Updating 2013 News

"Midnight Visit" will be exhibited at Gallery 'n' Gifts as of June 6, 2013. (16x24 on metal)
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I always have a wonderful time at the Cultural Arts Association Spring Art Show. This year was no exception. I met new people, visited with people who are beginning to feel like old friends, and enjoyed seeing work from artists who hail from the Tehachapi Valleys. A lady who took home a piece of mine two years ago, added "Midnight Visit",  (above) 12x18 inches on metal, to her collection. "On Cloud Nine", 12x18 inches on metal and mounted on a chocolate brown leather backing, sold to a new friend from Bear Valley Springs. Since "Profile in Bronze", 12x12 inches on metal, was sold at the gallery that meant that by the end of April, three pieces of my work had been added to private collections. Looks like I have to hustle if I have any hopes of reclaiming that momentum.



When Two Is Better Than One

Click on the image for the larger version

"Midnight Visit" is currently displayed as a 6x9 Lustre Print in an 11x14 matte. This piece is available at Gallery 'N Gifts, Tehachapi, CA. Prints are available in various sizes. See my website for additional information.
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About the Image
I have lost track of how many of my pieces include this black gelding. His was a tortured spirit and and the barely subdued madness in him has always translated into some form of energy in the photographs we made together that I couldn't possibly manufacture on my own.

Old Habits and Productivity
Finally, a couple of months ago, I began working with two monitors. Don't ask why it has taken me so long.

Sometimes the answer to increased productivity or greater creativity has been under our nose for months or years and we fail to see it. This is certainly what happened to me. It isn't as if working with dual monitors is a new and iffy concept. I just lagged behind and kept doing things the way I had always done them. Yes, I considered a computer even with one monitor pretty cutting edge in the early 1980's. But, I had fallen way behind the times. And, yes, I upgraded to larger and more sophisticated displays. Just not more than one at a time. Old habits getting in the way of progress.

Sound familiar, anyone? I wish I could say that I don't often make such bone-headed mistakes, but I would be flattering myself. More often than I want to admit I finally come around to trying a new technique or piece of equipment and then kick myself for dragging my feet.

For so many of us it is easier to keep repeating the old familiar mistakes than to try something new. We tell ourselves that we don't have time to master the new tool, or get used to doing something a new way. But, it is based in some sort of fear.

It is particularly interesting to me that, more often than not, I eventually face down that resistance and jump into what I have carefully avoided for sometimes years. Yes, occasionally, learning the new way of working is frustrating and takes time as well as patience before it becomes as natural as the old familiar habits. But, often, the transition is a non-event and the switch-over is painless. The latter was the case with adding a second monitor. Within a couple of minutes I was having a wonderful time and wishing I had made the move years ago.

The real embarrassment is that I changed my ways mostly by happenstance. Months ago, I had purchased a second monitor so that I could get into the old machine without having to disconnect my monitor from the new computer. It seems that reports of the old computer dying were more than slightly exaggerated. After that one terrifying day when I was treated to the gasps of a faltering machine with only hours to survive, the old machine has cooked along nicely. Of course, it is no longer being asked to manage Photoshop and power I-forget-how-many external hard drives. That could explain the revival.

As time passed, I asked myself why I should let that perfectly fine new monitor sit there day after day waiting for the rare call into service when I wanted to search for something on the old computer? Why not try working with two monitors every day? What a novel thought. Not!

Now that I have two lovely, wide monitors lined up side by side on my desk, working on an image like the one above is a whole lot easier. Phew? Late to the party, a little embarrassed that it took me so long; but, having a grand time. Ain't technology grand?

 

A New Camera for the New Year

BlackHawk-A work in Progress
(Click here for the larger image)





Note: Although I have added this version of this image to my portfolio, I consider it a work in progress and this version may end up being replaced. I haven't lived with it long enough to be ready for the final steps. A few more days, at least one more test print, and then we shall see.

I have only begun to become acquainted with my new Canon 7D and needed action shots for testing the new-to-me focusing system on this camera. BlackHawk, the 2012 addition to our little herd of three, is always ready to accommodate with action. With his winter coat he isn't at his sleekest and showiest, but, believe me, he needs that warm coat. For example, Sunday (January 13) morning our temperature was 9 degrees. I know that doesn't compete with Monte's recent -1, but it's more than cold enough for me.

The 7D arrived late the afternoon of Tuesday, January 8, and the next day I was out for a test run. Out of that afternoon's brief shoot with BlackHawk, this one is my favorites. The expression is so much who this young gelding is. Typical of his breed, Arabian, he is deeply curious. He is just over 5 and, as is common for that age, he is a bit full of himself. But, he has a sweet nature and is mostly a joy.

Like most of my work, this is a photograph with many layers added. The layers for this piece consist of starting with basic processing for lighting and general enhancement—jobs that were not completed during the Adobe Camera Raw processing of the RAW file. Once the file was moved to Photoshop, I gradually added multiple painting layers using the Wacom tablet and pen. In this case, about 90 percent of the painting was done with a couple of the oil mixer brushes.

Dark Horses and Goblins

(Click on the thumbnail for the larger version)

A Dark Horse Came Running is currently available. This limited edition is printed on Kodak ENDURA Metallic paper and will be exhibited in an 11x14 opening in an 8 ply museum quality matte and a 16x20 frame.

                                                                                                                                                                

In mid-February we had house guests and the last wave of that adventure was the arrival of one of my  ex-students. S. is an absolute delight and we were so pleased that she took time out of her busy trip to California to spend some of it with us. As noon last Wednesday approached—her scheduled time to hit the road, she announced that she needed a few minutes to browse through my prints once again. I was thrilled that she wanted to spend a few more minutes with my work and I encouraged her take her time with her final tour. After all, her energy was a tonic for us and I hated to see her leave.

She moved slowly from one viewing section to another, hall to room to another hallway, then said, "I brought one blank check with me just on a whim." For several minues, I didn't grasp the meaning of the sentence and how it connected with her tour of the prints. It turned out she wanted to buy a framed print. I was taken aback, but obviously pleased at the turn of events.

After considerable deliberation, she returned again to the image above (previously posted at my journal blog), and said that she couldn't resist the one with the gremlin on his back. I chuckled because when I completed that piece, I hadn't a single thought about gremlins. Then a friend posted a comment and asked about the goblin on the horse's back. Well, of course, since that time, I can't not see the beast. How I ever missed it is now beyond me.

After the comment,  my first impulse, frankly, was to fix it. I seriously considered reworking the piece immediately, reprinting, and ridding the  horse of his gremlin burden. But, the more I thought about it the more I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. That gelding has had a demon on his back for years. He was, apparently, mistreated as a youngster and never fully regained his trust in humans. He was a one-woman horse. Had you ever seen the animal, you would have immediately sensed the wildness in him. Since I have often talked about allowing my subconscious mind to play its role in my creative life, it seemed quite hypocritical to deny all that by throwing out something that made it all the way to print and exhibit without my conscious mind ever catching on. To deny my work philosophy along with the horse's story and erase these influences after the fact didn't ring true. Ultimately, I let the work stand.

It seemed fitting that there was surprise to complete the strange story of this image. The last thing on my mind while our charming guest was with us was art sales. Her purchase was a delicious surprise and I shouldn't have been shocked that she chose a piece that had already offered some surprises.