Saturday, September 6, 2008 A

"The Meeting Point"
7:02am

Saturday, September 6, 2008 B

"Slow Progress"
3:16pm

I've almost got as many photos in the Brooklyn Museum gallery as I do in the photo gallery. I know this because I used that gallery as a template, changing it only to have less 'cellpadding' so each thumbnail could be 150 pixels wide instead of 140 pixels wide.

I'm not sure how many more I'll add, but I'm pleased with what I have. I can explain why it's taking me so long. Rarely can I take the image straight from the camera with out any adjustments. See this thumbnail of a photo straight from the camera, no alterations except sizing:


You can hardly make poor Imhotep out for all the distractions...


...so I toned them down. I think the round thing was my lens cap?

As I sang earlier, "Mama don’t take my Photoshop away...". No!

Saturday, September 6, 2008 C

"She's Having an Art Show"
4:53pm


she's so proud, and I would be, too!

SOMEday....

Meanwhile, I'll keep drawing...

Saturday, September 6, 2008 D

"Klezmerizing"
7:24pm

There's some study out there linking musical tastes to personality. I don't know what it means if you like almost everything. GREEDY! Heh! That said, I've been downloading:


Perlman Plays Klezmer, two disc set

I've got the King's Singers "Simple Gifts" yet to burn. I was hoping to find something else to fit with it, but there seems to be very little choral music available. Not to worry, I've used up another batch of CD cases, and so don't have a case for it if I did burn it, unless I jettison some disc for its case. Meanwhile Perlman is Klesmerizing and we are enjoying it very much. It is Jewish, but it has a very Greek flavor to it. Passion! That's what it is, and ZEST! I highly recommend it.

Getting back to that music study, I am most like their 'classical':
"CLASSICAL MUSIC: High self-esteem, creative, introvert and at ease"

They don't have 'world' music listed, only 'Bollywood' (screeching females, sometimes!), but that is closest to 'World Music', and for that they have "Creative, outgoing" as the traits. Maybe I am a balance of introvert and outgoing? I notice "CHART POP = High self-esteem, not creative, hardworking, outgoing, gentle, not at ease"

That's interesting, since that's probably what most people have on their work radios, encouraging them to be 'hardworking', and keep up with the rhythm, etc.

Sunday, September 7, 2008 A

"Dream of Stolen Land"
6:44am

Strange dream. In a sparse area for trees, (they had been cleared away), I was walking up a hilly area to go to an amusement park. I finally arrived (I'd parked the opposite end of the parking lot). I'd been there the other day with friends, who parked at the near end. But I felt there was something there I needed to explore. At the entrance, a variety of food shops awaited. I navigated them looking for vegetarian options. Not many, but I found a banana and an Indian stew dish, maybe a cross between chili vegetables and ratatouie. Later, a full course meal place was open, and I saw tempting baked potatoes and some fish. But I was full enough, and decided I could eat more later.

There was one area of the grounds that was calling me. This wasn't the area with the noisy rides. They had Native American arts and various posters there for sale. No one was visiting this area. I felt strange vibes and remained there to determine what it was. Then it came to me, "This was sacred ground. Native Americans had had a sort of temple here, and now the amusement park people are trying to make up for it by selling their art. But I could feel the vibes so strongly, and this no doubt is why people were staying clear, they had a sense this land should not be trodden upon idley.

I had a sense that the entity who manifests to me as Set manifested to them as 'He who clears away the old to make for new'. He was speaking to me so strongly. It was a travesty, this park, it should never have been built there.

Then I woke up.

Sunday, September 7, 2008 B

"Gallery Up and Running"
11:29am


I'm calling it a 'go', I'll have a second index page later with much more, but it's now linked everywhere.

Monday, September 8, 2008

"Two Drawings"
5:38pm

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

"Floor Fascination"
7:14am


Floor at Brooklyn Museum - Click for larger

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 A

"A Morning Exercise"
6:54am


A left handed sketch of me drawing left-handed.

Many years ago, when Laura first introduced me to the computer, she introduced me to left handed mousing. She was left handed, and I did not think much about it. But as I've developed computer skills, I've begun doing more and more with that left hand, including all of my Photoshop editing (except for the right hand 'enter' to save time of a mouse click). Has this improved my creativity, opened up channels in my physical brain that have made it easier for me to access the intuitve parts of my brain?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 B

"Unusual Weather"
5:58pm

Around noon, the skies grew dark, an intriguing sort of dark, with sunshine illuminating the gray clouds. Then the skies turned dull gray. The wind picked up speed, throwing tan dirt around and lifting leaves spiraling high. Huge raindrops fell and the winds grew. Everyone at work went outside. The wind tore at the palm trees, as if to uproot them, but they stayed rooted. It moved me over a foot, (and I am not lightweight). I came back in, rain splattered, but happy. From the safe distance of my sewing machine, I watched the torrents hit car roof tops and bounce off.

Then, as abruptly as it had begun, it was all over, and the sun was shining as if nothing unusual had happened. Yet something had happened, and no doubt after this, our daily temperatures won't be nearly as hot.

The Yuma Sun declares "peak wind gusts during the storm were recorded at speeds up to 43 mph and 1.6 inches of rain fell in the Yuma area." The weather website, however, gives 43 KPH as the gust speed, which is 26 MPH. Whatever the actual measures, it was a very strong wind, and a lot of rain within a short period of time.

But it's nothing like the storm we had a year ago and the damage it reeked. To demonstrate, the weather site shows a gust of 84 mph/ 135 km/h ! A little perspective is helpful.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

"Shaken Loose"
7:50pm

When I got up, I couldn't help but notice what anniversary of what day. If I hadn't have noticed, radio people and TV people reminded us. So much sadness and death, and then so many more deaths on top of that in the long war.

An ominous gray sky again today, followed by more wind and rain. I didn't see it, but my co-workers did. A mobile home carport roof was shaken loose and sent flying. Yet afterwards the rain fell more gently and for a longer period of time.

Is it all the dust that's been kicked up? My sinuses have been dreadful. Fortunately this evening I've been able to distract myself. I started with a favorite webstop and from there followed a link to a webshop, featuring various Egyptian-style items, among them a small Set statue:

   
8.5cm (3.5") tall for 1.95 English pounds...

It seemed almost a direct gaze and put me in the mood to draw:

There is printable underneath, should you feel an urge to color him. It prints only a tiny bit thicker lined than the original. Any of my colored pencil attempts will be done on copies! And I see so many possibilities for coloring...

10:11pm

Colored!

First I colored him using the pencils, then I scanned it, and played with the color hues a bit. I kept all color ratios the same, except for more saturation in some areas. Then I copied the lines from the linear version and pasted them onto the piece, as the coloring had obscured them.

11:00pm

Colored, Variation Two

Although the coloring is not traditional, I like the contrasts better in this one...

11:31pm

Perhaps this one has a pleasing radical aspect?

12:04am

Maybe I just can't tell anymore, and I should go to bed...

I can always print another tomorrow and start anew. But right now I am thinking either of the two gold versions, perhaps the more intense, is best. I'll know more in the morning...

Friday, September 12, 2008

"Cool at Last"
6:22am

Yes, after some sleep (ooh, I shall be NAPPING on the weekend!), both Julia and I agree the final version is the best. Although shorted on sleep, at least it was a cool night. We needed only one fan, and I wanted a blanket and socks. The terrible heat is over!

Saturday, September 13, 2008 A

"Practice Makes Perfect"
5:52am

I woke up with lyrics of a pop song singing in my head,
"...Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense
Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense..."

The young man is singing about his hopes with a girl who has entranced him. "Sip after sip", he's convinced the object of his attraction is worth the effort. Besides being a catchy song that easily makes for 'ear worms', it can be related to my artistic efforts. Oh, I aim for more than 'cute', which is the intention of the singer, which adds to the struggle.

Last night, I kept changing my picture. From where I left it yesterday morning, I took out some of the distracting elements, that kept my attention from going to Set's eyes. I want his eyes to be the central focus. So I toned down the darkness of the horned 'ear' thingy, and evened out some of the skin blotchiness. Not too much of it, for the roughness seems to denote a vital character. And the background was too plain. Is it 'easy way way' to fall back on the 'clouds' theme?

The 'singer' in my head keeps telling me 'practice'. Meanwhile at the moment I like it.

Now I want to work it up into a version for prints. My first attempt is a subtle continuation of the 'clouds' in the border that gives a spacious, airy feel. I'll experiment more today....

Saturday, September 13, 2008 B

"Framed Version"
3:43pm


I will get him in the print shop asap...

I wanted something distinctive that wouldn't distract, that would continue the sort of LOOSELY Egyptian style. The heiroglyphs at the corners and elsewheres actually means 'city', as it shows the crossroads in a city. If you want to think of it as 'X' for Xeper, you can!

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