Digital Art

Digital Art is an ever-changing medium. As trchnology expands and is ab sorberd into the business world, so too some artists will see a potential and begin to experiment primarily along conceptual lines with that potential. For example, a digital print is in realitgy a mixed media work. The true digital painting can only be viewed on a digital screen of some kind, video, led, crt, etc. Printing transfers the image out of the digitlal (electronic) environment in which it was born into a more traditional medium and hence the demand for software which emulates oiul or watercolor etc. But natural media techniques can be applied underr conceptual approaches which move the resulting art into a new realm and out of the boundarirs of natural media supports such as paper and canvas. It's a bit of a reach, but instead of still life the possibility of movement, a kind of kinetic approach can reveal something new about the artuist's subject
The most prominent presence on the INTERNET is probably that of Rex Bruce and The Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA). www.lacda.com. Bruce is the curator and for often juror the many competitions and shows organized by the center. Visit the website and subscribe to the mailing list. You will gaain new insight into the possibilities for digital art-making.

PRINTED PAPERS

A selection of digitally designed and printed fabrics and/or papers suitable for numerous uses including collage, origami, enbroidery, quilting, and mixed media. i am currently experimenting with printing on Asian handmade papers (japanese, Thai, and Indian). They print well on pima cotton, 16mm habotai silk, parchment, cotton rag, rice papers. i hope to try them on Chosen style papers as well. they work well on standard US papers and i've been using them in muxed media collage. i think i need more variety in color and pattern type,

MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE

This is a digital photo of the actual collage which was done with gel medium on a watercolor support. the elements in rhe collage are cut from digitally designed abd printed fabrics. A few enhancing marks are made with water soluble oil pastels. thus is a first in the series i've turned to collage as i cannot sew any more but i wanted to remain connected to fabric in some way.

starting next week i have plans to feature a digutal artist, curatortechnique, or comment on some historical aspect of digital art. this means looking at a wider range of media. i am working on concepts that i hope will leade to installations which would include diticak screebs as well as collage abd other fiber.

tomorrow i will feature a bew way of woring that produces 1 obe of a kind printor a vert limited exdituin. it involes nultiple printings on the same media

tra la until then,

TRIBUTE

This weekend my family will pay tribute to a great but changing institution in modern society, the family. Here is my tribute to ny father's service in the SOUTH PACIFIC IN World War II, MY PARENTS, AND A PHOTO OF THE FAMILY TAKEN MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO, THE LAST TIME WE WERE ALL TOGRTHR AND STILL LIVING.

Take the time to notice the passage of time and the lives of those who are around you. "We are stardust, we are golden and we've got to make our way back to the garden." Joni Mitchell

DAILY COLOR STUDY

I fully intended to do a study in blue today, but it seems the color wheel exploded onto my digital canvas. i did manage, I think, to make a few discoveries agout blue and its relationahips.

It is clear that value of a hue effects how it will look, dominant or receding. In this case the turquoise blue maintains itself even agasinst the complement orange, and the split-complents, but just barely. any less blue, and the orange would have become dominant. It always seems to my eye at least, that if you add one coilor to a painting, you may be required to add them all eventually whether iin small amounts or in shades or tones.

My favorite blues are the fourteen shades of indigo. Japanese dyers determined that there were fourteen shades. Indigo seems to stand its ground. Many fiber artists, Doerothy Caldwell, for example, have used this information effectively. I wonder if a digital artist can achieve similar results.

More grist for the journal.

A GOOD COACH

Olympix atheletes have them। why not artistsI इ recently took sopmne online classes from Laura Cater-Woods, a wonderful mixed media artist. see the link in my bloglist the work i did as a result of Laura's exercises are collaged to the right

Now, not every coach is going tg be right for everyone, and not everyone, is gog to appeal tol everfy coaach. But if you want to give it a try, contaagLaura. I get no reward except my own pat on the back for my recommendations. So I can make recommendations with a clear conscience.

In Europe, take a look at Artmixter. She and I worked together a number of years ago and Marion is a great person and teacher.

COLOR ONLINE

this small freestyle landscape was done olnline using free paint software for kids called BRUSHTER. the webaite is sponsored by the national museum of art the software is intuitive and easy to use. , by combining color with various textures you can create great abstract and nonobjwctive as well as conceptusl pieces.renember abstract art is based in reality, if you mahe it up then its nonobjrctive, conceptual is often planned but never made.hence the term - conceptuak

FAUVISTIC COLOR

The Fauves, in particular Matisse and Dufy utilized color in a seemingly wild way, hence they received the name BEASTS or FAUVES the use of wild color seems to work best for me within a minimalist composition such as this painting of a grassy beach at sunset. the tropical heat is felt not only through color choice but in the marks chosen using digital pastels.

high color paintings do not evohe peaceful moments though it mightbe easy to think otherwise, high color causes an evisceral response in the gut

even matisses's fruit paintings are not peaceful.

as a sidebar, i read recently that picasso was the most ardent of collectors when it came to matisse's work.

Picasso also gave us the linocut and the oil pastel.

creativity is stimulated as we gain knowledge both intellectual as well as visual, some call this process "filling the well,' It is from this well that we water the seeds of creativity.

seemingly unrelated facts in today's message may be just the fertilizer that someone needs.

ANOTHER DIMENSION

Digital technology can add another dimension to the end result. In most software it is called layer blending. You can select ho the colors on the different layers will blend in the final painting

in the example shown above, the original painting has a white or transparent background.

i add another layer and select difference as the blend (read your software manual for an explanation of how blends work
)
note how the colors changed . the final painting has additional elements added and the layers are all merged

i think this will become a fabric design or maybe an embroidery or just a painting

ezperimental paintings in different conteztual relationships

CREATRIVITY & COLOR 2

FIRST RULE - HOW GOOD IS TOUR EYESIGHT
SECOND RULE - WHAT CELL (RODS OR CONES) IS DOMINANT IN YOUR RETINA


yes the ability to see color is determined by the number of cone cells you have
women generally have more cones than men and color blindness is often passed genetically in men

so if you are having problems have this checked with your physician. you can compensate
for some conditions

study the paintings of matisse, wolf kahn, any group known as colorists e,g. scottish colorists, california six, delauney and his cubist group, and yes, picaaso.

using digital paint software xperimental paintings like the one at the right juxtaposing colors to see what happens within the context of the painting

color is viewed based on its context not just its hue

limit yourself to a maxinum of 3 hues see what happens when they mix

visual poetry

CREATIVITY AND COLOR

the most fear-inspiring of all design tools is COLOR OR C OLOUR

color theory is just that - theory much of it is useless to an artist

there are 4 writers whose books on color i recommend -

josef albers
johannes itten
stephenquiller
joen wolfram

the first two are theorists र THE SECOND TWO ARE ARTISTS PRACTICIIONERS note the emphasis


most importantly, study the natural environment

self portrait

There is a zen koan about having no head.Like most koans, it serves a purpose (we're not awrts sure why or what, but the idea is to take the heraclitian step into the flow.
Is this a step toward creativity Quite likely

when we move toward creativity, is it by chance moving away from us? why would that happen

we can identify creative activity when it happens to us, but we can't predict with any accuracy exactly when it will happen we csn only prepsre ourselves just in case.

when someone is pregant it is wise to pack a bag contingent on a sudden onset

what have you done today to prepare the way?

CREATIVITY

is an accident waiting for you to happen. there are no secrets, no hidden messages and it dont come easy, but it can be coaxed.


creativity is organized chaos. it has one simple rule - you nake the rules, it breaks them


Gather things that inspire you. put them where you can see them. they will speak you only have to listen

using media you like, make something everyday, who knows there may be a masterpiece waiting just for you



life is poetry

ancient motif

an ancient INDIAN motiif rendered in digital media and collaged

renaisance, to rise again, to be reborn


to just be, for this i give thanks