts later on. Their logo was "we never sleep".
Their bread and butter, however, was as hired guns to the Carnegies and other deep-pocket railroad barons and industrialists so as to protect their vast interests against those evil greedy rowdy little factory workers who were producing all the stuff that made them rich. How dare they request a livable wage and non-hazardous working environment? Yes, shocking. In any event, the firm found plenty to do in busting up Unions all over the U.S., when not busy hunting down train robbers and rescuing rich old ladies' fancy necklaces.
I first became interested in the Pinkertons after watching Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid for the first time (not a stellar script, but INCREDIBLE cinematography, as well as amusing to see Redford and Newman strutting about in their prime)
Then, they showed up again after reading The Devil in the White City, which tells the story of the ghoulish H H Holmes - they were the firm that finally brought the fiend to justice.
All in all, a busy lot - 'we never sleep' seems a well-earned name.
When the SPY theme appeared, it seemed as good a time as any to look them up.
Bee stuck in front of the computer for a few days working on some projects and this seemed a good break in any event. Collage above done with multilayers in Photoshop.
Creative Tuesdays - Beatles song!!!
This is a work in process but, to hearken back to college days, I decided to do an uber psychedelic rendition of Being to the Benefit of Mr Kite, the 7th song of the Sgt Pepper album, and a source of many interesting mental voyages back in the day.
Song here -
nothing like digital arts to bring through the trippy aspects of this album and this, to me, the trippest of the trippy songs - there's only one way to do a proper rendition of this song - in an altered state
since that sort of recreation is both beyond my budget and best interests in general, I opt for a trance-inducing Mr Kite and Photoshop experience.
beginnings of process
I sit in a dark room with the poster from which John Lennon based every last word of this song, listen to the song non-stop, and fill in with every colour I wish. If one notices the pixillations of the poster, the strange tonality is achieved with the flooding function set to very low tolerance, so that only a few pixels at a time are filled. This allows for each application of the flood function to occur rhythmically timed to the driving, endless thump of Mr Kite. Blown up big, the eye travels through the intoxicating pixilated landscape and true sensory saturation is achieved.
These methods were advocated by various instructors I had at GSU art school - one in particular had as a thesis project, to draw miles of paper with a red marker - for 7 days straight. With no sleep. Dali and other surrealists also spoke of these states as sources of deep creativity- or at least a good time, after a fashion.
If I had nothing better to do I could sit here and do this for hours at a time. Whee! But for now, this is what will have to be. The song was played for a total of 40 times or more, during an uninterrupted 2 hour stretch.
Love this song!
update: I did want to clear up that I did not draw the image of Mr Kite's poster! I could def. not do all that in 2 hours, LOL. I took the image file of the poster and manipulated it that way. The original poster is here, and if you read the words and listen to the song, you see what was done with the lyrics in this song.
I'm happy to say that I have a new painting commission! More information on that later - it is very exciting to me.
This week, however, I wish to submit another of the drawings I have completed for my fiverr gig. For this one, as can be seen, I had to draw an adorable puppy with a tuxedo, and the site title below. Not thrilled about the type, and the doggie was weirdly hard to draw, but am reasonably happy with how it turned out.
Just for fun, and to make it more 'painterly', I decided to embellish it a bit on Photoshop - and the result of that can be seen here below.
That's it for now! As usual, will strive to get to everybody, even if it's as late as Sunday! PFF is a wonderfully lively blogging group, and I do love both seeing & commenting on everyone's site - likewise am very grateful for those who make a comment on every single post (you rock!!) and thus strive to be that person as well. However, I acknowledge it takes a lot of time, which is why I leave myself till the end of Sunday, since weekends are incredibly busy as it is, what with art fairs and whatnot.
On another note, thanks to all who viewed/voted for my ThriftyFun contest!!!! I won after all :D
Here's another one I submitted - this time it's a photo that my husband took. He's a big photographer, and has a marvelous nature photography series documenting the 4 seasons in Appalachia. It is currently on display at the Southern Appalachia Repertory Theatre lobby in Mars Hill, NC. In any event, the photo can be seen here.
For Creative Tuesdays today (shoe-ish theme) I though I'd share the 3 pairs of shoes I've ever really loved and, in a sense, mourn their passing to this day.
Nothing with stilletos or gliterretos or any of that painted lady nonsense for me, thank ye very much - the only shoes i have ever loved are good for something - and you can do something useful while in them
1. 'Villa Minera Andina' steel toed boots - a buddy of our lived near/his parents worked at the copper mines CODELCO in the Andes. I'm not sure how I acquired these green-tipped steel toed boots of his or his dad, but I wore those suckers all the time - made me feel tough. Have to chuck them when a mold blight took over
2. Mary Jane Doc Martens - these shoes took me from high school near Seattle to college in Oberlin, OH, and all the other weird stuff I did in between. These shoes were burnt in a fire, fell into a lake, walked all over north & south america in some fashion or other - and were even presentable enough to wear with my high school uniform! These shoes were incredible - I've never been able to find a pair since.
3. Dansko clogs - these shoes were an early birthday present from my then-sweetie who later became my husband. Aside from that, they really ARE the best shoes ever - honestly probably a better shoe than all those above. Excellent architecture, unparalleled comfort, and style -- after a fashion. I had to stop wearing them when the heel gave out. But am holding out to buy another pair soon!
Have chosen to draw in Photoshop - skilling up in the digital arena!
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