Blue

As I have been working on the photo assignment - blue has been a recurring theme:

Image © PeteM2010

I have posted some of my other images for the photo assignment on this web site: Movement and Colour

Ron Rado

I’ve finished reprinting and stretching the image for the competition. All that remains is to give it a coat of medium, a couple of hooks and write the obligatory blurb that will accompany the print.

Image © PeteM2010

This time I believe I found the correct printer settings, because the colours almost jump off the canvas. Whether you like the subject matter or not, at about 90cm x 100 cm this print will be hard to ignore!

Wow – what an opportunity, what a privilege this course is!

Movement

This term’s photo assignment will be a total antithesis of my established approach to photography. Rather than worrying about a colour profiled workflow, optimised image sharpness etc., I simply put a moderately long lens on the camera and let it rip.

Image © PeteM2010

Maybe it was looking at images by Magnum photographers like Larry Towel, Burt Glinn and Bruce Davidson that got me thinking along this path, but this current series of street photographs is part of an idea I have been brooding on during my recent travels. More on that in a future blog.

Seems funny, doesn’t it   - having spent a lot of money putting together a marvellous camera and lens combination just to take blurry pictures, something I did years ago with a cheap plastic camera costing just a few dollars!

Restoration

Image © PeteM2010
Having completed another block of work, I felt it was time for a change of scenery so after Friday’s class I headed south to Phillip Island for a few days. Fresh air, serious cooking, good wine and general debauchery were what were needed to relieve my suffering brain from art overload.


However, as the final block’s video theme had already been announced there was no escape from brainstorming possible solutions.  One thing is coming up with novel ideas, quite another to execute them. Lack of technical know-how and experience, let alone artistic ability, caused mayhem with my circadian rhythm during the last video production. Not to be repeated! 

Funny, isn’t it, a few intense sessions in the kitchen accompanied by good company and pinot noir and all that pain is forgotten.  Whilst ruminating, a story line evolved for the new video, but this time a few test shots will be done well before I get too involved developing the idea further. 

Collograph

Printmaking has been fascinating - very messy, but fascinating. From work-intensive dry point to spontaneous one-off monotype – all new techniques to explore, learn and have some fun with. Tried a few different methods of printing the collograph, but still prefer this basic print: 

Image © PeteM2010

I tried to extend the print further in Photoshop. Made a few attempts and have now posted them on a  web page: my collographs.

Found it satisfying playing with HTML, CSS and JavaScript again, quite another art form.

Power Outage

It was a wintry, windy, stormy day when I was spending endless and less than fruitful hours on the “Dream” video. Progress was severely hampered by technical problems, which proved more and more insurmountable. 

Not unexpectedly, we lost power and from past experience, it could be many hours or possibly days before power would be restored. The open fire was lit, candles and torches gathered and it was time for other activities. Time, I thought to revisit the “Ear, Nose and Mouth” drawings. However on viewing my efforts to date, there was little evidence of enthusiasm or passion in the work. They rather reminded me of my school days, when I had detention for some misdemeanour or other and had to write 50 lines on the blackboard before being let out.

There was only one thing to do. I decided to end the misery and unceremoniously committed the drawings to the pyre.

Staring into the flames greedily consuming my artworks must have stimulated my otherwise waning creative powers, because rapidly and overwhelmingly a new video storyboard took shape in my mind’s eye. I got so carried away that after some time I burst out aloud: “I GOT IT!” My poor suffering muse was scared witless by my sudden outburst and the startled dog started barking. Nothing like a peaceful evening in front of the fire!  

As for my drawings – well they will just have to wait for another creative raptus.

PASTICHE

I have played in the past with the Wacom tablet in Photoshop for fixing up photos, mainly dodging, burning and refining selections, but drawing – that‘s something new.

Image © PeteM2010

Haven’t found it easy to get the painterly or drawing effects I try to emulate, but that may come as I keep experimenting. The plethora of brush settings and adjustments are just mind-boggling.

To improve my “Wacom skills”, I decided to attempt the Giacometti, Jawlensky, Auerbach and Picasso assignment purely in Photoshop. We were supposed to allocate 30 - 40 minutes per drawing, but at my working pace, hours passed by. Learnt a lot though even if the final results bear little evidence of the time spent. 

Pastiche - a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.