It's Not Art....

I thought I'd revisit an issue that I still feel is important... the whole aspect of Public Art, what is Art, and how much say do we have in the Art we get in our towns...

The voice-over is taken from an interview on The Bat Cave - YVFM 99.1, the music is Richard Bone's Far From Yesterday, and the images are all from my photography archives.

As the world turns...

Well, here it is, the end of another year, and the blogernets will be overflowing with 'What a Year That Was' posts....

It's true we'll never see another like it, simply cos you can't go back (unless you're the Doctor's companion). But the world keeps turning and the sun will rise on 2012 without a jolt or murmur. Yet I will look back briefly, just to see if the monsters have stopped their chase...

I didn't make any new year's resolutions 12 months ago, so I can score 100% for not failing any. That's a good way to start. I'm still alive, and for a guy who has in the past been a step away from depression-related suicide that's also a bonus, although 2011 was not by any means a bad year. I can count my blessings.

For starters I have a wife who has stood by me through difficulties, slow times, unsure times and poor times. Love can inspire passion, but at bedrock it is patient, kind, forgiving, loyal, selfless and hopeful. I can't ask for more.

Work has been slow, with occasional photoshoots (I got to shoot the World's Greatest Treasurer...) and some steady delivery work to bring in the $$. So I'll be looking for something that can inspire me and be enjoyable while earning me a crust.

I've helped some groups and people get books published, and put out some 2012 calendars of my own work.

My trusty iMac crashed, so I had to replace that, which made me think what can I do on an iPad? Is it an expensive toy, or can I do my work on it? After a slow start where the apps seemed geared towards fun rather than functionality, I'm getting to discover that some serious work can be done, even on the original iPad (which is what I got).

I'm a photographer (among other things) so I've been playing with photo apps, and let me tell you, good ones are thin on the ground. The usual suspects are fine and fun - Camera+ and Instagram are great for the 'retro' look that's a craze on the internet. But I need something with a bit more bite, as I usually work with Photoshop, and those apps don't have the chops.

First up I tried Photogene, which has some good controls built in  - but runs out of puff before the finish line. A good try nonetheless. Then, hidden in the deep dark recesses of an app review, was PhotoForge2. Now we have controls for curves, levels, brightness/contrast, HSL, vibrancy, Unsharp Mask, white balance, and more. There's also a plethora of presets that people expect nowadays, to replace photoshop 'actions'. In the mix is a range of camera, film, lens, filter, flash, developer and paper choices! And layers, this app does layers! And it also comes with a multi-level undo. Now this is more like it! All this for $10, and it replaces more than 90% of what I would do in photoshop.

As a printer, I relied heavily on the Pantone PMS colour matching system. The print world revolves around it. But a PMS colour book costs hundreds of dollars, and there's more than one needed. So of course now there's a cheap app from Pantone with all that on board. One gripe I have is you can't do a search, typing in 330 and getting the colour and breakdown with it - seriously, why not? But it does have a good touch for designers, photographers, printers and decorators, you can upload a photo (of say a shop interior) and it will hunt up the PMS colours in that photo. Great for web designers and interior decorators etc. Get it!

For audio work, which  do occasionally for my radio show, I've got most bases covered, except for a decent replacement for Audacity, but I'm hopeful! I have Dragon for converting speech to text, Speak It for converting text to speech, and Translator who knows why as our guests are all English speaking, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I do need an app to do serious editing work on sound files and export as mp3's. I'll probably find one next week...

As for fun, I look to the early days of PC games and came up with Retro Pinball, which is Epic Pinball rebuilt for the iPad - seriously awesome :) Then to top it off, I came across that psycho pair, Sam n Max in the game The Penal Zone. Who could ask for more?

So with all its ups and downs, the year hasn't been too bad. The thing is, a lot of this stuff is just things. And things come and go. There's more important stuff that makes life worth living. So when I put my iPad down, life doesn't just stop! People are important, relationships go on, they sustain you, help you think and grow, and come with their own rewards. And above all that, there's a God who has proved to me that he will 'never leave me or forsake me'. He's there in the bright sunlight, he's there in the darkest pit. If I turn my back on him, I can't see him, but he's still there, guarding my back. That's my greatest treasure.

All the best for 2012.

Logan Pub Car Show Pics

Perfect weather greeted us over the weekend for the Car Show at the Logan Pub, where around 12 beautifully restored hot rods and show cars were displayed.

Logan itself is a strange place... If you take away the Pub, there's a few farms, and a dry creek bed. That's it. However, the Pub has defied logic and become famous. It's won awards, been featured in books and newspapers, and carries the spirit of the outback pub into this century. Well worth a visit :)

I took some vintage and plastic film cameras with me, and the films will be a while getting developed etc. So while that's happening, here are some shots from my digital Nikon to keep you all happy. Higher resolution photos are being uploaded on my red bubble account.



















While I was there, my music loving friend set up his 3000w sound system and we blasted Logan with 60,s rock and roll, and some of the world's best guitarists.

Old favourites revisited

As an artist, I'm always finding new ways to be inspired. As a photographer, sometimes I'm caught short, not always having 'fresh' images to use for new art.

Then I realised, good photos needn't have a 'use by' date. A good image can be timeless in its own right, or be useful as the basis for a bit of artistic experimentation.

We've all seen HDR images (probably until you are sick of them), or photos that gain a new lease of life with a bit of a 'lomo' work over. But with some very basic photoshop skills, many images can be revamped in new ways.

I've been 'slicing and dicing' some of my old favourites. cutting the images up and rearranging them in semi-geometric ways.


It's not a new thing for me, having been a fan of 'mosaic' images - one main image being made up from 100's of other photographs that I have taken. These are a crowd pleaser, always catching peoples attention at exhibitions.

I've attached a couple of samples here, maybe they will inspire you to dust off your files, and flex a few photoshop skills to fulfill that creative urge that makes artists restless....

Make a comment on how you have re-done some of your previous artworks :)

The older the better

Maybe because it's my age, or just plain stubbornness, but I love showing that old things still work. And that not only do they still work, but they are imbued with a rare cool/funkiness factor that demands attention.

Part of the combined exhibition that I'm in with Kayleen are some photographs taken with 'old tech'. Cameras from the 30's, 40's and 50's, old films and pinhole lenses.

I still have (and use) my first ever camera, a box brownie that was also my father's first camera. Nowadays I need to re-spool some 120 film into it, as 620 is long gone.

I also have a Kodak bellows that needs 120 film, and a wonderful bakelite Kodak Baby Brownie from my father-in-law. That takes 127 film. Which can't be got in Australia, but can be imported from the USA.

The other day I was given another family camera, a Vest Pocket Kodak model B. This also takes 127 film. So I loaded it up and everything seems to be working as it should.
It will take a while to use the film, as I feel that such old equipment should be used to take photographs of older things.

I will keep you up to date on how it all pans out. Meanwhile here's some images taken with the other antique cameras.

Enjoy.

Painting as Pastor speaks

We watched the seeming chicken scratches on the large screen mounted behind the Pastor slowly, oh so slowly change from random lines and blobs into the face of Jesus as he endured crucifixion. Local artist Kayleen West painted unseen behind the screen as the Careforce Pastor gave his message on the sacrifice of Christ to end the pain of sin for the sinner.
It was powerful to be reminded that good (a holy God) overcame evil (hatred for people like you) in the ultimate plot twist - just when Satan was crowing over a crucified Jesus, he lost the game by that very death.
I feel humbled to know that in a small way, 'I was there' as my sin kept Christ on that cross, and Jesus was motivated to go through all that because he loved me.

I only met Kayleen a month ago, via facebook, and in that time we've put on a combined art exhibition at Monbulk, entitled "I Have a Dream". The team at the Monbulk Dream Centre, 17 Moores Rd Monbulk, went out of there way to set up their facility to show our art. Picture rails and lights were installed just for the exhibition.
I have a range of photography works on show, and Kayleen has both oil and watercolour paintings on display. All are for sale.
It's open Tue April 6th and Wed April 7th between 1 pm and 4 pm. Drop in and say hello!