Tiny turbulence – Acrylic in a Watercolour Moleskine
Spring cannot be far away. Everywhere you go the snow is melting and the run-off seeks lower parts. This is a scene, in Almondell Park; this morning, where literally hundreds of small, muddy streams are flowing down towards the River Almond. The painting tries to show a really tiny waterfall surrounded by an emerging riot of crocuses and snowdrops. Its as if they have been waiting for an excuse to show off. The distance, incidentally, across the page represents around 3 feet. Maybe I should look down at my feet more often.
Ziza 6:36 am on January 29, 2010 | #
Another acrylic falls masterpiece. Lovely colours,, composition and you name it! +++
Ziza 9:10 am on January 29, 2010 | #
In fact you are masterfall!
trebor61 9:44 am on January 29, 2010 | #
Thank you Ziza, then thank you again. Oh dear – your puns. Mind you, someone once said that the reason people groan at puns is because they didn’t think of them first.
Ziza 10:00 am on January 29, 2010 | #
Bob you are bobbing too much. Accept the punch-
…line: better be masterfall than masterfoul!
Nuria 11:14 am on January 29, 2010 | #
(English):
Bob – Very nice Bob!. (+1)
Bob-Ziza – Me lose meaning of games of words … Sure
yours read Terry Pratchett.
Please, “Masterfall” and “Masterfoul” which is his meaning?
—o—
(Castellano-Español):
Bob- ¡Muy bonita pintura Bob!. (+1)
Bob y Ziza – Me pierdo el significado de los juegos de palabras… ¡Seguro que vosotros leeis a Terry Pratchett!.
¿Por favor, cuál es el significado de “Masterfall y Masterfoul”?.
Ziza 12:50 pm on January 29, 2010 | #
I must be Masterfool using those Nuria. No meaning whatsoever. It is just a word play mixing meanings (“pun”) which annoys Bob and I enjoy it because it is punny to me. It is supposed to sound something like “masterful” (full of mastery) and yet meaning something else. Google translator won’t help here as those are not “real” words. Try dividing it to MASTER + FALL or FOUL or FOOL and you’d get the idea…
Nuria 1:18 pm on January 29, 2010 | #
Ok. Thanks very much Ziza!
funkykitty22 1:43 pm on January 29, 2010 | #
Wow that is beautiful. I’d love to be there right now!!
Sophie Brown 4:59 pm on January 29, 2010 | #
I have looked at all of your work since we last spoke. The ones I loved the best are “Quiet and Cold” with the branch hanging down, it’s just really neat. Also “Pentland Hills from the City Bypass”. I’m a sucker for that gentle use of color and the oomposition is really perfect too. You seem to me one of those unusual guys who know when to quit sometimes. That one might be screwed up with just one more line. Someone once said that poetry is like pudding, one simply asks that it work. And landscapes are kind of like that too.
Sophie Brown 12:24 am on January 30, 2010 | #
Well, hey, it looks like I managed. It should be posted after it’s “reviewed”. I got kind of stuck because I didn’t know to hit “browse” first, but otherwise I just followed the directions and it pretty much worked out. I’m kind of anxious to do another already! I’ve decided to see this as a challenge to do NEW things and not to try posting old crap (unless I see something worth it, but often I have written in Moleskines and did not care for the sketchbook paper). So you can tell me what you think for a switch. Do you do your paintings in the tiny notebooks? I’m a large sized I guess. I give away a lot esp. when someone really likes something. It seems I mostly draw people. And my cat. Though we do have trees here in the Bronx and I’m sure you would notice them when others don’t.
Joseph R Tomlinson 2:12 am on January 30, 2010 | #
saw this one when i got home from working the night shift and faved it immediately, but was too tired to comment. now that i’m somewhat alert, this is a masterpiece, it has so many appealing features i don’t no where to begin. instead of babbling i’ll just stare!
Sophie Brown 9:21 am on January 30, 2010 | #
The best part of this one I think is how the water on the top of the falls contrasts with the waterfall itself. Just 1 time out of 20 I actually have printed his work out and kept it. I have a skineart “collection”. That’s how I know if I like something better. I print it out. I have 10 of his paintings in the Hall of Fame.
trebor61 10:40 am on January 30, 2010 | #
You are all very kind to send such nice comments. Sorry to take so long to reply but I decided to clean up this wee studio and was amazed at the amount of clutter I’ve collected over the years. Still it looks great – until the next time. Its brilliant that “newcomers” such as funkkitty have viewed this, that Ziza keeps encouraging me and that I can depend upon nice things from Nuria. What really adds the icing on the cake is to see the return of Sophie. I’m really glad that you have decided to post something and cannot wait to see your work, Sophie. Thank you all!
trebor61 10:42 am on January 30, 2010 | #
Of course I should have included Joe in the above. An oversight my friend. Don’r stare too much or you will become cross eyed.
PS One of your suggestions has been chosen for February’s challenge. Go for it, everyone.
Rudat 10:50 am on January 30, 2010 | #
What I really admire about this is you can look at it as a giant, Niagra Falls, or the tiny stream that it is. Well done, Sir.
Sophie Brown 3:23 pm on January 30, 2010 | #
It hasn’t turned up yet, so I wrote Leo, because other things are up since last night. I think I recall that it takes longer for new contributors sometimes. I know everyone is as anxious and waiting with as much baited breath as I am. I’ve never uploaded anything ever. The computer seemed to go along easily enough. I was thanked for my submission and said it had to approve it. It seems Leo is one thing and the computer is another, like an AI prototype. We should name the “other”. I could just call it The Other. I’m intending to go techno-savvy from being a Luddite. I bet I know just enough to catch up. But hopefully I am rewarded for the hour or so I spent scanning and floating around in a Purgatory called “HP Solutions”.
Rudat 3:38 pm on January 30, 2010 | #
Sophie…when you posted, did you see a little image of your submitted art? That’s the key to having art posted. It’s soooo good to know you were able to escape The Other in HP Solutions Purgatory!
Sophie Brown 6:21 pm on January 30, 2010 | #
I think I may just have seen it in the files where I am now keeping the photo, but the name of the file was clearly on the skineart submission line next to “browse”. I’ll try it again soon if it’s not there. I have to learn it anyway! Even if it turns up twice, I imagine it’s not a disaster from which Leo will never recover.
Rudat 6:25 pm on January 30, 2010 | #
Make sure your image file is under 1 megabyte. If it’s larger, it won’t be posted. I can’t wait to see your art, Sophie. I just love your enthusiasm!
Sophie Brown 9:01 pm on January 30, 2010 | #
I just posted under your thing too. It IS over 1MB. I don’t know just what that means, it’s just a watercolor. So I may have to scan it again or something. This weekend I WILL figure it out….Now it’s been built up too much. Remember when Batman came out and you waited and waited and then you ended up wishing Michael Keaton was a lot taller? Plus I’m getting SO SICK of this painting (the only cure would be to do some more). I was learning how to scan and ended up making 12 copies of this. But I will be coming round the mountain any hour now. It should be a lot of fun to join the fray. I do sort of feel that you all are my friends. In a strange capacity, but still friends. It’s a pretty warm and encouraging group we have. I missed it while I was so busy….I was distraught to hear that anyone’s feelings might be hurt. I do keep it positive but that’s not hard to do, people are really good….I don’t know if you remember my being shouted down because I thought they should edit for quality? Still I am surprised that jerks and people who are “not good” have not taken over. Remember, it was a bickering thing in the forums. I’ve been impressed every day. I’m rough on myself more by not taking myself seriously and I hope that drawing every day will give me a jumpstart. It’s easy to get away from it. Susan, though, you seem COMPELLED, with me I don’t know how many weeks it’s been. So this should be good.
trebor61 3:15 am on January 31, 2010 | #
Hi Susan. An experiment in scale on something I just happened to see as I passed by. Must try more “Macro” posts. Thanks for commenting. I always appreciate your feedback. About scale, have you read John Wyndham’s “Meteor”? It from a series of short science fiction stories and this one is about a race of people who land on earth only to discover terrors and death. A summary can be read here:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Summary_of_the_story_on_METEOR_by_john_wyndham
trebor61 3:16 am on January 31, 2010 | #
PS Good of you to try to get Sophie on board
trebor61 3:28 am on January 31, 2010 | #
Sophie, in connection with your other posts about the 1Mb limit. You will want to reduce the size of the file to less than 1 megabite which is 1000 Kb (1000 kilobytes) Two ways of doing this. You can open up your scanned effort in something like photoshop (I use an old version of paint shop pro) then reduce the size (There will be a “Resize” option) You can download stuff like this from the internet. Alternatively when you scan your painting reduce the size by lowering the resolution you are scanning at – basically you will be scanning the picture at less intensity. When you have tried either method, save a copy of your scanned image as a “jpeg” somewhere (I dump it on the desktop) then right click on it with you mouse to see its properties. This will give you the size. I have posted stuff from 120Kb to 850Kb on Skineart successfully. The good thing about Skineart is when you submit a piece you get to preview it first. Its at this stage you have to decide if it looks good enough but I’m sure your will.
j. stremikis 11:42 am on January 31, 2010 | #
Bob – perhaps Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro is “overkill” – to do such a simple
task as image resizing or as you call it here “Resize”.
Windows XP has long had an “add on tool” for this:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/learnmore/tips/eschelman2.mspx
The tool itself is called “Microsoft Resizer Tool” – and easily added into
the everyday desktop (for XP).
As I understand, it is now built-in to Windows 7.
It’s all a matter of “right-click” on the image to be resized, and to pick from
the menus.
I hope this helps — I certainly don’t want to complicate the problem. But, the problem is so easily solved without these “heavy-weight” applications like Photoshop — so expensive, and unnecessary.
Just my USD $0.02 (two cents).
j. stremikis 11:50 am on January 31, 2010 | #
Here is another option, for Windows 7 users, “Windows Live Photo Gallery”:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Resize-photos-in-Windows-Live-Photo-Gallery
j. stremikis 11:59 am on January 31, 2010 | #
Bob –
and finally:
http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/image-resizer-powertoy-clone-for-windows-7vista/
.
sorry to be a pest on this — but, this one may be the best of
available solutions – works across various operating system
versions and as simple as a “right-click” on the image
to be resized, before posting to ‘skineart.
also, sorry if this has turned into a “tech support” forum chatter,
taking away from your original posting.
(Perhaps Leo (or you) can move off into Forums, which is more
appropriate (?))
(really wishing for the “edit” button in the Comment postings here,
as is available in Forums postings.)
trebor61 1:36 pm on January 31, 2010 | #
Brilliant John. Thanks for these. I hope Sophie will be able to use some of this. Don’t be concerned about “tech support”. This is the beauty of this web site. people helping each other. After all, over the months I’ve been introduced to many aids to art on this site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28475994@N00/4319900902/
Rudat 3:43 pm on January 31, 2010 | #
Bob, thank you so much for that very entertaining sci-fi story. You have changed my life forever.
Sophie Brown 10:18 pm on January 31, 2010 | #
I’m for now going to bookmark this page and just get very zen about the whole thing and approach it with patience. I think afterwards it will seem too easy…I’m preoccupied with something peculiar. I’ve been living here more than a month, and it seemed at first that I was the only person in the building at night, they have offices downstairs and what I thought were empty apaartments. Then I started hearing funny things. It became clear that someone does live upstairs and that we’re so quiet we haven’t interacted. So this morning, there I was, trying to solve my problem with my resolution and scanner instructions at about 5AM, I hear someone walking in the hallway. So I stopped typing. So I just stayed very still and for whatever reason this person was just STANDING outside the door, then finally went away. Then it’s also clear that someone is leaving my packages from UPS outside my door. That seems considerate. Anyway, this isn’t Scotland or Texas and also I think it’s unusual to BE in an empty building. So I just went tiptoing around to see if I can find which apartment they live in (there are 3 others). No way do they have children or I would know about it. So I told my friend it’s like a ghost is upstairs. She says, What if YOURE the ghost, floating through time and space and don’t know it? It sounds like a stupid idea but you can get too fixated on it. And what were they doing anyway, trying to look through the peephole? I’m used to my own snooping but it always seems creepy in other people.
Andrew Spanoudakis 6:02 am on February 1, 2010 | #
beautiful colors Bob….beautiful
Ziza 1:23 pm on February 1, 2010 | #
How did you manage to get so many comments? Is this a record high? Well, I’m here just to reinforce the record (if indeed it is and to make it if it is still not). I couldn’t dream of reading them all though, but I’m sure they’re all nice – just like mine!
Ziza 1:29 pm on February 1, 2010 | #
… just to check up how is it going with collecting comments! OK, I’m satisfied…
roseindigo 11:20 pm on February 1, 2010 | #
Well, I shall add another comment to the collection:
BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF WORK BOB!!!
trebor61 5:46 am on February 2, 2010 | #
Hi Rose. As Ziza has pointed out this has become a veritable depository for comments and while they are not all related, to my post, it is really great to see folks discussing things with each other. I really hope Sophie manages to get her stuff on line – I remember the trials you had in the “early days”. I’m so glad you like this. After all we have discussed about the effect of the winter months I decided to make a gargantuan effort to do one scene a day until my Christmas present Moleskine was full up (ie on one side of the page only). I have found this really hard but, like the marathon runners, I can now see the finishing line with only seven more scenes to find and paint. Then I will feel entitled to a return to hiberanation.
Ziza 8:09 am on February 2, 2010 | #
How are we doing here? Aha, with this one it’s 35 and growing…