Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

Amateur Artist

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Category #5 Anything Under the Sun - Amateur Artist

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Updated Diver Down painting

As is typical of one of my digital paintings, the first "final" image is never the last. I don't know if it is just the process of posting the image that allows me to see it clearly, or if some other mental trick is at play, but it is very common for me to think I am done and then revisit the image mere hours later.

If you compare the two images you will notice a few things. I cropped it, added more bubbles, added a rim light to the diver and tentacle and many other little things. One of these days I will post a step by step painting and show all of these intermittent "fixes" that occur.

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May 12th 2009 @ 06:02

Posted By: Mindzle - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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Diver Down Painting

For more Check out my portfolio site C-Hammer.com
Diver Down

This digital painting was done entirely in Photoshop. I tried to do it without reference and in the end I only used it to confirm detail. I have about 16 hours of total time into the painting.

This is the first in a series of related painting on generally the same theme, which comes from a personal encounter with a Pacific giant Octopus while diving in Puget Sound. I was using my light to look into a jetty wall, and a big orange tentacle came out and grabbed my light. Slowly the rest of the octopus emerged and attached more and more tentacles to the light. So I let go of it. The octopus seemed to be checking it out. once it decided it was neither threat nor food, it let go of the light and went back into it's lair.

In this painting it is more Cthulhu than octopus, and he and several minions seem to be planning something, into which this unwary diver has stumbled.

In self critiquing this painting I came to realise the idea for the next painting. The inability to see the divers face, limits the emotional potential of the moment and there are also several things wrong with the placement of the main characters that limit the sweep of the viewers eye through the painting. So the next one will be a very simplified version of a moment later in this scene.

Thinking of your painting as a moment captured from a scene in a story is a very good idea. It helps you to focus on the most effective image to portray that scene. In this case the most dynamic moment is not just before the diver realizes he is caught it would be the moment of comprehension. this painting was just a first pass at this story. the next one I am very excited to do. Nothing against this image, it is the idea as I originally saw it, and it was fun to paint.

I am trying to paint more frequently. At least a painting a week, if not 2-3. I would love to do one a day, and think I could if not for other "jobs". Requiring of myself a minimum of one a week is a good goal and after a year would be a large number of images. I have recently purchased Corel Painter 11, a second Wacom Intuos 4 tablet (This one smaller than my monster) and a new laptop. I bought these for the sole purpose of painting more. My main excuse has been my hatred of sitting at my computer desk any more than the 8 hours I already spend. With the new set-up I can go out in our 5 acres of forest, or sit on one of our decks, generally be outside, or a cafe and paint.

Sounds great doesn't it?

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May 12th 2009 @ 03:15

Posted By: Mindzle - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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Singing My Favorite Song

Just thought of recording my voice singing my favorite song! Hope you enjoy listening! ( Sorry for the noises...darn neighbors!)

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June 23rd 2008 @ 02:21

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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I'm Back!

I’m back! Whoa that was more than a month of hiatus! No, I was not stricken by a terrible disease nor was I bitten by the lazy bug. In fact, I had been quite busy. I know that is not an excuse but it’s the truth.

Unfortunately, I can’t share what I have been working on. Confidential matters. I also had (and still) a hard time with my internet connection. Ever since that earthquake hit Taiwan more than a month ago, service in my location has been on and off. It is quite frustrating. Speed is at a snails pace

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February 9th 2007 @ 15:13

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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The "Boga" Bang

Filipinos welcome the New Year with a Loud Bang. Different noisemakers, usually in the form of pyrotechnics, assured that local manufacturers made a killing during this period. However, the sluggish economy, high cost and the government crackdown has affected the industry dramatically.

With firecrackers becoming more expensive, it is not surprising that one of the hottest alternative noisemaker this season is the “Boga.” A Filipino slang for cannon, it is based on the traditional bamboo cannon. The Boga was first made by an enterprising Filipino in the province of Cavite last year. It is an ordinary PVC tube with one end, squirted with denatured alcohol and then ignited with a lighter or stove igniter. The latest incarnation of the device employs a triggering mechanism made out of toy guns

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January 1st 2007 @ 02:03

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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My short stint as a Freelance Writer

I was never educated as a writer. However, I found it easier to express myself through writing rather than spoken words. This was further validated when my English highschool teacher read a short story I composed during class. After which she told me that I have an innate ability in writing. I never made anything about it. I thought that I just picked up words when watching the tube or movies.

One day, I found myself unable to physically show up for work. With nothing to keep my mind occupied, my sister suggested for me to do some freelance writing. She was herself a writer and in fact maintained a site which enables her to earn even while at home

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December 26th 2006 @ 09:20

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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The cast of "The Simpsons"

After all these years, I still enjoy watching “The Simpsons.” In fact, I tune in every chance I get.

After watching an episode, I often wondered who did the voices of the individual cartoon characters. I do know that Julie Kavner does the voice of Marge Simpson. Who could ever forget her unique voice in the movie “Awakenings” with Robin Williams? It was quite a welcome treat when I saw an episode of John Lipton's “Inside the Actors Studio” featuring the cast. It gave me an insight of how little I know about them

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December 25th 2006 @ 05:34

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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Marketing Gimmicks

Only a few days left before Christmas and I was running a little late in my shopping so I asked my sister to help me out.

She told me that she was going to do most of her shopping at a place selling imported Chinese products. I thought that since most products nowadays are made from China, I guess it was okay. So I gave her the money and told her to use her best judgment

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December 20th 2006 @ 15:32

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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Top 10 Lies told to Naive Artists and Designers

This was forwarded to me by a friend. It is posted at artistsden@yahoogroups.com and was supposedly taken from Painter Creativity. Some practical things for us to consider as amateurs.

Top 10 Lies told to Naive Artists and Designers

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December 17th 2006 @ 15:53

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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An Amateur as Couch Potato

Working at home has given me the opportunity to enjoy movies I failed to watch during their theater run. This past week I was lucky enough to catch two movies shown on cable.

The first is “Shattered Glass”, based on the true story of disgraced journalist Stephen Glass (played by Hayden Christensen of the Star Wars prequel fame). Glass was a young hotshot writer for the well-renowned “The New Republic”, a magazine specializing in political and social subjects. He also wrote articles for other publications such as Harper’s, George and Rollingstone magazine. His dozens of high profile pieces generated a lot of interests. In 1998, he was earning more than a $100,000. However, unknown to his editors, publishers and the public, most of his articles were fabricated

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December 16th 2006 @ 10:18

Posted By: invalidartist - Category: Category #5 Anything Under the Sun

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