madshutterbug (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
madshutterbug) wrote2014-10-09 08:56 am
madshutterbug) wrote2014-10-09 08:56 am
Entry tags:
State of the Artist
What with a bit of this and a dash of that, I can say the 2014-15 Show Season is off to a start... though for a while there some grave doubt existed.
This past weekend, starting actually on Thursday a week, and after working pretty hard on getting as much done on the Ranch as possible (feed storage, critters fed, laundry done, dogs walked, and more) I pointed Sydney Subaru Outback the Younger down the road to Tampa and the Necronomicon Convention and Art Show. For six years now, I am happy to say, pieces of my artwork graced the display walls at the Con Art Show. It's a fun time (as most Cons are) and the Show is, just as the Con, run by Fans for Fans. This one is done by the Stone Hill Science Fiction Association (see link above, follow appropriates), and one of their goals in doing the Con (just one. Obviously having fun and stuff is on that list as well) is to help raise money for Kids and Canines. More info on them via that link above too; go follow.
Because, frankly, my story is about going off to that Con this past weekend. I posted some during the summer about getting art related work done, either putting together pieces or working on presentation for those pieces and how Real Life (I sort of don't like that term. After all, my going off to Hospital to take care of people and incidentally earn money, Herself and I working the Ranch and taking product to Farmers Market and incidentally earning some money are Real Life, yes, and so is making Art and showing it) interfered with time priorities and such. Still, I did get six pieces framed and ready to go.
Now, from a business point of view, I didn't get anything new ready for the Print Shop which runs in conjunction with the Art Show. Since I prefer to show my work framed, and price my framed work appropriately to the extra time and materials, I did not expect to sell any of it via the Art Show auction. Any sales I've made at Necro are via the Print Shop. However, because the Necronomicon Art Show is one of the first I started showing at when I escalated my plans to begin showing work, and because it is also one of those Homer Simpson Moment bits for me (I'm a science fiction fan from childhood. And why haven't I made any science fiction/fantasy themed art? D'oh!), I really, really like to show at Necronomicon sales or not. Actually, even doing weekend art festivals where we set up our booth, more matted pieces sell than framed. The framed work, though, that's the eye candy that draws folks in to look.
This year then as mentioned, I put in six pieces. I'd prepared a seventh, and well, while framing it the frame experienced a catastrophic failure. I'm OK with that, it came with a large group of frames purchased in a yard sale, pretty cheap frame to begin with much less figuring the price per frame I paid via the yard sale. Just, this happened and there proved too little time to either cut another mat to fit a larger frame, or to acquire another frame before needing to finalise paperwork and pack up for the Show.
I will work on another State of the Artist and discuss all of the pieces submitted. The list for now is as follows:
Sakura, Sakura (DC)
St. Pete Beach Sunset
Where Is Everyone? Monty a Dog Gone Dragon
Stardancer
Sumi-e Reality
In the Hall of Titans King
Out of that list, two I did not make with a starting viewpoint to be a science fiction or fantasy theme item. Sakura, Sakura (DC) is of the cherry trees around the Tidal Pool in Washington DC, the capitol of my country of birth. None the less, I prepped a good comeback line if anyone asked why that in a show with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy theme, and it is simply that anything associated with DC (any national capitol of any nation, really) does possess a strong element of fantasy, eh?
And St. Pete Beach Sunset I included because A) beautiful sunset photo, eh, and B) Tampa, St. Petersburg area, eh.
Three of the other four we'll talk about in that next posting, other than one of the things I learned this past year after some in-depth research is that NASA flat out stipulates that any image made involving a NASA mission is in the Public Domain, and may be used by anyone with out charge. The Nationals Aeronautics and Space Administration does request crediting NASA and the specific mission when using such work, and I do so by putting up a short Artist Blurb when displaying these photos. They will also include a copy of that blurb when (if) I sell any prints. NASA may not be thinking anyone is going to use these images the way I did, may be thinking more about education and such.
So now about the primary subject for this post:
Where Is Everyone? (Monty a Dog Gone Dragon) by madshutterbug on deviantART
Doing composite work is easy these days using most any digital image manipulation program that allows layering or simply just cut and paste selected portions of an image into another. Doing it well enough so that the final piece doesn't look 'shopped' is what takes some time and skill. I often don't like to answer a 'where is that' question about my composite pieces, because after all they are supposed to be, they are, places which exist in my minds eye. Still, when discussing a piece it may be appropriate.
Part the First: Monty. As a sculpture, Monty a Dog Gone Dragon is the work of John Andrews, who lives and works relatively nearby the Ranch. I met John at the Tioga Winter Fine Arts Fair this year, let him know I'd photographed the piece. He said he needed photographs to put together a good brochure to sell the sculpture. I swapped my photographs for that purpose for permission to use those images in other art, crediting John as is right and proper for his part. There is more info here: Monty's Facebook
The kitchen, through which window Monty is putting his head looking for his family (because I figure any dog reincarnated as a dragon is going looking for his family, and 'far away' is a relative term regarding dragons) is from what I call Tudor House. This belongs to another acquaintance of mine through the Society for Creative Anachronism. Once again a mutually beneficial arrangement involving good photographs of something proved good for both of us. She added those photos to her portfolio about the scale model (1" to 1') Tudor-period Scots Manor House, and I gained settings for photographs.
And the Members, the Fans who attended Necronomicon and went through the Art Show, requesting to participate in judging the show (Members then get a form, go through the show, and mark of their favorite selections; turn the form back in, and the Art Show Mob does the rest), these wonderful folk like Where Is Everyone? Monty a Dog Gone Dragon enough to present a shiny ribbon to me and to Monty.
For which I respond Thank You Very Much.
This past weekend, starting actually on Thursday a week, and after working pretty hard on getting as much done on the Ranch as possible (feed storage, critters fed, laundry done, dogs walked, and more) I pointed Sydney Subaru Outback the Younger down the road to Tampa and the Necronomicon Convention and Art Show. For six years now, I am happy to say, pieces of my artwork graced the display walls at the Con Art Show. It's a fun time (as most Cons are) and the Show is, just as the Con, run by Fans for Fans. This one is done by the Stone Hill Science Fiction Association (see link above, follow appropriates), and one of their goals in doing the Con (just one. Obviously having fun and stuff is on that list as well) is to help raise money for Kids and Canines. More info on them via that link above too; go follow.
Because, frankly, my story is about going off to that Con this past weekend. I posted some during the summer about getting art related work done, either putting together pieces or working on presentation for those pieces and how Real Life (I sort of don't like that term. After all, my going off to Hospital to take care of people and incidentally earn money, Herself and I working the Ranch and taking product to Farmers Market and incidentally earning some money are Real Life, yes, and so is making Art and showing it) interfered with time priorities and such. Still, I did get six pieces framed and ready to go.
Now, from a business point of view, I didn't get anything new ready for the Print Shop which runs in conjunction with the Art Show. Since I prefer to show my work framed, and price my framed work appropriately to the extra time and materials, I did not expect to sell any of it via the Art Show auction. Any sales I've made at Necro are via the Print Shop. However, because the Necronomicon Art Show is one of the first I started showing at when I escalated my plans to begin showing work, and because it is also one of those Homer Simpson Moment bits for me (I'm a science fiction fan from childhood. And why haven't I made any science fiction/fantasy themed art? D'oh!), I really, really like to show at Necronomicon sales or not. Actually, even doing weekend art festivals where we set up our booth, more matted pieces sell than framed. The framed work, though, that's the eye candy that draws folks in to look.
This year then as mentioned, I put in six pieces. I'd prepared a seventh, and well, while framing it the frame experienced a catastrophic failure. I'm OK with that, it came with a large group of frames purchased in a yard sale, pretty cheap frame to begin with much less figuring the price per frame I paid via the yard sale. Just, this happened and there proved too little time to either cut another mat to fit a larger frame, or to acquire another frame before needing to finalise paperwork and pack up for the Show.
I will work on another State of the Artist and discuss all of the pieces submitted. The list for now is as follows:
Sakura, Sakura (DC)
St. Pete Beach Sunset
Where Is Everyone? Monty a Dog Gone Dragon
Stardancer
Sumi-e Reality
In the Hall of Titans King
Out of that list, two I did not make with a starting viewpoint to be a science fiction or fantasy theme item. Sakura, Sakura (DC) is of the cherry trees around the Tidal Pool in Washington DC, the capitol of my country of birth. None the less, I prepped a good comeback line if anyone asked why that in a show with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy theme, and it is simply that anything associated with DC (any national capitol of any nation, really) does possess a strong element of fantasy, eh?
And St. Pete Beach Sunset I included because A) beautiful sunset photo, eh, and B) Tampa, St. Petersburg area, eh.
Three of the other four we'll talk about in that next posting, other than one of the things I learned this past year after some in-depth research is that NASA flat out stipulates that any image made involving a NASA mission is in the Public Domain, and may be used by anyone with out charge. The Nationals Aeronautics and Space Administration does request crediting NASA and the specific mission when using such work, and I do so by putting up a short Artist Blurb when displaying these photos. They will also include a copy of that blurb when (if) I sell any prints. NASA may not be thinking anyone is going to use these images the way I did, may be thinking more about education and such.
So now about the primary subject for this post:
Where Is Everyone? (Monty a Dog Gone Dragon) by madshutterbug on deviantART
Doing composite work is easy these days using most any digital image manipulation program that allows layering or simply just cut and paste selected portions of an image into another. Doing it well enough so that the final piece doesn't look 'shopped' is what takes some time and skill. I often don't like to answer a 'where is that' question about my composite pieces, because after all they are supposed to be, they are, places which exist in my minds eye. Still, when discussing a piece it may be appropriate.
Part the First: Monty. As a sculpture, Monty a Dog Gone Dragon is the work of John Andrews, who lives and works relatively nearby the Ranch. I met John at the Tioga Winter Fine Arts Fair this year, let him know I'd photographed the piece. He said he needed photographs to put together a good brochure to sell the sculpture. I swapped my photographs for that purpose for permission to use those images in other art, crediting John as is right and proper for his part. There is more info here: Monty's Facebook
The kitchen, through which window Monty is putting his head looking for his family (because I figure any dog reincarnated as a dragon is going looking for his family, and 'far away' is a relative term regarding dragons) is from what I call Tudor House. This belongs to another acquaintance of mine through the Society for Creative Anachronism. Once again a mutually beneficial arrangement involving good photographs of something proved good for both of us. She added those photos to her portfolio about the scale model (1" to 1') Tudor-period Scots Manor House, and I gained settings for photographs.
And the Members, the Fans who attended Necronomicon and went through the Art Show, requesting to participate in judging the show (Members then get a form, go through the show, and mark of their favorite selections; turn the form back in, and the Art Show Mob does the rest), these wonderful folk like Where Is Everyone? Monty a Dog Gone Dragon enough to present a shiny ribbon to me and to Monty.
For which I respond Thank You Very Much.
no subject