tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58548762523193039782024-03-13T21:41:02.618+00:00Arted StatesThe life and works of contemporary British artist Martin Herbert. Symbolic paintings, philosophical musings, and occasional whimsically altered junkshop finds.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-39687680420076045382014-11-19T11:09:00.000+00:002014-11-19T11:10:24.539+00:00Willkommen in Dachau<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3fSFLYv2aU/VGx4_y8fR5I/AAAAAAAAAu8/LGT5DjuXXnI/s1600/macdonalds-dachau-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3fSFLYv2aU/VGx4_y8fR5I/AAAAAAAAAu8/LGT5DjuXXnI/s1600/macdonalds-dachau-2.jpg" height="436" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Willkommen in Dachau" : Found photograph with graffiti addition : 2014</td></tr>
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Talking yesterday in a tutorial about crass commercialism, our tutor put up this photo. I couldn't believe no one else was insensitively crude enough to make the obvious joke, so it had to be done...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-88262248437034435962014-09-27T14:50:00.001+01:002014-10-03T11:01:41.112+01:00Artist review - 40 days with the Wacom Cintiq Companion - Part 5: ArtRage<div dir="ltr">
This review is of <a href="http://www.artrage.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ArtRage </a>on the <a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wacom Cintiq Companion</a> - hopefully useful for artists considering just that combination.<br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">Update:</span> 03 Oct 2014: Please read together with the first comment below, from Ambient Design, the publishers of ArtRage - apparently most of the issues I picked up on are either fixed in the latest version of the software, or are features I didn't manage to find!</div>
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My test period with the Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet is close to ending and I haven't managed (of course) to do half the jobs I was hoping to do. I've had a quick play with all of the following software packages and will write some notes on them shortly:</div>
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Adobe Creative Cloud - Photoshop, Premiere & InDesign.<br />
Microsoft Office 365.<br />
XenoDream.<br />
ZBrush 4R6<br />
GroBoto.</div>
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My main object in trying out the tablet, though, and the one I did manage to fulfil pretty well, was to give a thorough workout to <a href="http://www.artrage.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ArtRage</a>. This is the package I've used most in the past, and the one I still intend to use most in the future. For those unfamiliar with it, it's a drawing and painting package for Windows, Mac and iPad which seeks to simulate traditional media, including oil paints, watercolours, pencil, pens, pastels, and more. The result is work which can be more or less indistinguishable from that done on paper or canvas, without the mess and the expense of chucking materials at projects which might not work out! I love the feeling of being able to try out whatever I want without wasting paper - looking forward to trying it for lightning sketches when I drop in on the undergraduate life-drawing classes at college! I first used ArtRage on an an old PC with one of the first Wacom graphics tablets and then progressed a few years ago to an HP Tx2500 series tablet PC running Windows XP, which I later upgraded to the Windows 8 Beta release. The combination worked very well, and I was able to do some interesting work, but there were some disadvantages. The old tablet PC touch interface was clunky and unresponsive, and the processing power wasn't up to using complicated brushes like watercolour washes without the marks lagging annoyingly behind the stylus.</div>
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The old tablet expired and the new generation of light and fast tablets came along, and I was eager to see how ArtRage would perform in a suitable purpose-built environment, hence when offered the chance to test-drive the Wacom Cintiq Companion for 40 days I grabbed it!</div>
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So here we go. It works. End of review. Well, no, not quite, but to me the point about graphics software (and specifically software/hardware combinations) is that it should just do what you want it to do straight out of the package/off the download. Admittedly, as you'll know if you read earlier reviews, I had to upgrade the Wacom to Windows 8.1 and reinstall the tablet driver to get things working well, but that was pre-ArtRage Installation. So I installed ArtRage on the tablet - no annoying licencing issues - once you've paid for it you can install it on all the PCs you own (and Macs? - as far as I remember one licence covers all). One nice little feature is that you can copy the activation key into the clipboard and when you fire up the program for the first time it automatically pastes it into the right space for you.</div>
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Then the user interface appears - none of the problems I had with PhotoShop (the interface elements were way too small, and when I used the 'experimental features' menu to increase the size, they were way too large, as that feature is designed specifically for the Surface 3's higher resolution screen. Variable scaling, please, Adobe… but I digress). The ArtRage interface on the Cintiq Companion's 1920 x 1080 screen was just the right size to use with either finger or pen.</div>
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Move straight to drawing on the screen - well, I selected the pencil tool first - the default selection at first startup is blue oil paint … god knows why. It works - press harder, line gets darker, ease off, line gets lighter. Just what you want. Turn the pen over and scribble with the other end, it's an eraser. Press harder, eraser gets bigger. All good. The tip is very responsive to pressure - I found I had to tweak the settings in the Wacom management utility to get the full range of light to dark. The individual range is going to vary from person to person - evidently I have quite a heavy hand, and I had to experiment a little with the settings to get it just right. One gripe with the pencil tool in ArtRage, though - the Wacom pen sends tilt information to the app, and I assumed this would be mapped to tilt in ArtRage, i.e. that the more I tilted the pen over, the wider the line would become. This doesn't happen - it doesn't use the tilt info. in the pencil tool. Why?? That would seem like a pretty obvious implementation to me. It's not that it doesn't work at all - using the airbrush tool the spray pattern becomes conical if you tilt the pen. All in all, though, the combination of the Wacom pen and ArtRage is excellent. I was able to pretty much forget that I wasn't working with a real pencil on paper and just get on with creating, which is, after all, the goal.</div>
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So here's a shot of me working on the first proper drawing I did with ArtRage on the Wacom Cintiq Companion. I already published the complete drawing <a href="http://artedstates.blogspot.com/2014/08/Cintiq4.html" target="_blank">*here*</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://artedstates.blogspot.com/2014/08/Cintiq4.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vzWKxim36OY/VCa23yu7nDI/AAAAAAAAAuY/-xIFYsxsz5s/s1600/WP_20140901_002.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://artedstates.blogspot.com/2014/08/Cintiq4.html" target="_blank">Drawing in ArtRage on the Wacom Cintiq Companion</a></td></tr>
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Moving on, what else makes for a good drawing experience? Well, the screen texture on the Wacom is slightly matt, rather than the high gloss found on most tablets, like the Microsoft Surface 3. Imagine drawing with a fibre-tip pen on a piece of the non-reflective glass used for picture framing to cut down glare and you'll get the idea. It means the pen is easier to control and not as liable to skid around. I found it a comfortable surface to draw on, but there are a couple of downsides. Firstly, the screen is not as bright, vibrant and sharp as on a typical tablet. This isn't an issue if you're creating using a pen and drawing using 'natural' media - who cares if a pencil stroke is bright and glossy? It is an issue, though, if you also want to watch movies on your tablet, or edit photos, or videos using Premiere as I do. It's an indication to me that the Cintiq Companion is great at exactly what it's designed for - drawing and painting in the digital domain, but not so good as a general laptop replacement. Secondly, the coating used on the screen is apparently not perfectly scratch resistant. Wacom recommend <i>not </i>using felt nibs in the Pro pen on the Companion, which might be a disadvantage for some graphics professionals. The reason, apparently, is that people who use those nibs tend to press harder, making screen damage more likely. I've never used them, so can't really comment.</div>
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The other really important factor for natural media drawing verisimilitude is lag. Is the CPU power of the tablet good enough to render complex brush patterns in real time so your line doesn't lag behind the stylus? The Cintiq Companion uses a Core i7 processor clocked at 2.7GHz, so the answer <i>should </i>be yes - and it is. The most complex rendering that ArtRage has to do is making convincing watercolour strokes, blending with the colour already on the 'paper' in real time, and I had no problem with this. Here's a drawing I did where the shading on the eyes was first roughed out using a watercolour brush, and it was just like painting on watercolour paper:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yJCXiko-ueU/VCa7U5OmFQI/AAAAAAAAAuk/ijvCDIzQIfI/s1600/botanics-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yJCXiko-ueU/VCa7U5OmFQI/AAAAAAAAAuk/ijvCDIzQIfI/s1600/botanics-3.jpg" height="640" width="479" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Up Like Wildflowers" : Digital drawing - ArtRage on Wacom Cintiq Companion<br />
Copyright © 2014 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
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One important tip though (thanks to Wacom digital hero type dude <a href="https://twitter.com/wacomb2bukI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">David Oduro</a> for this!): The Windows power management scheme you use is important. When running on battery I would use the 'balanced' or 'power saver' profiles in Windows. In this case you would definitely get very noticeable lag between mark-making on the screen and mark actually appearing. This is because under these power schemes the CPU speed is down-clocked to around 0.9GHz. For a lag-free drawing experience on the Wacom Cintiq Companion - set the power scheme to 'High Performance'! CPU speed goes right up and everything is much smoother. Another tip was to go into the BIOS settings and increase the GPU memory window size to 512MB - this will also speed up graphics performance.</div>
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The way I work in ArtRage is to set myself up a pallette of colours corresponding to the media I use in real life - sepia, terracotta and graphite pencils and Chinese White chalk and gouache for highlights. Here's a last drawing, using my 'default' toolset:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3cglucguLIE/VCa74QHuigI/AAAAAAAAAus/aHMRcu8eJ1M/s1600/A-Leg-to-Stand-on-webres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3cglucguLIE/VCa74QHuigI/AAAAAAAAAus/aHMRcu8eJ1M/s1600/A-Leg-to-Stand-on-webres.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A Leg to Stand On (Universal Credit II) : Digital drawing - ArtRage on Wacom Cintiq Companion<br />
Copyright © 2014 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
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... which leads me to another tip. ArtRage has layers just like Photoshop - use them! The chalk tool in ArtRage, even setting the pressure to zero and using as little pressure on the pen as possible, is too heavy for my liking. I got around it by shading and blurring my highlights on a separate layer with opacity set to 50% or so, then merging down layers when I was happy with the results. Reducing the layer opacity gives you the capability to make much more subtle adjustments. (Obviously this doesn't work if you want the colour to blend with media already on the 'canvas'). It's when using layers that another advantage of the Companion becomes apparent - 8GB of RAM means no appreciable slowing down when using layers. I worked on all the drawings seen here at full size (30 x 40 cm) with a resolution of 240dpi, scaling up to 300dpi later for eventual printing, so makes them 2880 x 3840 pixels when working. I was able to use at least half a dozen layers at this size without issue. One slight quirk with ArtRage when working on a canvas this size though - the maximum diameter of the brush tools is quite small - they're designed for a smaller working area really, so if you want to do something expressive with oil or watercolour brushes, I would work small to start with broad strokes, then rescale the canvas to add details later. It's annoying, but the technology still isn't up to A3 paintings in natural rendered media at Retina display resolution with no visible lag. It will be, I'm sure, but give it 2 or 3 years, I expect.</div>
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Small complaint - it's necessary to zoom in and out and rotate the canvas quite a lot when working with large files, and the intuitive pinch to zoom and two fingers to rotate methods didn't work well (I was able to get pinch to zoom working by tweaking some settings, but rotate could only be done via the ArtRage canvas tool). This something that Ambient Design, the publishers of ArtRage, could usefully work on. Oh, and … feature request, ArtRage guys - I'd really like it if I could draw with the pencil or chalk tool using the pen, and then blur/smudge using my finger without changing tools - shouldn't be a problem, right? Just detect the change from pen to touch and change the tool mapping accordingly. In the next version, please. (Oh and by the way, I should say all this was done with ArtRage 3.5, so maybe all these issues are addressed in version 4! I'm just a poor artist and can't afford to upgrade right now).</div>
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So there we are - if your question was 'how well does ArtRage work on the Wacom Cintiq Companion?' then hopefully that goes some way towards answering the question. I think the Cintiq Companion is probably the best possible platform for ArtRage's natural drawing media, and I guess the same probably goes for other painting packages. I haven't had time try them though, so can't vouch for the experience (Wacom pointed me towards a trial of Corel Painter but I just don't have the time). It seems to me like ArtRage is the best package for painting digitally, and it's amazingly cheap for everything it can do (and this review is just looking at a very few features). The Cintiq is the perfect Companion for it (cheeeezy!!).</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-87589174943303249382014-08-28T11:29:00.000+01:002014-09-01T19:21:50.729+01:00Artist review - 40 days with the Wacom Cintiq Companion - Part 4: A drawing for sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: red;">Update:</span><span style="color: #444444;"> New revised version - that's more me!</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mHrBbXzW4h0/VAS3q98AzVI/AAAAAAAAAs4/myHFZWDyfgA/s1600/Is-there-honey.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Is there honey still for tea?" : Digital drawing : 40 x 30 cm : Limited edition of 10<br />Copyright © 2014 by Martin Herbert</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Due to the hardware problems, I'm about ten days behind where I wanted to be in evaluating the Cintiq Companion, but I finally had time to do a drawing using the excellent ArtRage package. I'll be writing an evaluation of ArtRage on the Cintiq shortly, but in the meantime, here's the finished result.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">For sale as a signed & numbered limited edition of 10 copies on eBay here -> <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062">http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062</a></span><span style="color: #444444;">. By purchasing you'll be helping pay for my MA in Fine Art at Aberystwyth, which I'm starting next month.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aNlBvDQN47M/VAS4ivv8_dI/AAAAAAAAAtA/p6SY3XJMFvk/s1600/Is-there-honey-det1.jpg" height="458" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062" target="_blank">"Is there honey still for tea (detail) : Copyright © 2014 by Martin Herbert</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">My contribution to the 1914-18 war commemorations I guess - it didn't actually start out that way, I was experimenting with shapes and stencils to see what happened and it just sort of fell out. The title "Is there honey still for tea?" is of course from the last line of </span><a href="http://www.rupertbrooke.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rupert Brooke</a><span style="color: #444444;">'s poem </span><i style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.rupertbrooke.com/poems/1912-1913/the_old_vicarage_grantchester/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The old Vicarage, Grantchester</a>. </i><span style="color: #444444;">It was written in Berlin in 1912 when Brooke was recovering from an illness, and it is widely held to reflect the idyllic England for which his generation would be fighting only two years later, and which was ironically to all but disappear as a result of that conflict, even though Britain actually 'won' in that struggle.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHkbhPcxvjc/VAS4rifsZxI/AAAAAAAAAtI/tIjeVeLMR9g/s1600/Is-there-honey-det2.jpg" height="242" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111451328062" target="_blank">Edition of 10, individually numbered & signed by the artist</a></td></tr>
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Two years later, in 1914, Brooke wrote what are undoubtedly his most famous lines "<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">If I should die, think only this of me: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">That there's some corner of a foreign field </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">That is for ever England." He died on St. Georges day 1915 en-route to Gallipoli.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">"God! I will pack, and take a train,</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">And get me to England once again!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">For England's the one land, I know,</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Where men with Splendid Hearts may go"</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-28581824572102989892014-08-27T17:15:00.001+01:002014-08-27T17:15:37.759+01:00Artist review - 40 days with the Wacom Cintiq Companion - Part 3: Quo Vadis ?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://bamboopaper.wacom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXbOepoyaFw/U_382CgD8mI/AAAAAAAAAr8/JYltkyoc-4Q/s1600/Art-notes-Aug-2014---Image-.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bamboopaper.wacom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Page of notes from 'Bamboo Paper' running on the Wacom Cintiq Companion</a></td></tr>
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You'll recall that the Wacom Cintiq Companion which I have on loan for test and review purposes turned out to have a dodgy audio chip and selfie-cam. The replacement Cintiq Companion (a.k.a. <i>Wacom </i>) has now duly arrived, and happily all hardware tested OK this time. I have to say although the audio quality through the headphone socket or via Bluetooth speakers is fine, the internal speaker quality is complete rubbish, a problem which has been remarked on by other reviewers.<br />
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Whilst I was awaiting the replacement, I've been messing with some apps just to get the feel of the thing, and now since the replacement arrived, I've installed a whole lot more, including ZBrush 4R6, Photoshop CC and Premiere CC, Cubase, and Microsoft Office 365. I've also got the Reactable music synthesis/sequencer system running under the Bluestacks Android emulator, of which more later, undoubtedly! I've started working on some of the items in my test plan (above - written in <a href="http://bamboopaper.wacom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bamboo Paper</a> with the <a href="http://uk.shop.wacom.eu/accessories/cintiq-13//565?c=2213296&sFromAccessoryListing=true&sAccessoryID=&sModel=2213296" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pro Pen</a> - nice!).<br />
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In the meantime, however, playing with all this stuff has thrown up some odd adjustment stuff ... when Wacom asked me to review the Cintiq Companion I suspect they were not after existential musings, but ... the following is transcribed from a Bamboo Paper notebook page written this morning.<br />
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Maybe this is a restart of the 'Artist Pages' (blame Julia Cameron's '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Artists-Way-Discovering-Recovering/dp/0330343580" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Artist's Way</a>') which I used to write longhand on my original tablet PC using Windows Journal, or maybe it's just a brief note, but ... Artist's Block is a thing. :-( Hear that? I have absolutely no idea what to do.<br />
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Pick a different colour maybe (note: pen changed colour here) ? Anyway ... I'm feeling constricted by having to put a piece of computer hardware though its paces, getting more and more anti-tech as I go along. I'm not sure why this should be - I found using a tablet PC before was a liberating experience - being able to experiment with different ideas, styles, even media without wasting a lot of paper seemed to free up some creative impulses which had been bound up before.<br />
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This time, since I started using the Cintiq Companion, I feel restricted in how I use my time, having an obligation to evaluate and report, but also creatively, like I just can't bring myself to put 'pencil' to 'paper' for fear that I'm wasting my time - for fear, I think, that I will fail spectacularly at actually producing any meaningful art.<br />
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I should just pull myself together. If David Hockney can exhibit <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/artvideo/10408677/David-Hockney-unveils-his-iPad-art.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">'paintings' made on an iPad</a>, then I should be able to make something useful on this platform which is, after all, specifically intended for artists. So ... here goes - time to fire up <a href="http://www.artrage.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ArtRage </a>and attempt something creative.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-24283992483823441692014-08-22T13:52:00.000+01:002014-08-22T13:56:22.205+01:00Derwent Art Prize 2014: My shortlistThe organisers of the <a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Derwent Art Prize</a> (for works created using pencil media) have taken the decision to put online <i>all</i> of this year's entries so that members of the public can vote for their favourite for the 'People's Prize'. The creators of the two most popular works will each win £700. ( I have no vested interest - I never have time to enter these things, and usually can't afford the entry fees anyway!). You can make your choice at <a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/gallery/peoples">http://www.derwent-artprize.com/gallery/peoples</a> up until 1st September 2014.<br />
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However, rather than just vote for a favourite, I thought "Let's play a game of 'adjudication panel'" and pick my own short-list. Who would I choose as potential candidates for overall winner? That proves to be quite a difficult choice - there are around 600 entries on the website to choose from. I tackled it by going through the pages twice, stopping to click on and enlarge anything which especially caught my eye. My rule was that anything which continued to catch my eye the second time around made the short-list, and I came up with a surprisingly short list of 10 pieces (3 of which are by the same artist).<br />
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I thought the process was going to inform me about the state of drawing in current art practice, but I have to say that it ended up telling me more about my own aesthetic sense and critical faculties in ways I hadn't anticipated. My own taste in the past has run to complex lines and shading, realism and dazzling displays of technical skill. My own practice espouses a techno-steampunk-bio-organic-machinery aesthetic which seems sometimes to get more and more convoluted a time goes on. When looking at the Derwent Prize entries, however, I found myself drawn not only to style, but to content. It became increasingly apparent that mere technical brilliance was not going to give me a sense of satisfaction with a drawing (on the other hand, concept without skill didn't appeal either). There were a great many entries which were figurative, realistic or hyper-realistic, and many were technically very skilled, but only one (below) actually caught my eye as also being <i>artistic.</i> Most of my choices were, surprisingly, more abstract or stylised in nature. So... my shortlist for this year's Derwent Art Prize, in no particular order ...<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">real fish</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">CHOI A-ROM</span></h3>
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Choi A-Rom's <i>real fish</i> was the first item to catch my eye. I like that bio-organic aesthetic, and skeletons figure high in the list of subjects for that kind of art. There were many such entries, most of which looked like A-level studies (and quite possibly were) - technically proficient but soulless. <i>real fish,</i> however, immediately awakens my interest - it's not real - it has a tree for a tail - why? Darned if I know, but I like it.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Hypnagogia</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">DANIELLA TURBIN</span></h3>
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One unfortunate thing about making up a shortlist from online photos is that subjects which aren't originally clear and simple suffer from the poor quality of the photos. If the organisers want people to make meaningful choices they need better quality photos next year! <i>Hypnagogia </i>by Daniella Turbin is just clear enough to make me want to see more. One of the principles I try to adhere to in my own practice is that a picture should, when seen from across the room, immediately make the viewer think "what's that about?" and prompt them to go for a closer look. <i>Hypnagogia </i>certainly passes that test.</div>
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<a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Bayley-Auberon-80422/auberon_drawing_june_2014.jpg?itok=AWWppbKn" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Bayley-Auberon-80422/auberon_drawing_june_2014.jpg?itok=AWWppbKn" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">time section 05</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">AUBERON BAYLEY</span></h3>
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<i>time section 05 by Auberon Bayley </i>is again a piece which wants me to take a closer look. I love the juxtaposition of delicate colours with precise line - an ultimate expression of 'making the mark'.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Dingemans-Lizet-80730/image.jpg?itok=FURihwU1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Dingemans-Lizet-80730/image.jpg?itok=FURihwU1" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Rui</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">LIZET DINGEMANS</span></h3>
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I mentioned that there was one piece in the 'figurative/realistic' category which I thought was accomplished enough to make anyone's shortlist, and <i>Rui</i> by Lizet Dingemans is it. Supremely confident and expressive line-work makes this a serious contender in my opinion.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Moore-Marjorie-80468/feathered_remain_1_13x13_inches_graphite_and_ink_on_mylar.jpg?itok=V2rC6AuH" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Moore-Marjorie-80468/feathered_remain_1_13x13_inches_graphite_and_ink_on_mylar.jpg?itok=V2rC6AuH" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Feathered Remain</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">MARJORIE MOORE</span></h3>
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Now some drawings I found completely captivating in the sense of "I wish I could do that" ! Marjorie Moore entered three pieces, and I was unable to choose between them, so they all made my shortlist. They have just the mix of texture and detail which I'm trying to achieve in my own work, and the forms are instantly intriguing. Brilliant!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Moore-Marjorie-80468/drought_fire_ash_1_.jpg?itok=P3jOfGrk" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Moore-Marjorie-80468/drought_fire_ash_1_.jpg?itok=P3jOfGrk" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Drought Fire Ash #!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">MARJORIE MOORE</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Moore-Marjorie-80468/feathered_flight_1_.jpg?itok=tJnex8kf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Moore-Marjorie-80468/feathered_flight_1_.jpg?itok=tJnex8kf" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Feathered Flight</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">MARJORIE MOORE</span></h3>
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<i>Feathered Flight</i> immediately makes me think of C18th china patterns and wallpaper, giving a feeling of movement in nature.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Goudie-Sarah-80374/a_cure_2014_pencil_on_paper_150x150cm.jpg?itok=hJoZKk-q" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/Goudie-Sarah-80374/a_cure_2014_pencil_on_paper_150x150cm.jpg?itok=hJoZKk-q" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">a cure'</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">SARAH GOUDIE</span></h3>
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Sara Goudie's <i>a cure </i>(and its companion piece <i>Sounding</i>) struck me immediately and forcefully as an expression of pain and hope. I don't know the story but it makes me want to. It invites compassion, and yet tantalisingly, we don't know for what.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/kramer-cinara-80198/web1.jpg?itok=dxE_JS9K" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/slideshow_homepage/public/images/competition-entries/2014/kramer-cinara-80198/web1.jpg?itok=dxE_JS9K" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">" muro de los lamentos "</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">CINARA KRAMER</span></h3>
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What can I say? - I love the experience of exploring the content of collages like <i>muro de los momentos </i>by Cinara Kramer, and trying to figure out where the pieces come from and what they represent. I like the idea of creating collage from drawings, not by cutting and pasting pre-existing material, but by creating all the pieces individually and then fitting them together. It's a piece which draws me in, and would probably occupy a significant portion of my time in the gallery.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Liverpool Town Hall facade</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">JORDAN RODGERS</span></h3>
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... and lastly, I had to have at least one architectural study in my list. I spent far too little time on the architecture room at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this year, but my feet were worn out by then! <i>Liverpool Town Hall facade </i>may be a bit of an uninspired title, but I really like the sense of movement, the drawing in of focus, and the feeling of a piece which is almost photographic and yet at the same time, obviously isn't.</div>
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So there we are - the shortlist I would have made in the unlikely event of my being asked to judge a major prize! Picking two winners, I would have to say <i>Feathered Remain</i> by Marjorie Moore and <i>a cure </i>by Sarah Goudie stand out as best in show, and my choice for overall winner would definitely be be <i>a cure. </i>My tip for overall winner though - <i>Rui</i> by Lizet Dingemans. I would guess it's more likely to appeal to the public taste, but then it <i>is</i> a male nude, which could count against it.</div>
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It will be interesting to see if my choices tally at all when the winners are announced. The Derwent Art Prize exhibition runs from 15th - 20th September at the Mall Galleries in London and from 1st Dec 2014 - 9th Jan 2015 at the Pencil Museum in Keswick. </div>
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Now - <a href="http://www.derwent-artprize.com/peoples-choice-award" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">go and vote!</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-83342704271188903942014-08-15T15:59:00.000+01:002014-08-18T15:54:59.479+01:00Artist review - 40 days with the Wacom Cintiq Companion - Part 2: First impressions<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BS-iaYAltuU/U-4JQs0wgLI/AAAAAAAAArk/zkXZL7umExI/s1600/cc_studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BS-iaYAltuU/U-4JQs0wgLI/AAAAAAAAArk/zkXZL7umExI/s1600/cc_studio.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wacom Cintiq Companion in the studio, teamed with Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and speakers</td></tr>
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So - it arrived! I now have a Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet on loan for 40 days in return for some testing/reviewing/blogging, so here we go ...<br />
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<b>First impressions:</b></h3>
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<b>Hardware:</b></h4>
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This is where I expect the <a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wacom Cintiq Companion</a> (OK - can't go on typing all that - for review purposes it's the <i>Wacom </i>from now on, OK?) to excel. After all, it's a premium piece of kit aimed at professional artists and designers, and the pen hardware is specifically the reason I was interested in the first place. First thing I noticed when unpacking was - it's <i>heavy</i>. Understand, my point of reference here is the <a href="http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/tablets/lenovo/s-series/s6000/#tab-features" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lenovo S6000</a> Android tablet I've been using as a general purpose ideas sketchbook and internet/email device for the last few months. The 10.1"-screened Lenovo weighs 550g, and the 13.3" Wacom 1.77kg. This is not a tablet I'm going to be toting round to use as a general purpose sketchbook. It's immediately obvious that one should regard the Wacom as an Ultrabook which just happens to have a touchscreen instead of a keyboard. It's a Wacom Cintiq which has become untethered from its PC/Mac mothership and is wandering around the galaxy on its own, independently powered by Windows 8, but that doesn't make it a tablet in the same sense as an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Note. Sadly, it's actually just a little too heavy to be able to comfortably hold it in one hand while drawing with the other - best think of it as a portable graphics workstation.<br />
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The screen quality, and the response of the all-important pen, are as good as hoped, and it runs the software I've installed so far perfectly ably. Unfortunately, there isn't so much of that because ... problems. The audio subsystem basically didn't work - no sound output from the headphone jack, and the internal speakers are barely audible even at full volume. I also found that the front-facing (selfie) camera isn't working at all, so - I haven't installed a lot of software for testing yet because it's about to be exchanged for another unit which is on its way from Germany - an unfortunate start to the review period. Guys - if you're going to send out a review unit (and hope I'm going to keep and pay for it at the end) - you should probably have someone systematically test that everything works before mailing it, OK?<br />
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One other note about the screen - it's a full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels, which at 13.3" actually means the writing is a tad small for my 57 year-old eyes - I had to increase the text size to be able to use it comfortably, and using the <a href="http://xenodream.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">XenoDream </a>interface, which has a lot of little boxes full of numbers to fill in, is a bit of a strain. Not Wacom's fault, but it would be a lot easier if pinch-to-zoom actually worked on the Windows 8 desktop, which it doesn't. Frowny face.<br />
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Hardware conclusion - very chunky - not a tablet in the sense of the iPad, but more of a portable graphics workstation. Design is good (the function keys are already coming in useful, and the pen quality really is great, with 2048 pressure levels, 5000+ dpi, and 60 tilt levels). Screen density is a bit high for legacy apps. Build quality - meh. Two return-to-base faults, and I haven't even tested everything. I hope I just got a dud and this doesn't normally happen but rest assured, when the replacement arrives, I will be testing absolutely <i>every</i> port and feature before even thinking about a purchase.<br />
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Operating System:</h4>
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Just a brief note since, as I say, Windows 8 isn't Wacom's fault, but.... why 8? For an expensive bit of kit, surely it could come with the latest OS and drivers already installed ? This is a salient point since one of the first things I discovered was that the pen calibration <i>seriously </i>didn't work in portrait mode (others have documented this problem on the net). Fortunately, upgrading to Windows 8.1 and removing and reinstalling the latest Wacom driver as recommended fixed the problem. The pen calibration is now spot-on and it does indeed remember separate calibration setups for the 4 different screen orientations. This is important since if, like me, you're left-handed, you're going to want to use the machine with the function keys/feature buttons or whatever they're called on the right, since your left hand is going to be busy with the pen ... oh... that reminds me... if you're left handed, don't even think of putting screen brightness on 'Auto'. As soon as you move your hand to the left, it obscures the ambient light sensor which in this orientation is in the bottom left-hand corner, and the screen goes dim. Doh. Maybe a more central position would have been better?<br />
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<h4>
Software:</h4>
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There isn't any. There, that was easy, wasn't it ? Well, OK maybe there's a bit to say. Wacom's philosophy is that it really is a professional item, not a consumer one, so there's no point in putting in a lot of bloatware which no one wants, as every user is going to have their own ideas about what graphics packages etc. they're going to need. I'm a case in point - I'm a fine-artist, not a graphic designer. I have no interest in Adobe Illustrator or Autocad or most of the things that designers use. I do however use <a href="http://xenodream.com/" target="_blank">XenoDream </a>quite extensively, and plan to make a lot of use <a href="http://pixologic.com/zbrush/features/ZBrush4R6/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ZBrush </a>and <a href="http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html" target="_blank">Premiere</a>. I want to write custom software using <a href="http://processing.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">processing </a>and<a href="http://p5js.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> p5.js</a> and compose weird videos, and I plan on using <a href="http://www.artrage.com/" target="_blank">ArtRage</a> far more than <a href="http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Photoshop</a>. Oh, and sound-art - I need those speakers working, OK? .. for <a href="http://warmplace.ru/soft/ans/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Virtual ANS</a>, <a href="http://intermorphic.com/mixtikl/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MixTikl</a><u> </u>and <a href="http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/cubase/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cubase</a> ...<br />
<br />
So .... I'm waiting for the replacement hardware before spending a lot of time installing software to test, but in the meantime, the one thing I really wanted to try was Wacom's own <a href="http://bamboopaper.wacom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bamboo Paper</a>, just made available for Windows 8 and Android. I had the idea that I would have this instantly available as instant ideas sketchpad and notebook - maybe even use it for lecture notes during my MA course (about to happen in September. Yes, I know, I'm 57. Whatever). Hmmm... it works nicely. I can sketch and write, it feels natural, looks great and apparently there are new creative packs with different papers etc. coming soon which will make it even more useful. Now, let's save my sketch as a picture file. Oh. you can't. There is no 'Save to file' option, only 'share' to other installed apps. Specifically, OneNote and Mail. That's it. Sharing to OneNote is broken - the image doesn't appear in the note. Sharing to mail is OK but ... it's a bit of a clunky way to get a sketch into ArtRage where I need it, isn't it? What happened to 'Save file'? Now for the notebook. Can I export my notebook to archive my lecture notes - nope. There's no export function either. Bamboo Paper notebooks can only be read in the Bamboo Paper app. Yes, I know, it's not specific to the Cintiq Companion, but seriously ... looks like I'll be using OneNote for lectures.<br />
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<h4>
Conclusions:</h4>
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Not exactly off to a flying start - sorry Wacom - 4/10 so far. However, I have another 5 weeks or so to get some real software onto the replacement unit and try it out properly, so I have a Plan. I've been commissioned to do a book cover this summer, so I'm going to do it by creating an initial design in XenoDream, refining it in ZBrush, compositing in Photoshop CC, and rendering the finished artwork by hand-painting in ArtRage. That should put the machine through its paces, and most importantly, tell me whether I want to spend some very hard-earned cash on keeping the review model at the end of what Wacom are calling the '<a href="http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/mobile-creativity/show-your-creativity-week-2-getting-grips-with-cintiq-companion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">UK Digital Roadshow</a>'. (Note: I'm not in the running to win a free Cintiq Companion as far as I know - I've know idea who are these 'winners' of whom they speak).<br />
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More soon!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-21828337074218039182014-08-06T11:28:00.001+01:002014-08-06T12:05:54.216+01:00Artist review - 40 days with the Wacom Cintiq Companion - Part 1<div dir="ltr">
Those who are attentive and have an interest in things technological for artists will remember that some time ago, I published <a href="http://artedstates.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/windows-8-tablets-for-artists-comparison.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>, a comparative review of Windows 8 tablets that I thought might be suitable for use by artists who want a pressure-sensitive pen solution for digital drawing and painting. Digital drawing is something which had become a bit of a mainstay of my practice, and which I've been a bit lost without since my old HP Tx2500 tablet PC died a couple of years ago.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0oBN-WItWt8/U-ICMWHoldI/AAAAAAAAArE/UKbVUqE5ko8/s1600/cintiq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0oBN-WItWt8/U-ICMWHoldI/AAAAAAAAArE/UKbVUqE5ko8/s1600/cintiq.jpg" height="457" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wacom Cintiq Companion</td></tr>
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The object of the exercise was to decide which PC to specify in a large project grant application I was preparing for the Arts Council of Wales at the time. The clear winner in terms of functionality was the <a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wacom Cintiq Companion</a>, which was about to come onto the market at the time. Sadly I didn't get the grant, and the project continues in a much reduced form. I resigned myself to carrying on using a standard non-pressure-sensitive Android tablet for the moment, and possibly getting a much cheaper Windows model like the <a href="http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/tablet-pc/tablet-pc/XE300TZC-K01UK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Samsung Ativ Tab 3</a> later on…</div>
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Moving on a few months, and I happen to notice in passing a competition being run by <a href="http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Digital Arts Magazine</a>. The winners get a Cintiq Companion tablet (!), and the runners-up get a review unit free for 40 days in return for supplying feedback on its useability for art, with a big discount off the full price if they decide to keep it at the end of the review period. All that is required is my contact details and a link to my portfolio, so I spend 30 seconds filling them in, just entering a link to my website as the portfolio address, move on, and forget all about it. Obviously they are looking for illustrators and graphic designers to assess the product, and aren't going to be interested in a fine-artist specialising in oils and egg-tempera. Some weeks later I get an email from Digital Arts. Sorry, I wasn't one of the lucky few who won a Cintiq outright, but I AM one of the 50 who get a review unit for 40 days - yay!</div>
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So - I get my new tablet after all, for 6 weeks, with the option to purchase at a reduced price if I can raise the money in time (on top of <a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/ma-funding/" target="_blank">getting together the cash for my MA course fees!</a>). I've just received notice that my new toy has left the manufacturers in Germany and should be here soon, and will be putting it through its paces for the next 40 days, writing about my experiences as I go. It's a timely happening, since apart from fine-art work, I have a book cover commission to do, and 2 website designs to thrash out over the next few weeks. I hope the blog posts will be useful to others who're considering what is, after all, a very expensive purchase for an independent artist (the full price is currently £1,599, so it's got to be worth about three iPads for that!).</div>
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So … here goes - a number of blog posts to come about how I get on. If you're an artist who's interested in how the Wacom Cintiq Companion performs in a day-to-day arts practice, please follow the blog (see top right for links). I promise one thing though - no crappy unboxing video!</div>
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… oh, and, expect me to try to sell you some art to pay for this thing if it turns out to be as useful as I hope!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-33886972606220748592014-06-20T11:38:00.002+01:002014-08-06T18:23:21.242+01:00The Kindness of Strangers - Survey Results<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3SdBVmX83uw/UhjnDd8wdMI/AAAAAAAAAjU/VAyy2n1mhGM/s1600/MHxenop7.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank">"Encyclopaedia Xenopelagica Plate VII" : Digital painting : Copyright © 2005 by Martin Herbert</a></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Crowd-funding is the modern 'internet-savvy' equivalent of the Amish barn-raising. It's all about community. Friends and neighbours rally round and donate their labour to accomplish a big task which the farmer would have no chance of ever completing on his own. Because there are many hands, not just a few, the seemingly impossible is achieved in just a day or two. Actually, though - all those willing friends, neighbours and family are not completely working for nothing - they are plied with ice-cold home-made lemonade, fed wholesome food, and talk into the evening around the fire, cementing community bonds which benefit everyone. Most importantly, that community spirit means that the next time a barn needs building, everyone will be there again, knowing that a warm glow of achievement and camaraderie will be theirs as reward.</div>
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Crowd-funding has a similar philosophy. Instead of the host trying to accomplish the impossible (typically, raise thousands of pounds for a new enterprise) on their own, or trying to recruit a few people to support them (making significant financial investments, loans or gifts), they prevail upon hundreds of family members, friends, neighbours, acquaintances, business colleagues or philanthropically inclined strangers to contribute a few pounds each, ideally reaching their target in a short space of time with the help of many. But... where is the lemonade, the hog-roast, and the ice-cream? Well, nobody (ideally), expects something for nothing. It is down to the host to offer people something engaging, fun, or valuable in return for their contribution. In the case of tech startups, it's typically a discounted early-access version of the gadget for which they are trying to fund the development or manufacture. Film-makers might offer a signed and numbered copy of their finished DVD, self-publishing writers a dedicated copy of their book, and so on. As an artist, I'll be offering cards of my art, CDs of my music, fine art prints and completely unique original paintings in return for people's investments. At the end of the day, the barn-raisers all go home tired and happy, and hopefully with a renewed sense that with enough people, and the proper community spirit, all things are possible.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kI-Ql6DuK5E/TjpoFsBxtMI/AAAAAAAAAEU/bh8C5qBmqi0/s1600/serenity_sm2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank">"Serenity" : Oils & egg-tempera on canvas : 5" x 5"</a></td></tr>
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Being in the midst of starting a new career as an artist in middle-age, it became apparent that my credibility in the Fine Art world, saleability of my work, and therefore financial independence, would be enhanced by studying at art school. I could, of course, have chosen to do this at the age of 17 instead of 57 - actually, I'm glad I didn't, and sensibly studied sciences and went into computer programming instead. I know that life experience and the artistic knowledge I have absorbed and painstakingly learned along the way are going to make me a better artist, and mean that I really do have a chance of achieving something of artistic significance. Had I gone to college to study art at age 17, I believe I might have made a decent jobbing illustrator - nothing wrong with that, but ultimately I have my eye on the Venice Biennale, not the cover of a paperback. To start to acquire the credibility required to fulfil that sort of ambition, experience is not enough. Study at a recognised art school and a degree show (preferably reviewed <i>and </i>sold out) are also necessary. So - I have a place to study for an MA in Fine Art starting in September, and a hell of a lot of determination. I need to raise, by my reckoning, around £6,000 to cover 2 years' part-time tuition fees, materials, books and travel expenses, as I'll be commuting from home while continuing to work at my own art practice and do part-time work to help pay the bills. I aim to make that £6k by a variety of means - I'm currently working my way through a list of around 50 possibilities including, but not limited to:<br />
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Part-time work in arts admin (pending the organisation in question getting the grant they've applied for!)<br />
Freelance website design<br />
Selling my artwork - some old digital print work wholesale to shops, and new paintings via dealers and galleries.<br />
Selling some existing portrait work to the sitters at a reduced price, if they're interested<br />
Making ACEO (Artist Collectible Editions and Originals) trading cards and auctioning them on eBay<br />
Selling personal possessions on eBay<br />
Applying for a career development loan<br />
A credit union loan<br />
Applying for postgraduate bursaries<br />
A pop-up gallery in a closed-down high-street shop<br />
Putting on one or more gigs with the aid of other musician friends<br />
... and - running a crowd-funding campaign.<br />
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One thing is certain - I'm NOT expecting crowd-funding to cover the whole of my costs - I believe that is both unrealistic and lazy.<br />
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Having settled on <a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank">StudentFunder.com</a><span id="goog_568700748"></span><span id="goog_568700749"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> as the ideal platform for a campaign, I last month sent out a survey form to around 1,500 people via mailing lists, social media, etc. to gauge attitudes to the idea in general. The results were at once illuminating and disturbing. I have to say, although the numbers were encouraging, I wasn't prepared for some of the comments which respondents added at the end of the form.<br />
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There was a total of 51 responses (3.4% - sounds pitifully low to me, but then I've never tried this sort of research before)<br />
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Of those who responded:<br />
63% had heard of crowd-funding before and had some idea of how it works.<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">90%</span> indicated they would be likely to contribute to a campaign raising money towards my tuition fees (yay!)</b><br />
Of those who <i>were</i> prepared to contribute, most said that a contribution of around £10 - £20 seemed appropriate. To be fair though, I had made it a multiple choice question, and the lowest amount people could select was £10. A couple of people commented that a contribution level of one or two pounds would make them more likely to join in - noted! The maximum possible contribution anyone selected was £100.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BxVLI19WcWg/T6epNUq7kTI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/a23IM1620bo/s1600/flying-machine-det2-webres.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank">"Design for a Flying Machine to Escape the Bank Manager"</a><br />
<a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" target="_blank">Ink, pencil, gouache & transfer on handmade paper</a></td></tr>
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What was, however, unexpected was just how vitriolic were the comments of some of the remaining 10% who were NOT interested in the concept...<br />
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<i>" ...if you are going to study an MA in an arts-related subject and consider yourself an artist already ..., why have you not sold enough work / earning enough income from your work to fund the course yourself ?"</i><br />
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<i>" It would be useful to know why, at the age of 57, you are so short of money. I don't mind helping anyone who has worked hard all their life and still had a struggle to make ends meet ... but I do object to helping people who are too lazy to get off their back-sides."</i><br />
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<i>" Most of us would love to do some sort of hobby, (And that's what it is, your hobby, no one else will benefit) ... I think to ask for money for this is selfish. Children are going without food/clothes, elderly are going without heating, ALL charities are suffering and you want to spend our money on paint!"</i><br />
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<i>" At 57 you should have enough experience to fund your own course..."</i><br />
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<i>" Too many people trying to get money for themselves these days. i would rather give to a good cause/ charity or to a young person starting off in life doing art ."</i><br />
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It was apparent from these and other comments that there were two things in particular which worried people. The first was that the whole concept of crowd funding was in some way 'begging' - that people who use it are just selfish and are offering nothing to the wider community. In my case, and all cases, it is, of course up to the potential contributor to make their mind up just how valuable a cause is. To be fair, the survey asked about attitudes to crowd-funding in general, which made that difficult to decide about. My campaign video and profile text goes to great lengths to explain that I'm <i><u>not</u> </i>at the stage of having randomly decided to change career, but that in the last couple of years I've been short-listed for awards, received support from the Arts Council for my work, exhibited in public galleries, etc, and that the MA is but one step on the way to (hopefully) a career in the arts which will eventually have significant public benefit (as well as enabling me to make a decent living in a geographical area where jobs are more-or-less non-existent, especially if you happen to be over 50). My hope is that sufficient explanation of my motives and goals will win over anyone who distrustfully suspects I'm only in it for their money. Actually, I should point out that although I need around £6,000 in total, the crowd-funding campaign is seeking to raise £2,300 to guarantee I can pay the first year's tuition - at least that means I know I can start the course. The campaign funds are paid directly to the university - I don't get it myself. The rest of the money - well, I basically need to sell a lot of art!<br />
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The other big problem that people seemed to have was that I was just too old to be wanting to go to college, and besides, I should have enough savings at my age to pay for it myself without having to resort to strategies like crowd-funding. Again, hopefully those attitudes are mainly down to lack of information. We all make life decisions - some good and some bad, and one of mine, 15 years ago, was to leave behind a £40k a year job, move to Mid Wales, and follow the dream of becoming an artist. I opened my own gallery, found a print publisher, and via many adventures and misadventures eventually made the move over to being a full-time professional artist. My work was commercial and niche-market in nature, and I made some sort of living for a while, then a couple of years ago it became apparent that things weren't going so well any more. In the 'current economic climate' art is not the first thing people think of buying. Nope - we make considerably less than what the Joseph Rowntree Foundation considers a 'poverty level' wage, we have debts instead of savings - the house is mortgaged as far as it will go, and something constructive has to be done about it. (Or should I just be "too lazy to get off my backside...")? I made another decision - drop the work and the marketing methods which were no longer making me a living and change to a fine-art focus, admitting that trying to be a salesman is a waste of valuable time, and that I needed to do high-value fine-art work and find dealers and gallerists to do the work of selling for me (and thankfully the response so far has been encouraging). That probably constitutes a 5 year plan - and gaining more market credibility via academic qualification is just part of the process.<br />
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My decisions are mine, and nobody owes me a living. That's why I'm looking for <i>help </i>in building an independent financial future, not charity. In return for small contributions, I'll be offering pieces of art (see more at <a href="http://martinherbert.com/" target="_blank">martinherbert.com</a>) - whether people think that's going to worth 10 times more in a few years when I'm established is their call. Personally, I think it's a worthwhile investment to lend a hand in raising that barn.<br />
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(The crowd-funding campaign to help fund my Master's studies starts on the <a href="https://crowdfunding.studentfunder.com/campaigns" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">StudentFunder.com</a> website on Friday 11th July. If you'd like to know more, please <a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/contact/" target="_blank">sign up for the newsletter here</a>.)<br />
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<b>Update: 6th August 2014 </b>- For several reasons, I've decided to delay running a crowd-funding campaign until after I actually start the course. At the time of writing, I've raised around 25% of the total funds needed for the course, through selling art and services such as website design. If you'd like to donate anyway, you can always do so via <a href="https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/send-money-online" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PayPal </a>to martin [at] martinherbert.com, or email me to discuss work for sale, painting commissions etc.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-6999398203865202662014-04-05T11:13:00.000+01:002014-04-05T11:13:00.191+01:00Artist talk tomorrow!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KRJwd8QrqL4/TqLnDjl7LOI/AAAAAAAAAGc/mkp9Z49v7lc/s1600/order-and-chaos-detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KRJwd8QrqL4/TqLnDjl7LOI/AAAAAAAAAGc/mkp9Z49v7lc/s1600/order-and-chaos-detail.jpg" height="414" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Order & Chaos" : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
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In my experience, if there's one thing artists (at least representational artists who do stuff that's a bit 'wierd') get asked more than any other it's "Where do you get your ideas from?"<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DqLrCqlhI-8/TuN6QUOoFmI/AAAAAAAAAIY/lWaZm2_LVw0/s1600/func-heart-MHerbert-det1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DqLrCqlhI-8/TuN6QUOoFmI/AAAAAAAAAIY/lWaZm2_LVw0/s1600/func-heart-MHerbert-det1.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Functional Pumping Heart Model (Self Portrait 2011)" (Detail) : Copyright © 2011 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
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<br />
Well, now we have the means to answer this most important of questions - the <b><i>Artists Talk!</i></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--T8jR7G5ZvM/UCEQVQo2ejI/AAAAAAAAAME/sq1FZpBStwM/s1600/pan_coladj_fuji_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--T8jR7G5ZvM/UCEQVQo2ejI/AAAAAAAAAME/sq1FZpBStwM/s1600/pan_coladj_fuji_sm.jpg" height="640" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Pan in Ireland" : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
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<br />
Accordingly, I will be talking tomorrow about my current exhibition at the Mid Wales Arts Centre in Caersws, addressing such matters as the inspiration behind the work, the techniques used in its creation, and a
little about the meaning of each piece, as well as going on to talk about the
latest project and where it's all leading! Want to hear the story behind "That
Tracey Emin Says My Art Looks Like a Plane Crash"? This is the place to
be...!<br />
<br />Not only that, but you can partake of a wonderful Sunday afternoon
tea featuring MWAC owner Cathy Knapp's home-made cakes - Chocolate &
beetroot, anyone?<br /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Artists Talk by Martin Herbert</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.midwalesarts.org.uk/whatson.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Mid Wales Arts Centre</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 6th April, 3:30</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Free Admission</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.midwalesarts.org.uk/map.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here for map.</a></b></span><br />
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Also on show is work by Julie Jones and Daniel Roberson, a rotating collection of work by other artists and the permanent collection of sculpture by Stephan Knapp.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0Mid Wales Arts Centre, Caersws, Powys, UK52.510956447198382 -3.425143511084002152.50129294719838 -3.4453135110840019 52.520619947198384 -3.4049735110840023tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-29094926684371394812014-03-16T12:19:00.002+00:002014-03-24T10:31:36.820+00:00Spirit of the Wood<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Wood-Martin-Herbert/dp/B00IXOFX6G/ref=sr_1_4?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1394971688&sr=1-4&keywords=spirit+of+the+wood" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s1c11p1aRR0/UyQ0xm-_DlI/AAAAAAAAApU/ptJzYaqTQlo/s1600/Spirit+of+the+Wood+book.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Wood-Martin-Herbert/dp/B00IXOFX6G/ref=sr_1_4?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1394971688&sr=1-4&keywords=spirit+of+the+wood" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Digital art by early man, circa 1995</a></td></tr>
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<br />
I've just finished finally getting online <i>Spirit of the Wood</i>, an album of American Indian flute music, with assorted electronic accompaniment. So where did <i>that</i> come from ?<br />
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In or about 1995 (I guess - my memory for dates is unsurpassably bad) I was working for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Operation" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Santa Cruz Operation</a> in Watford, England. Reading that Wikipedia page about SCO, I actually remember being at the mentioned Jefferson Starship concert at UCSC. I also recall the result was losing my voice ahead of the presentation I was giving the next morning as leader of the Unix device drivers group .... ah, happy days. The week before that company conference I managed to take some time to and camp and hike for a week in Yosemite National Park, where I did not get eaten by a bear. I'm not sure whether it was on that trip to California or another that I stopped off in Capitola village at a New Age emporium the name of which I have now forgotten (I think it was owned by a nice lady named Cheryl!), where I spent a lot of money on a <i>really</i> nice Native American cedar flute made by <a href="http://www.deruby.com/" target="_blank">Stephen de Ruby</a>, then of San Diego, and a buffalo-skin drum made by Tom White Eagle of the Oglala Sioux. I do remember that right after buying the flute I went up the coast to one of the Redwood National Parks and played it for the first time sitting under one of the giant sequoias at sunset.</div>
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This was a time when PCs were big beige towers and if you had a bit of cash you could actually have <i>sound</i> available by installing a Creative Soundblaster PC card and hooking up a pair of speakers. This was cutting-edge hi-tech in those days. I do seem to have been one of the first to realise that those sound-cards had inputs as well as outputs, and that meant it was suddenly possible to make high quality digital music recordings at home. Suddenly digital quality was no longer the sole preserve of big-money studios.</div>
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Accordingly, with the aid of a camcorder mic, the built in MIDI synth on the Soundblaster AWE32 soundcard, and a Korg synth, over many months of long evenings after work, I recorded the album 'Spirit of the Wood' - largely improvised along to electronic backings created using all sorts of software tricks as well as playing the keyboard. I used notation software, algorithmic composition, graphic scores and everything else I could lay my hands on to try out and played the flute over the top, lovingly hand-crafting every note in the Digital Orchestrator Pro sound editor module until it sounded (to me at least) perfect. The very wonderful <a href="http://www.hartbeats.co.uk/" target="_blank">Justine Hart</a> contributed vocals. This was before the days when you could go straight to CD (at least within my budget) so I mastered the album digitally onto a DAT tape machine borrowed from sound engineer <a href="http://www.soundtrackproductions.com/Pages/about_us.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chris Braclik</a> (recently spotted on a documentary about Mike Oldfield & Tubular Bells!) and made some demos which went off to record companies.</div>
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Spirit of the Wood was eventually released a year later on cassette tape on the now defunct Blue Crystal Music label. It never made any money and although they made a CD master it was never actually released as a CD. When the <span style="font-family: inherit;">record company deleted it I got the master back and it sat on my shelf for a long time. At some point I ran off the CD image onto my hard drive and it has lain there ever since.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spirit
of the Wood was made during several intense months of musical effort,
largely 'in flow' as a meditative experience, and I always meant to
do something more with it - it's not likely I'll ever have the time
and energy to make another album, so it should be out there
somewhere. Since it became possible to release music online, I
finally decided to do something about it. No one may ever notice, but
hey, I made a solo album and it's out there in the wild! Feel free to
go get it.</span></span></div>
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Spirit
of the Wood: American Indian flute and electronica: </i>is
available to stream and download on my website: </span></span><a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/project/audio-streaming-mp3/">http://martinherbert.com/index.php/project/audio-streaming-mp3/</a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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You can also stream it on <a href="https://play.spotify.com/album/5PeFH1BEBalxOeVQEaKKP3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div>
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Or if you'd actually like to optionally part with money, try these places - all sales will be helping to fund my MA course starting in September, so thanks in advance!</div>
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<a href="http://routenote.com/r/martinherbertuk/5051813454981" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RouteNote</a> (If you buy via RouteNote I get the money straight away, otherwise I have to wait)</div>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/spirit-of-the-wood/id828338763?uo=4&at=11l65W" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a></div>
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<a href="https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Martin_Herbert_Martin_Herbert_Spirit_of_the_Wood?id=Bgdqokq73wm67hpipfrwujd47n4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Wood-Martin-Herbert/dp/B00IXOFX6G/ref=sr_1_4?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1394971688&sr=1-4&keywords=spirit+of+the+wood" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon MP3 Store</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com1Capitola, CA, USA36.9752283 -121.9532930000000336.9498573 -121.99363350000003 37.0005993 -121.91295250000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-55257666002631263942014-03-14T15:55:00.001+00:002014-03-14T15:55:43.671+00:00Zen and the art of tempera medium<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6JDfUzBo7s/UyMfDydIShI/AAAAAAAAAo0/eA6B_CKVeKk/s1600/medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6JDfUzBo7s/UyMfDydIShI/AAAAAAAAAo0/eA6B_CKVeKk/s400/medium.jpg" height="433" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magic potion ingredients</td></tr>
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Why is adding a layer of egg-tempera medium over the under-painting not only a practical, but also a philosophical and spiritual experience?<br />
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... because, having taken to doing my underpaintings using <a href="http://www.chromaonline.com/products/us/atelier_interactive" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chroma Atelier interactive acrylic</a>, to avoid the extended drying times of oil glazes in this benighted climate, (I have waxed unlyrical before about the fact that an oil glaze that took a couple of hours to dry when I was living under the Spanish sun now takes a couple of weeks in a more liberally humid mid-Wales), it is necessary to prepare the surface in a suitable way to get the final painting in oils to actually stick, without it embarrassingly parting company with the canvas at a sensitive stage of my career.</div>
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Egg-tempera medium is an emulsion, which is to say it contains both oil and water bound together precariously in a more or less stable mixture by the addition of a binder - in this case a beaten egg. I quickly brush on a quick even layer over the completed acrylic underpainting, to which it sticks nicely on account of being water based, and when it's dry it makes the perfect base on which to begin painting in oils, to which it sticks nicely on account of the varnish component, which contains resin and turpentine.</div>
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A practical measure then, for convenience's sake, but also a gateway from one realm to another. It marks a transition from the modern technological water-based world of working with acrylics to a realm of working deeply rooted in ancient traditions - the alchemical discipline of oils and tempera. I leave behind the modern and embrace the world of Leonardo and Michaelangelo.</div>
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Not only a gateway, but a transformational passage - the early stages of the painting are a technical and mechanical process, optically mixing glazes of primary colours masked by opaque white, carefully blalncing the textures of the different layers to create a 'monochrome' ground which is made, on closer inspection, of carefully controlled rainbow colours. At this stage I can still see distinctly and separately every constituent part of the process up to that point, like a complex technical drawing. When the tempera medium is applied, however, it is a unifying force, binding all that has gone before into a single surface, a blank canvas that is no longer blank, ready for alchemical transformation.</div>
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From this point, anything can happen.</div>
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<i><b>Recipe for egg-tempera medium</b> (adapted from a recipe given by <a href="http://www.ernstfuchs-zentrum.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ernst Fuchs</a>):</i></div>
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<i>1 egg</i></div>
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<i>Dammar varnish (I use <a href="http://shop.kremerpigments.com/en/mediums--binders-und-glues/mediums-und-varnishes/-for-oilpaintings/dammar-varnish-glossy--uv-stabilized-79300:.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kremer Pigmente no. 79300</a>)</i></div>
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<i>Refined linseed oil</i></div>
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<i>De-ionised water</i></div>
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<ol>
<li>Break the egg into a ramekin and with the tines of a fork, remove the amniotic sac from around the yolk.</li>
<li>Put the egg into a small jar, screw on the lid and shake until the yolk and white are completely mixed.</li>
<li>Add an equal quantity of dammar varnish and a few drops of linseed oil.</li>
<li>Seal and mix again.</li>
<li>Double the volume with distilled/deionised water.</li>
<li>Mix for a last time.</li>
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The sealed jar will keep for up to 2 months in the regfrigerator. A slight smell of rotten eggs is nothing to worry about as the turpentine acts as a preservative. Discard if it gets too bad or if it curdles to the point where it can't be remixed to a smooth emulsion by vigorously shaking to jar.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-34330631919764926922014-03-11T15:39:00.000+00:002014-03-11T15:39:01.849+00:00Private View at the Mid-Wales Arts Centre - Sunday 23rd March<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.midwalesarts.org.uk/whatson.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt=" What's on at the Mid-Wales Arts Centre" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZ8qEacX4cs/Ux8pvxWLwnI/AAAAAAAAAoI/U4sNGTG4g6g/s1600/PV_INVITE.jpg" /></a></div>
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Invitation time!</div>
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As I start gearing up for the next project, "New Artifices", some of the work from the 2012/13 project "Synthesis" is going to be part of a 3-artist exhibition at the <a href="http://www.midwalesarts.org.uk/whatson.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mid-Wales Arts Centre</a> near Caersws, Powys.</div>
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The show runs from sun 23rd March to Sun 27th April, and after the gallery's winter closure, they are reopening with a private view of all 3 exhibitions on Sunday 23rd March at 3PM.</div>
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You can read all about "Synthesis" (and have a look at some work in progress) on <a href="http://martinherbert.com/" target="_blank">the website at martinherbert.com</a>. The other artists showing work:<br />
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<b>Julie Jones</b> responds through painting to her relationship to landscape in all its forms, from the strange urban hinterlands to weather-beaten derelicts. Her studio work aims to develop approaches to painting alluding to both a feeling specific to a moment along with references to memory of an experience over time.<br />
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<b>Daniel Roberson</b> paints everyday in his studio located on a sheep farm perched at the top of a hill overlooking the beautiful Dyfi Valley in Machynlleth. A lifelong painter, he returned to education as a mature student in 2006, Daniel obtained a first class degree in Fine Art from Aberystwyth University, and a Masters degree with distinction. Since completing his education, as well as exhibiting widely throughout the UK, he has been teaching life drawing and oil painting at MOMA Wales. In 2011 Daniel was shortlisted for the Welsh Artist of the Year. He would describe himself as a painter who finds inspiration equally in both the people and places that surround him and the seemingly endless possibilities of colour and mark making.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0Maesmawr Hall, Caersws, Powys, UK52.509911686974974 -3.427375108984392752.500247686974973 -3.4475451089843925 52.519575686974974 -3.4072051089843929tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-52554882520710918112014-02-08T15:11:00.001+00:002014-02-09T17:16:26.134+00:00Exhibition: Mid-Wales Arts Centre from Sunday 23rd March<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://martinherbert.com/" target="_blank"><img alt=" Click for the artist's website" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mJOH7FQoauU/Uve3dafgEoI/AAAAAAAAAn0/mqaVbijCHqo/s1600/flyer.jpg" height="452" width="640" /></a></div>
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Heads-up: While getting new projects under way, drawings from the last project, "Synthesis" will be on show at the <a href="http://www.midwalesarts.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mid-Wales Arts Centre</a> at Maesmawr Hall, Caersws, Powys, SY17 5SB from 23rd March to 27th April. Selected works will continue to be shown there afterwards as part of the group exhibition for Powys Arts Month, which continues into May.<br />
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A chance for those who didn't quite make the opening at <a href="http://momawales.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MOMA Wales</a> last year to come and see the project. All works will be for sale. Private view details will follow soon ...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0Maesmawr Hall, Caersws, Powys SY17, UK52.516388799999987 -3.428748400000017752.50672629999999 -3.4489184000000175 52.526051299999985 -3.4085784000000179tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-25769883756486109282014-01-01T12:48:00.000+00:002014-01-01T12:48:26.989+00:00New year, new art, new happenings<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/project/in-progress-2013/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VqhgN9MTdnU/UsQM-sc3c-I/AAAAAAAAAnU/e12Z7c5ADVk/s640/Hollow+Lands+S1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/project/in-progress-2013/" target="_blank">Still from "Hollow Lands" - video project in progress - 2014</a></td></tr>
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So here we are with a whole new year to play with. A couple of things to report on...</div>
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Firstly I spent a lot of time at the end of 2013 preparing a grant application to the <a href="http://www.artswales.org.uk/" target="_blank">Arts Council of Wales</a> for a new production project following on from last year's successful R&D project <i><a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/project/synthesis-2012---under-construction/" target="_blank">Synthesis</a></i><i>, </i>only to fail to get the funding. It looks like my plans were a little to ambitious. However, the news isn't all bad. It looks like if I revise the plans and budget and get together a little more professional support, an updated application at the end of January is apparently likely to be more successful, so I'm going to be working flat out for the next 3 weeks putting that all together. I should know the results in mid-March. Meanwhile, I have at least 3 exhibitions lined up for 2015, so I'll be spending most of this year preparing work for them, with our without funding!</div>
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As soon as the grant application is out of the way, I have to follow up on some better news - it looks like I will get a place to do a part-time MA in Fine Art at the <a href="http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/art/" target="_blank">Art School of Aberystwyth University</a> starting this autumn, so I need to get my application form and references etc. submitted during February. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for it... hmm... maybe I feel another crowd-funding campaign coming on...</div>
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So Happy New Year, everyone - here's to 2014, and I guess I'd better get on with <a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/project/in-progress-2013/" target="_blank">some art</a>!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-19240151403963043682013-11-03T10:52:00.001+00:002013-11-03T11:49:08.380+00:00Are we living in the end-times of art?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Br-yjBng2g8/UnYb3XHsq6I/AAAAAAAAAmM/rbSC_ZgzwWE/s1600/MARTIN_John_Great_Day_of_His_Wrath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Br-yjBng2g8/UnYb3XHsq6I/AAAAAAAAAmM/rbSC_ZgzwWE/s640/MARTIN_John_Great_Day_of_His_Wrath.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">John Martin : The Great Day of His Wrath : 1853</span></td></tr>
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I've been following <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03f9bg7/The_Reith_Lectures_Grayson_Perry_Playing_to_the_Gallery_2013_Nice_Rebellion_Welcome_In!/">Grayson Perry's series of lectures</a> on Radio 4 - he is the 2013 Reith lecturer. His take on art in the present is witty, entertaining and erudite, and I thoroughly recommend listening to the whole series. I do take exception on one point, though, and I'm surprised he made the assertion in the first place. It is that (and he did repeat it at least twice in the third lecture of the series) we are "in the end-times of art". That is, if I understand correctly, that as we live in an age where everything can be considered as art, there must then be nothing more to be discovered. Since Duchamp declared that found objects were as much art as paint placed painstakingly on canvas, there is no further scope for novelty or shock value.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I have myself thought before that there must no longer be a way in which a new art 'school' or 'movement' could develop to surprise the art world and delight the dealers and collectors in the way that say, impressionism did in the 19th century or pop art did in the 1960s, but then the '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowbrow_(art_movement)">lowbrow art</a>' movement came along and proved me wrong. (Yes, I know it's generally considered to have stemmed from the 70's, but I would contend that what artists like Audrey Kawasaki and Mark Ryland are doing now really constitutes a new thing in itself). Not to everyone's taste but of course, isn't that the point of a new movement? I know that movements are not exactly what Grayson had in mind, but the point is that it shows there is still scope for change and novelty.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
So do we live in an age where art is static, in the sense that everything has been done, or more accurately, is being done? - where we poor derided painters must live side by side with people who balance stones, exhibit vacuum cleaners, pile up naked people for photos, detune old t.v. sets to show nothing but static and, dare we say it, throw pots, and everyone calls it art? Well, yes and no. Just because everything <i>can</i> potentially be considered as art doesn't mean it always will be. To prove a scientific hypothesis (and I think the assertion that art has nowhere to go may indeed be considered an unproven hypothesis) is very difficult. The only way to do it is to demonstrate that logically, no alternative is possible. To <i>disprove</i> it, on the other hand, is easy. One must simply demonstrate a single alternative scenario. So...</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hypothesis: "We are living in the end-times of art"<br />
Supporting reasoning: As anything may now be considered as art, no further development is possible.<br />
Antithesis: What is considered as art is a product of social reasoning. Everything is art only because <b><i>we</i></b> (the artists, the dealers, the collectors, and the general public) say so. If we change our minds, then a urinal or a pile of bricks lose their artistic significance, and art becomes what we say it is <i>now.</i></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<i><br /></i>
Allow me then, to introduce the new movement of <b>Restrictionism.</b> In the future, not everything will be considered art. Art will consist of only what I say is art, and I say that this week, only hand-thrown pots will be true art, and all else is dross. Reductio ad absurdum, quod erat demonstrandem. Now is the time to invest in Grayson Perry!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Of course, art does not only consist of what one person decides is art - it is necessary to reach a consensus. The point is, though, that the consensus changes over time. That everything may be considered art now, at this time, in this century, is as transitory a phenomenon as any other previous restricted movement. In this case, the restriction is in that innocuous word 'everything'.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to paint some irrelevant pictures, with oil paints, on canvas... and make a video... and install an 'intervention' to bemuse the public. After all, you never know what might be <a href="http://martinherbert.com/">the next big thing in the art world</a>.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
(You can also read Vivi-Mari's take on this year's Reith lectures <a href="http://vivi-mariandmartinart.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-future-of-art.html">here</a>.)</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: right;">
Martin</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-84645265115293652622013-10-06T13:35:00.000+01:002013-10-06T13:37:14.617+01:00Windows 8 tablets for artists – a review<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvLP-KxMAuU/UlA9xq4TJ_I/AAAAAAAAAk0/6AJkgfanKOg/s1600/sidebyside-companion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvLP-KxMAuU/UlA9xq4TJ_I/AAAAAAAAAk0/6AJkgfanKOg/s1600/sidebyside-companion.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the winner is ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've been deep in the
process of preparing a grant application to the Arts Council of Wales
for a new project recently. One of the things I want to fund is the
replacement of my tablet PC, which after several years and a couple
of repairs gave up the ghost at the end of my last project.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The last model was an
HP Tx2500 series convertible tablet. It originally came with Windows
Vista 32 (in Spanish), it weighed a ton, it had a battery life of
less than 3 hours, and it overheated to the point where it was
uncomfortable to hold, which was eventually the cause of its demise,
as the graphics chip eventually de-soldered itself from the
motherboard. I installed the Windows 8 Beta release on it, and it
worked great, but I had to get it fixed twice, but eventually decided
it was beyond repair and sold it for spares on eBay.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The point was, it had
two major advantages – it had a Wacom pressure-sensitive pen for
screen input, which meant I could draw on it, and it ran Windows.
“Why would that be an advantage?”, I hear you ask ... simple –
because my weapon of choice for making fabulous drawings on a tablet
is <a href="http://www.artrage.com/" target="_blank">ArtRage</a>, a
'natural materials' graphics package which is absolutely the best
thing for drawing on a PC. There is also a version for iPad, but
Apple never designed that for a pressure-sensitive pen, so that makes
it a no-brainer (that and the fact I want to run <a href="http://pixologic.com/" target="_blank">Zbrush</a>
and other packages on it as well).</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So ... the tablet
market is changing fast, and I looked for a comparative review of all
the available models which might be specifically suitable for
artists. Guess what? There isn't one, so.... here we go. Disclaimer –
I haven't been able to try these – I'm just comparing features
here. It took a while just to compile the list, and it will doubtless
be out of date soon, but:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4muL54ToLwA/UlA_WSMf-_I/AAAAAAAAAlI/lert4N2rzNQ/s1600/tablet-comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4muL54ToLwA/UlA_WSMf-_I/AAAAAAAAAlI/lert4N2rzNQ/s640/tablet-comparison.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some of these models
aren't yet available at the time of writing (Oct. 2013) but are
expected soon, so they're in. The list of features I've included in
the table, by the way, won't be relevant to everyone, and is based on
things that I've found an irritation in my current cheap Android
not-very-arty tablet. The important stuff is there, though –
screen size, resolution, CPU, memory, storage space, and price.
Remember, the common factor here is – they all have
pressure-sensitive pen input. I haven't bothered noting the number of
pressure-levels, as my old PC had 512, so pretty much anything is an
improvement.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm not going to
discuss every model in detail – you can go read the manufacturers'
blurb for yourself, but I will comment on a few particularly relevant
points here:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/tablet-pc/tablet-pc/XE300TZC-K01UK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N60yHb6E5GA/UlA_89vFQcI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/TI3SKLBU1hM/s640/samsung_ativ_tab_3_1_01.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/tablet-pc/tablet-pc/XE300TZC-K01UK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Samsung ATIV Tab 3</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First up is the <a href="http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/tablet-pc/tablet-pc/XE300TZC-K01UK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Samsung ATIV Tab 3</a>. It's just become available, and it gets a special mention
because it's cheap and compact. Cheapest (£489) and most compact of
all the models here in fact, so if you're on a very limited budget
it's probably worth a try. It's basically like a Galaxy Note 10.1 with the
Wacom S-Pen – except it runs Windows 8 instead of Android and will
therefore run standard Windows 8 software like ArtRage. A very
elegant solution as far as I can see. Not ideal in my case – low
CPU spec, low memory, and I had the Note 10.1 for a while and found
the S-Pen too small and fiddly, and it skidded on the glossy screen.
As I say though, if you're on a budget and you'd like a Win 8
sketchpad – this could be ideal.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://business.panasonic.co.uk/computer-product/toughpad/ut-mb5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jjipjCjluEc/UlBBSvcijxI/AAAAAAAAAlc/PfEEBa8BfiI/s640/panasonic.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><a href="http://business.panasonic.co.uk/computer-product/toughpad/ut-mb5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panasonic UT-MB5</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let's jump to the other
end of the scale – the humongous <a href="http://business.panasonic.co.uk/computer-product/toughpad/ut-mb5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panasonic UT-MB5</a> will be released
shortly. It's a Windows 8 tablet with a 20 inch (yes, you heard
right) 4000 pixel display. Aimed squarely at architects, car
designers and the like who need precision ... maybe it would be great
for art, but the pen looks quite big and clunky to me – not sure
why it should be. Also, you'll be using it on mains power most of the
time as battery life is a stated 2 hours (!). The main disadvantage,
though, is the price of £4,500 – I can't see the Arts Council
springing for that!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the mid-range of
prices there's quite a lot of choice, and I suspect one is pretty
much as good as another with the choice being mainly down to looks,
and where you get the fastest CPU/most memory/most storage for your
money. The <a href="http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msuk/en_GB/html/pbPage.PDPS/productID.286902200" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MS Surface Pro</a> is a good bet at £719 for the 128GB model,
but wait a bit and get the <a href="http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/pcs/XE700T1C-K01US" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Samsung ATIV Tab 7</a> when it arrives and
you'll get the same spec. with a bigger screen (11.6” as opposed to
10.6”) for £31 more.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Toshiba is
overpriced, and the HP is under-specced (plus, sorry HP but my
previous experiences with your laptops have not been good – see above
– and that's sadly not the only example). Panasonic have the
extra-tough <a href="http://business.panasonic.co.uk/computer-product/toughpad/fz-g1?channel=ppc&gclid=CMSa3JCVgLoCFWfMtAodMh0ADw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FZ-G1</a> on the cards, but it's much more money (£1,800)
than similar spec. machines from other manufacturers. If being able
to drop your tablet in a bucket of water from a great height and
retrieve it unscathed is a priority, it might be for you, though.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The <a href="http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/tablets/thinkpad/thinkpad-tablet-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lenovo ThinkPadTablet 2</a> looks like an elegant device. It's low-spec, but it's cheap
at £540. It's one of a trio of devices with a smaller 1366 x 768
screen (most of the ones above are 1920 x 1080), the others being the
<a href="http://lifebook.uk.ts.fujitsu.com/products/maximum-security/stylistic-Q572.html?gclid=CLDG58SVgLoCFXLItAod3FgAgg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fujitsu Stylistic Q572</a> and the <a href="http://www.asus.com/Tablets_Mobile/ASUS_VivoTab/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Asus VivoTab TF810C</a>.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So - given that I'd
like a large screen with as high resolution as I can, with decent CPU
and memory, I'd pretty much settled on the Samsung ATIV Tab 7 as
being the best feature/price compromise... <i><b>but wait ...... !!!</b></i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Just as I thought it was safe .... I happened across <i>this ...</i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o3F_3ImL9-M/UlA-AYDe1mI/AAAAAAAAAk8/F7N5Zy9VhEU/s640/cintiq1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Wacom Cintiq Companion</a></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
... and it was love at first sight. Any artist who uses graphics on a
PC knows <a href="http://www.wacom.com/gb/en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wacom </a>as a manufacturer of PC graphics tablets, from the
budget Bamboo to the designer's standard Intuos. If you're into
design, you are also probably familiar with their Cintiq range of
touchscreens – external monitors you can plug into a graphics PC or
Mac which give you a write-on screen you can use with the whole
super-sensitive range of Intuos pens. Now – they say in response to
artists' and designers' not-so-subtle hints, they have released a
couple of stand-alone tablets with their 13.3” screen. One, the
<a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanionHybrid/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cintiq Companion Hybrid</a>, operates as a normal Cintiq input device
when connected to your desktop graphics machine, and as an Android
tablet when on its own, with some sketchbook-type apps by Wacom
themselves for working on the fly. Sounds nice, but ...</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The other model, the <a href="http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cintiq Companion</a>, is a whole new ballgame...
because it's a stand-alone Windows 8 tablet which will run things
like Photoshop, Zbrush, Maya etc... and my favourite ArtRage – and
has the fabulous Intuos pen with 2048 levels of sensitivity, tilt
function, and all the other specially-for-artists features of the
Cintiq range. Added to that, although the price is predictably quite high
(£1,650 – mind you, that's still £150 less than the FZ-G1), the
spec. is also higher than all the other tablets examined here. It's
the only one apart from the Panasonic monster with 8GB of memory as
standard, <i>and</i> 256GB of storage. It's the <i>only</i> one with
a core i7 CPU instead of core i5, and it has Wacom's standard
productivity devices (programmable physical and on-screen buttons)
designed specifically for artists. The point, basically, is that of
all the models compared, it's the ONLY one specifically designed for
creative visual artists, so the choice suddenly becomes quite simple.
I want one. Now.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-77449183997885846262013-09-19T13:04:00.003+01:002013-09-19T13:45:52.939+01:00Want a cool new website of your own ?<div dir="ltr">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/contact/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bnrNn8WoIN4/Ujrnga_D2UI/AAAAAAAAAkI/f7sy9jwuO3A/s1600/screeenshot1.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/contact/" target="_blank">Don't you wish your website was just like me ... ?</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Note</b>: If you want to start with the cheap deal, skip to the end before you go back and read the rest of the sales pitch!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I know there are plenty of artists out there who, like me, would like a clean simple web presence with a contemporary feel and no clutter, where it's easy to add new work and manage things without having to pay your web designer to update the site when all you want to do is put up the new painting / installation / photos / construction / video etc. you just made.</div>
<ul>
<li>You <b><i>don't </i></b>want it to cost a fortune and take weeks to set up.</li>
<li>You <b><i>do </i></b>want it to be a highly professional showcase for your art and an easy point of contact where people can find you.</li>
<li>You <b><i>don't </i></b>want to have to divert yourself from the business of making art and teach yourself web programming because it's too expensive to get someone else to do it.</li>
</ul>
That's why I decided that, having had fun setting up my own site, and seeing that I think I have a good idea of what most artists want from a website, AND since I was a computer programmer and website guy in a previous life, I'd offer a cost-effective solution for other artists. So here's the deal:<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Setup:</b> £395 gets you up and running with a new clean and contemporary artist website with your own domain name, similar to my own site at <a href="http://martinherbert.com/" target="_blank">martinherbert.com</a>. It should take around 2 weeks from when I receive your content. You pay a deposit of £195 when you order and the balance when it goes live.</li>
<li><b>Maintenance option 1</b>: If you are happy managing your own site content and reasonably confident that nothing will go horribly wrong then you can pay £12.50 a month (or £140 a year) to cover domain name renewal, hosting on the web server, and email/phone support for minor issues. I will give you instructions on how to upload your own content to add new work to the site and so on. If you need me to do more work on the site, then it costs £50 per 'incident' (which is tech speak for fixing something when it goes wrong).</li>
<li><b>Maintenance option 2</b>: On the other hand, if you'd rather not get involved with managing the site at all and you just want me to look after everything for you, then you can pay £25 a month (or £275 a year) which means I will upload all your new work, make all and any changes you want and fix absolutely anything, as quick as I can. No extra costs (unless you want a total rewrite of the whole site of course!).</li>
</ol>
I think that covers more or less everything! If you'd like to talk about putting together a new artist site, please get in touch via the contact form on my website (<a href="http://martinherbert.com/index.php/contact/" target="_blank">click here</a>) or email martin [at] martinherbert.com.<br />
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b><span style="color: red;">One last item</span>:</b> I need to do a couple of websites quick so I have more to show to potential clients, so I'm offering the first two sites at a knock-down set-up price of £225. If you'd like a really <b><span style="color: red;">CHEAP</span></b> deal, get in touch quick!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Peace and stuff, </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Martin</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-47694198817544651542013-09-19T11:19:00.002+01:002013-11-03T10:56:34.641+00:00Now, let's just start again ... with a new website<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">
(Nov. 3rd): Hmm... just realised this post never actually got published, for some reason. That might explain a distinct lack of interest from my adoring public...</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BpElRIX12eU/Ujqqq_JNUWI/AAAAAAAAAjw/yz3X-7HwIDU/s1600/Screenshot_2013-09-19-08-37-50.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BpElRIX12eU/Ujqqq_JNUWI/AAAAAAAAAjw/yz3X-7HwIDU/s640/Screenshot_2013-09-19-08-37-50.png" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
So, there's a new website right here -> <a href="http://martinherbert.com/">martinherbert.com</a>. All new clean and contemporary design with some of the best of my past artwork, and just being to be filled up with new stuff, some of which is already in progress. You'll find not only past visual arts projects, but also some music to stream (or download and keep) and a couple of videos to play.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Please take the time to go and explore, see what you think, and please get in touch via the contact page if you have any comments you'd like to share. (Especially, please let me know if you find anything that doesn't work. I know there are problems with the horizontal scrolling on Android - I'd be interested to know how it all looks on iPad...).</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
While you're there, you can also sign up for the newsletter, which will contain news of new work, invitations to exhibition openings and other items of interest. Generally speaking, there are one or two issues a quarter, so you don't get bombarded with irrelevant stuff, and it goes without saying, of course, that your email address will not be used for any other purpose.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Please note, also, that the old domain name will cease to function at the beginning of October, so if you have my old email address in your contact list, please change it to the new one - martin [at] martinherbert.com</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Go take a look! <a href="http://martinherbert.com/">martinherbert.com</a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PJ1ZR2laPaI/Ujqqsro3DEI/AAAAAAAAAj4/PzVAeK4cXI4/s1600/Screenshot_2013-09-19-08-38-39.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PJ1ZR2laPaI/Ujqqsro3DEI/AAAAAAAAAj4/PzVAeK4cXI4/s640/Screenshot_2013-09-19-08-38-39.png" /> </a> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-46353896162726318792013-08-31T11:20:00.001+01:002013-08-31T11:20:09.475+01:00Last day of trading ...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gk4Mpd0UJM4/UiG9YUhSLyI/AAAAAAAAAjg/5XPn4BD6ULc/s640/snake.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"What Snake Saw in the Smoke" : Digital Painting : Copyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert<br /><b><span style="color: red;">On sale at etsy.com!</span></b></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So... end of an era! Today is my last day of trading under the name "Spirit Visions". For reasons previously noted <a href="http://artedstates.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/closing-down-sale-big-momentous-decision.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(here)</a>, I'm abandoning all the branding and concentrating on making fine-art under my own name. From now on I'm leaving the selling and making money to the people who are best qualified to do it - i.e. the dealers and gallerists. There is something considerably liberating in freeing myself from the self-induced pressure to be marketing manager, advertiser and salesman as well artist. Hopefully that means a lot more time and energy to make a lot more art! To that end there will soon be a new website at <a href="http://martinherbert.com/" target="_blank">martinherbert.com</a>, and to keep in touch you can follow this blog (see "Follow by email..." at top right) and subscribe to the newsletter <a href="http://eepurl.com/bKu3n" target="_blank">(click here)</a>.<br />
<br />
(Of course there remains the small matter of finding one or more dealers who are actually prepared to represent me, but, hey ... details. Actually, of course, I wouldn't be making this move if I didn't have some encouragement in that direction!).<br />
<br />
Anyway... today is the last day and I should, for the last time, point out that all fine-art prints, posters and greetings cards in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank">my shop at etsy.com</a> are on sale for the last time today at HALF PRICE. Enter the discount coupon code CLOSING50 during checkout for 50% off your whole order. <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here</a> to go to the shop.<br />
<br />
There ... that's the last time I will need to make any crass commercial announcements through social media! Time to celebrate!<br />
<br />
All the best,<br />
MartinAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-41194741504418874762013-08-25T08:48:00.002+01:002013-08-25T08:48:55.327+01:00Last week of online sales - everything half price at etsy.com !<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3SdBVmX83uw/UhjnDd8wdMI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/s2ETInh87uU/s400/MHxenop7.jpg" width="345" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Encyclopedia Xenopelagica Plate VII" : Digital painting<br />Copyright © 2005 by Martin Herbert</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, as per my previous posting, I'm ceasing all on-line operations from 31st August. (Well, it might take me a while to get everything taken down after that, but that's the general principle).<br />
<br />
Hence, for the last week, starting today - Sunday 25th August, <b>everything at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">etsy.com</a> is HALF PRICE</b> (woohoo!).<br />
<br />
<b>Enter the discount code CLOSING50</b> during checkout for 50% off your whole order. This is in addition to any individual item price reductions I might already have made.<br />
<br />
Additional bargains on other sites as already posted - see <a href="http://artedstates.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/closing-down-sale-big-momentous-decision.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> for details.<br />
<br />
Bargains!!! <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Go get 'em!!!</a> (etc.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-25526373001055646992013-08-05T18:22:00.001+01:002013-08-05T19:15:31.011+01:00CLOSING DOWN SALE! ... The Big Momentous Decision<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37IpVlpeM-I/Uf_I4xCEDRI/AAAAAAAAAiw/DOeyEo90aQc/s640/discount3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Coupon code for etsy.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
OK, so... Big Momentous Decision made.<br />
<br />
I am getting out of the more 'commercial' and illustrative art business to devote my time to developing more 'serious' work, so as of 31st August 2013 I will no longer be selling artwork (originals or prints) online. There are a number of reasons for this:<br />
<ul>
<li>Print-on-demand sites like Saatchi.com and 'crafty' sites like etsy.com don't make enough sales to justify the time and effort I spend in maintaining them and fulfilling orders.</li>
<li>I have reached a point where I really need to concentrate on developing my artwork to a highly professional standard and so I really <i>need</i> all that time and effort for painting!</li>
<li>The image presented by these sites conflicts badly with the needs of professional dealers and gallerists who need artists to present a coherent and professional image to potential clients.</li>
<li>The style, content and technique of my artwork has evolved to a stage where I no longer feel a connection with many of the projects I've undertaken in the past. Having started to find a 'voice', there is a lot of stuff out there which I no longer relate to ... basically I need to leave the artistic past behind and continue developing the directions in which I've been moving for the last couple of years.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'll shortly be launching an all-new website at <a href="http://www.martinherbert.com/">www.martinherbert.com</a>, and I will also be maintaining this blog, which will get a major makeover in the near future.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is basically a Big Scary Thing, and I am launching off into a foray into the serious fine-art world with no guarantee whatever that it will pay off, and resigning myself to the fact that I am likely to make more or less nothing for the next 1 - 2 years. The good news, however, is that until the end of the month I have <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>reduced the price of <i>everything</i></b></span> currently for sale online in a grand closing-down sale so...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At <a href="http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">etsy.com</a>, enter the discount code CLOSING20 to get 20% off your whole order.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
At <a href="http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/martin-herbert.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fine Art America</a> (or <a href="http://finearteurope.com/profiles/martin-herbert.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fine Art Europe</a>), enter discount <span style="font-family: inherit;">c</span>ode VEMDUU to get 20% off your whole order.<br />
<br />
At <a href="http://www.saatchionline.com/profiles/portfolio/id/318838" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Saatchi Online</a>, prices of originals have already been reduced by at least 20%, with as much as 50% off some items. All prints are on sale at the minimum price allowed by the site, a large saving on some items.<br />
<br />
and finally, at <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RedBubble</a>, I've reduced my markup by 50% on everything, which is as much of a discount as I can afford - don't make much here anyway!).<br />
<br />
There will undoubtedly be a lot happening over the next 12 months or so, so keep an eye on the blog, make sure you're subscribed to the newsletter (see below!) etc...<br />
<br />
Note: This does mean that our project wowlookwhatigot.com will also not be going forward, but we <i><b>will </b></i>fulfil all our obligations to our funding partners - you'll be getting the first prints soon, and they will all be signed and numbered limited editions, so hang onto them - they could be worth real money in the future! (If you never signed up to wowlookwhatigot.com, sorry - it is no longer possible to add new subscribers).<br />
<br />
All the best to everyone, and I'll be back with more news soon!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
Martin</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158375932/contemporary-print-amazon-grace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5FR61suqtC8/UfpBwJyPacI/AAAAAAAAAig/gjby0aQTvpE/s640/amazon_webres.jpg" width="512" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158375932/contemporary-print-amazon-grace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Amazon Grace" : On-demand print & poster - various sizesCopyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another day, another frivolous piece of frippery. Available as a print, poster and greetings card in various formats and sizes from a number of outlets. Note: Fine Art Europe (a.k.a. Fine Art America) will print works on acrylic sheet and metal in addition to paper and canvas. "<a href="http://finearteurope.com/featured/la-rive-gauche-martin-herbert.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">La Rive Gauche</a>" is also now available there...<br />
<br />
Fine Art Europe:<br />
<a href="http://finearteurope.com/featured/amazon-grace-martin-herbert.html">http://finearteurope.com/featured/amazon-grace-martin-herbert.html</a><br />
<br />
Saatchi:<br />
<a href="http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Printmaking-Digital-Print-Amazon-Grace/318838/1689327/view">http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Printmaking-Digital-Print-Amazon-Grace/318838/1689327/view</a><br />
<br />
Etsy.com:<br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158375932/contemporary-print-amazon-grace">https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158375932/contemporary-print-amazon-grace</a><br />
(If you buy from etsy, you get it printed by me and signed - the other sites are all print-on-demand)<br />
<br />
RedBubble:<br />
<a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/spiritvisions/works/10644548-amazon-grace">http://www.redbubble.com/people/spiritvisions/works/10644548-amazon-grace</a><br />
<br />
Happy Amazonian expeditions!<br />
MartinAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0Amazon River, Brazil-2.1651092 -55.115513299999975-10.2612712 -65.442661799999968 5.9310528 -44.788364799999975tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-82370213540224740272013-07-31T12:49:00.000+01:002013-07-31T12:49:28.142+01:00Like some art ... get it cheap!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6U36poHaJ6E/Ufj3QsieeGI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/egD62cl2jbc/s1600/screenshot1.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank">Go to the shop ... get stuff! Now! (Is this working yet?)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
OK ... new policy ... from today, whenever anyone adds one of my pieces to a treasury on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank">etsy.com</a>, I'm going to <b><span style="color: red;">reduce </span></b>that item in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank">my shop</a> by 10% for a week - keep an eye on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spiritvisions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/spiritvisionsuk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for announcements! (Click on those links right there to follow me on FB or Twitter if you're not already doing so!).<br />
<br />
So - if you have an <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank">etsy.com</a> account and you'd like 10% discount on any of my work, you know what to do ... go create a treasury that includes one of my pieces and tell me about it. It shall be announced to the world AND that piece will be discounted for a week!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Spiritvisions" target="_blank">Go treasure</a>, now!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-90598106572268868662013-07-23T17:16:00.001+01:002013-07-23T17:18:02.823+01:00About time I made some new art ... prints and posters available!While recovering from exploratory surgery yesterday (good news - apparently I do not have furry arteries - must celebrate with a fry-up!), I thought it was about time I made some new art, so dashed off a quick quirky little whimsical contemporary print for your quick quirky little whimsical contemporary walls. If it sells I might expand into a quirky contemporary whimsical series ...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KtR2nWGPq2M/Ue6pmmcv3mI/AAAAAAAAAhc/cem7T142Jy0/s1600/rg_webres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KtR2nWGPq2M/Ue6pmmcv3mI/AAAAAAAAAhc/cem7T142Jy0/s640/rg_webres.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"La Rive Gauche" : Print/poster - various sizes<br />
Copyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"La Rive Gauche" (This Page Intentionally Left Bank) is available as a card, fine-art print or poster in various formats including paper, canvas, framed, matted etc. from a number of outlets.<br />
<br />
In the US try Saatchi online here - <a href="http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Printmaking-Digital-Print-Rive-Gauche/318838/1680491/view">http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Printmaking-Digital-Print-Rive-Gauche/318838/1680491/view</a><br />
<br />
In the US, Australia, or NZ at Redbubble here - <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/spiritvisions/works/10609687-la-rive-gauche?p=photographic-print">http://www.redbubble.com/people/spiritvisions/works/10609687-la-rive-gauche?p=photographic-print</a><br />
<br />
.. or you can buy an A3 fine-art print made, signed and dated by me via etsy.com right here - <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/157534188/contemporary-print-paris-la-rive-gauche?ref=shop_home_active">https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/157534188/contemporary-print-paris-la-rive-gauche?ref=shop_home_active</a> ... in which case it will ship from the UK.<br />
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Please feel free to comment!<br />
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MartinAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5854876252319303978.post-92166193639294459382013-06-24T17:50:00.000+01:002013-06-24T17:50:48.601+01:00Taking it to the next stage .... and the next ...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aTgZB37k30c/Uch0_pGGDHI/AAAAAAAAAhM/1_2TG3njoBA/s1600/wip5_blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="594" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aTgZB37k30c/Uch0_pGGDHI/AAAAAAAAAhM/1_2TG3njoBA/s640/wip5_blue.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Everything in the Garden was Beautiful" (work in progress) : Acrylics on canvas : 24" x 24"<br />Copyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So ... this is actually really three stages further on from the last posting. I meant to take another photo in between before I started applying colour to the background, but I forgot. Similar to the last (yellow) stage though, I glazed over the whole thing with 2 different blues (cerulean and ultramarine), both with quite a lot of mixing white, until I reached what I thought was a good balance of colours - and suddenly we have rainbows! The aim is to get an overall 'grisaille' effect - i.e. a grey monochrome underpainting, which is actually made up of lots of different colours that look grey from a distance ('optical' greys). I then lifted up the brightest highlight areas with titanium (i.e. opaque) white. Kind of like turning up the contrast in Photoshop, only it takes a whole day rather than 2 seconds!<br />
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Of course I added another layer of white flowers at this point. Can't have too many flowers ....<br />
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Lastly, I brushed over the background areas one by one with plain water, and floated some bright colours in over the flowers, using the acrylic like watercolour. Just applied the hair-dryer and am now hoping the surface is tough enough for me to glaze over the background areas with some dark blue and green to finish them off (for the moment at least).<br />
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Onward ...!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15432077875706301624noreply@blogger.com0Llanidloes, Powys, UK52.447793999999988 -3.540195000000039752.409084499999985 -3.62087600000004 52.486503499999991 -3.4595140000000395