SURREALESTATE

My iPad as my Preprod Tool

2011-05-04T16:48:00.001-04:00

I've started using my iPad for some preproduction sketches and idea development. It's really useful when I'm taking a break, I find myself doing stuff... working, planning and researching. I know some apps are lame but there are some that work good as sketchbooks. Sketchbook Pro by Autodesk is a good drawing and paint program. Combined with a Targus stylus it's like drawing with charcoal or a paintbrush.

It really is helping to centralize and organize my work.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Finishing my First Large Canvas

2011-05-04T11:22:00.001-04:00

Really, it's my second large canvas, my first was a 2d design assignment for a foundation study class at OCAD. It's taken me the 4-5 months of actual painting on canvas and just over a year of prep work.

The prep work felt like a lifetime to complete, I know this pre-reconstruction time was for many canvases and has spawned many ideas for future paintings. It's hard to judge how much time future paintings will take.

During this preprocess I talked to different people about my ideas on abiotic oil, protein diets and I became to frustrated when discussing these topics. I knew their point of view was from the mass media and orthodox. Things started to click after one heated discussion about abiotic oil. I knew I had had my first subject matter.

My recent research seems to point to the fact most people believe in antidotes and throw away facts. Maybe I can use this knowledge in my art career.

Around the time I started painting five months ago I began teaching a couple of life drawing classes at Cambrian College. I became aware of the immediacy of the students work, this helped me with my own painting causing me to concentrate on idea and putting technique in the back seat.

The goal became getting the painting done. Don't hesitate, just work. The painting was done mostly in longer sittings and a few days of touching up.

The final touchup happened Easter weekend, and took about two hours. I sat down and was shocked after it was finished. Could I take it further? Maybe. Will it add anything to the idea? I doubt it. Anyways the enhancements would all be technique. This is something I know will happen naturally in future paintings.

Next...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

How to Take your Own Advice

2010-12-31T00:04:00.002-05:00

About 20 years ago, I was taking to an old friend about her writing aspirations and goal of being a novel writer. She’d get together with her writing friend and go over short storey ideas on how to progress with their careers. She could write better and beyond anybody I had ever met.

Our conversation started with her lamenting on how she was going to be a novelist one day and everything was going to fall into place. Although I had the attention span of a gnat and couldn’t give this person’s writing the attention it deserved (I’m a visual artist, not a writer), I could see clearly the leap she had to take.

“Why don’t you just write a novel” I suggested.

Her initial reply as I remember it was one of shock and… “It isn’t that easy”

As the conversation went on I told her some ideas like that her first novels might be short, suck and be painful to write… but after she wrote them, she would be a novelist (being published is another concept). With a furry I’d never seen in her, she wrote a seventy pager, then another longer and another with the third with a page count well over a hundred and thirty. She told me her writing on the third book was far better and stronger. That’s about the time we parted ways and I hadn’t heard from her in years.

We reconnected online a few years ago and I saw she had published a few novels and congratulated her. She had surpassed anything most artists achieve in their aspirations.

I told this story many times since then as inspiration for friends, students and especially myself. I often wondered if she remembered the conversation we’d had twenty years ago?

As it turned out a few months ago she dropped me a note and thanked me for that little conversation we had. I’m sure she would have realized this on her own.

Why is this an “important anything”? Stroking my own ego? No.

I think about this idea as I do my own art. I tell myself… “Finish this first big piece, then another and another.

Update

2010-12-31T00:03:00.000-05:00

The Continuing saga of getting this art thing done

My entries are few and far between lately. But I have been working. Over the last year I have:

found a direction (the biggie)
found a size / format to work in.
got ideas for many pieces
started my first large canvas and completed and underpainting

My New Studio

2009-04-11T20:15:00.002-04:00

I moved into my new studio on April 1st. It’s s more than 15x24… 360sq ft…wow! I’m planning on some large canvases so the space will get used.

I have started reading an old painting book from 1924. It’s funny to see the artist’s perception of modern art. Most believe most realists today would find his views quaint and naïve. The book is called “Oil Painting Techniques and Materials” by Harold Speed.

I think I am starting to get a grip on the alla prima technique. I think it is not explained well enough in most books. The key seems to be the modeling of large, simple shapes and planes. Most artists with enough experience to draw details will have difficulty with this. I am avoiding all details in my future reproductions. I know this discipline is the key.

Oh yeah, I am currently reproducing a series of works by masters. The first attempt shows a lot of raw brushstrokes, the second is more refined. My third and last attempt is still a line drawing… the first five drawings were crap so I am happy to be at this point. I usually don’t have a problem with my drawings but drawing with a thin brush is like drawing with a graphite pencil, something I’ve abandoned years ago.

My Old New Studio, My New Old Painting Style

2009-04-01T23:20:00.006-04:00

For the last month I setup a studio in the basement of our new house. My mother says I’d be happy in a 6 x 6 room, she was wrong… my space was about 5x5. The first day after I got my studio setup I found out about some space that became available downtown. I had to start painting again before I moved my studio as a good omen for the future. I managed to get a painting done and a start of a second one.

Working in a completely new style tends to take longer and you usually give up something until you master it. For me it’s the deterioration of my drawing. This is due to drawing with a thin paintbrush like some artists draw with a pencil. If I hold my brush more like a spyglass, the drawing should come back.

Story of the Falling Cadaver

2008-10-12T11:35:00.001-04:00

I’ve decided to post my wall to wall from facebook about an event in my anatomy class at OCAD.

Fabian Hynes wrote
at 9:57pm on August 21st, 2007

Do you remember drawing the torso, you were my drawing partner and you ran out? It was the week after we watched the "fresh kill video"

Eva McDonald (Centennial College) wrote
at 8:54am on August 22nd, 2007

LOL! The thing was, up until then, I was not at all squeamish. My dad managed the lab at Sudbury General, so when we were kids visiting him at work, we used to marvel at all the specimens preserved in formaldehyde, and check out the latest thing he was slicing into slides ("This is a placenta - look how big!"). But when the breast thing happened, I suddenly realized - this inanimate piece of meat was once actually human: someone's daughter, wife, mother. I shoved the thought into the back of my mind quickly, so I could get down to business. I remember the weight of the thing - when I felt the sliminess through the gloves, I was suddenly repulsed all over again (you know the rest!). Huh, after all these years I remember that sliminess. Gee, thanks for the memories. Good times, good times.

Eva McDonald (Centennial College) wrote
at 11:10am on August 22nd, 2007

I'd love to hear your take on the torso-sliding episode. What do you remember from that course/corpse?

Fabian Hynes wrote
at 1:46pm on August 22nd, 2007
part 1

What I remember from Richard Nevitt’s (after 15 years I finally remembered his name this morning) class…hmmm. He was the most monotone instructor I had at OCA. He was a great guy and interesting but when he lectured it was like an eraser that deleted whole hours of my life.

I remember the video from the previous week where the video’s instructor was lifting the major muscle sections of the back. It was disturbing because the cadaver was fresh (red) with the fatty tissue cleaned away.

Fabian Hynes wrote
at 1:46pm on August 22nd, 2007
part 2

The week with the actual cadaver is burned in my memory. It all happened very quickly. Richard told us to choose a drawing partner and you came up to me and asked me to be yours. We selected one of the black plastic cadaver bags and started removing the body…. our cadaver torso had no limbs, head and a pelvic area. The pelvis was in very bad shape. As we were removing the body (you were on the pelvic/open bag/receiving end) you said something and left quickly.

I don’t remember telling you the rest of the story before (I must have!), but after scuttling out of the room, the body kept sliding out of the bag. Trying to hold the bag had the effect of squeezing the body out. This wouldn’t of been bad except for the missing/bad pelvic area, which had it been in place, the organs would of not fell on the floor. Some of our classmates were scrambling to help me stop the body from sliding and falling and other students were trying to collect parts that were on the floor.

Hynes wrote
at 1:47pm on August 22nd, 2007
part 3

The torso itself was in such bad condition the back muscles couldn’t be drawn. I drew another cadaver with two other students.

I’m sure looking back on it, some UofT med students must have setup the cadaver to fall apart. I remember you did tell me how the video the week before had affected you.

Ah, to be young again.

Eva McDonald (Centennial College) wrote
at 2:09pm on August 22nd, 2007

I remember you telling me the story, and me, feeling bad about "scuttling out" but at the same time going, "LALALALALALA" in my head so I wouldn't have to hear it. And to think that my dad wanted me to be a doctor - I'd have bailed after the first cadaver. Nevitt - what a memory you have! BTW, I'm going to repost your story on your Wall so your Friends can read it, because it's a great story, and I love the eraser comment.

New non-iPhone

2008-09-15T16:09:00.002-04:00

I thought for sure I’d be getting an iPhone when they came out but it seems the cost for what it offered was really high. It’s not out of my price range but promises more than it could deliver. The features that are available seem cutting edge but who wants to be using a touch screen for input!!! It reminds me of the Atari 400 computer with membrane keyboard from the early 80’s… sad that people go gaga over old tech. I think the crackberry is a better solution with its Qwerty Keyboard but alas, again with the high cost.

Then along came the LG (Lucky Goldstar) Rumour.. with qwerty keypad!!! Not quite a smartphone but who cares! Unlimited mobile internet, email and MSN for $13/month. I’m at work on my computer for eight hours a day, my home has three computers so I don’t need to surf the net while I’m waiting in line at Tim Hortons in the morning. I’ve also picked up an 4 gig microSD card and can have a 1000 songs handy.

Recently on a trip to Toronto I had to check the weather, message someone on Facebook for lunch and send an email… the phone was indispensable. I wish they’d activate the GPS in Canada…. Damn them!!

This is my 4th cell phone and so far my favorite.

Trailers Galore

2008-08-21T16:50:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I decided to buy an old 1972 camper trailer for traveling. A week prior to this I had missed out on enclosed utility trailer that I had wanted to convert.

I picked up the trailer on a Saturday but could only pull it a few miles to my mother’s house because my hitch installers had used the wrong cable and failed to test it. I wasn’t going to pull the trailer 19km back to Sudbury without any tail lights.

Since it’s primarily for traveling it didn’t have to be big… and it isn’t! I plan to redo the interior but I haven’t had time to look at it since picking it up two weeks ago… so it still sits at my mother’s house.

I think primarily a hotel setup with a bed and bathroom would be nice. Maybe a microwave, bar fridge and water cooler would be covenant. There are so many places to get food when you travel, why would need to keep so much food with you?

I do want to make it look nice on the inside and not the hack job that it currently is. I’m thinking a futon to sleep on or maybe a built in double bed. Setting up the bathroom might be problematic but I’ll have the winter to figure it out.

My Jeep can pull 5000 lbs so a tiny trailer (@ 1500 lbs) won’t make it sweat hard.

My New Office View

2008-05-21T23:19:00.003-04:00

My new office space is overlooking the west Sudbury, which has a better vista. Our office is on the sixth floor at Elm and Paris… basically the crossroads of the old city. I can see clearly the windows I use to daydream out of at Sudbury Secondary during math class. I’d often wonder where I would be at thirty-five or forty… so it’s quite ironic that now my office is facing “the past”.

I didn’t think I’d be in Sudbury Ontario! I guess going to the Ontario College of Art for four years in Toronto woke me up to the reality of what Northern Ontario has going for it.

Cars and More Cars

2008-05-20T23:54:00.004-04:00

Recently I joined the masses by moving to an SUV. My old car was awesome and had low mileage but I wanted something more specialized rather than a sedan like my ’98 Mazda 626. At first I considered some of my dream cars like a Miata or Mustang, but they lacked the utility of a 4x4 to go off road.

I liked the Jeep Liberty and decided that over the summer I’d keep my eyes open for a pre-2008 as this year’s model is all new and pretty ugly. It had to HAVE A SUNROOF, something I missed since my ‘98 Civic.

As luck would have it I came across one a week later and it was at a local dealer. It was a Limited model with chrome alloy rims... really too pretty for the woods of northern Ontario. I looked at some comparables but most seemed too abused.

I’ve been driving it for the past two weeks and it’s quickly become my favourite vehicle over my Civic. I can’t wait to go out in the woods in the fall. If you check out Youtube you’ll see what the liberty is capable of… not quite a mountain goat as a Wrangler but Liberty is Trail Rated and built to go off road, unlike most cuteutes.

The gas mileage is not that much worse than my old 626 believe it or not. I live a kilometre from downtown so 90% of my driving is stop and go, I get a hard 15 mpg which sucks but it seems to be the nature of living so close to downtown. I noticed this effect with my Civic and I thought it was because it was an SI VTEC.

On the plus side I live 2 kilometres from downtown which means I don`t have to travel far to get to work. I should get off my ass and walk… sigh!

I’ve added a trailer hitch on it and moved my Sony head unit over from my Mazda. Aftermarket stereos are so cheap now, to replace an OEM unit would cost much more! I was reading in a forum that the 6.75" factory speakers had amazing bass… I was wowed by this fact when I had a listen myself! On the down side, the midrange response is slow and not as clear as I'm used too. I have to find some aftermarket speakers with the same base!!!

As for the utility... I took some spring cleaning… 7 large bags, and 3 buckets of crap to the dump this morning and I still had half of the space available in the back. The rear seats take up much space but after you put the seats down, cargo capacity increases to match other vehicles in it`s class.

The major features of the Jeep are..

tire pressure monitor
sun roof
17" chrome rims
upgraded interior with AU trim
cargo organizer
body colour fenders

“Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl” ~ My New Job

2007-10-05T22:54:00.000-04:00

I haven't written in my Blog lately because of my hectic schedule. Since my last post I have taken a new job and left my company CyberSudbury which I was a partner in since 1995. I have also been busy renovating the house and started teaching a full class of 12 people at the Art Gallery of Sudbury on Tuesday nights.

My new job at Osprey Media is very cool, I still do web graphics but it's more specialized and I work with twelve other people. Our office is on the 6^th floor overlooking Elm street downtown. Other changes in my work day include getting up at 7:00 to get to work for 8:30.... along with more interaction with more staff.

The house is a mosh pit of renovating, planning trying to figure out how it's going to fit into the future. I'm hoping the whole thing is resolved before Christmas.

I've included photos the view outside of our offices on the 6^th floor.

Artist - Part 27 - My Filberts Came in Today

2007-08-16T15:55:00.000-04:00

My 15 new filberts came in today.. 2x #12, 2x #10, 3x #8, 3x #6, 3x #4, 2x #2. I emailed for three no. 2 but received only 2. At least I wasn't charged for the mistake.

The madness of ordering new brushes was due to the lack of filberts in my painter's arsenal. In the workshop I took last month the brushwork required the use of the this bastard son of the flat and round. In theory I should be able to avoid using my old brushes... this is exciting, almost like flying on a trapeze without a net.

I find most breakthroughs with my artwork happens this way, and I see this in my students when they are learning. I believe the difference is; as an artist I push and push until I achieve what I set out to do.

Now the only thing left to do is wait for some time so I can apply this knowledge. I have new subjects I want to paint but that is after I practice on some still life.

Artist - Part 26 - My Workshop with Andrew Morrow

2007-07-31T16:05:00.000-04:00

On the weekend of the 21st of July as my vacation started, I took a two day oil painting workshop with Andrew Morrow at the Art Gallery of Sudbury. This was the first art class I’ve taken since finishing at OCAD in ’90 and I was excited because the style he was teaching was the direct method. I was hoping to add to my knowledge of the technique and fill in some of the blanks.

I was not disappointed and it was well worth the $100.

The first day I learned that my brushes were wrong for this technique; I should have been using filberts, a typical oversight on my part. I also got some pointers on blending.

When I first met Andrew at his gallery opening, he gave me some pointers on how to approach my painting without over-blending, so I wasn’t surprised when I picked up so many new skills at the workshop.

Day two I learned a lot more! Brush stroke skill, medium and paint requirements, working with thicker paint… plus a lot of subtle ideas and skills that were contrary to the way I currently work.

At one point someone asked, why I wanted to change from my current technique. My answer was that I like the precision that the direct method requires…. making an exact brushstroke with the right colour/temperature, shape, direction while taking into account composition and other variables,… it’s like being a virtuoso musician.

I find that when you take away the guesswork… technical aspects become second nature, more doors open and you start concentrating on subject and ideas. With more knowledge, you’re less frustrated with your art.

Women are Smarter than Men!

2007-07-20T14:40:00.000-04:00

When I was in grades 7 and 8, I noticed a strange thing happening…a majority of girls were excelling faster then boys and getting higher grades. This seemed to be happening in other classes and schools (I attended 2 schools during those years 79-81).

Was I far off base… no.

The next time I blatantly noticed this phenomenon was through teaching art classes at the gallery. There was a great thirst for knowledge in my mostly women crowded classes. The few men that did attend seemed to be dear stuck in the headlights.

More recently enrolment is starting to surpass men in universities in the areas of medicine and law.

If you do a search in the interweb, “woman smarter than men” you’ll see hard stats to back this growing trend up.

I believe that men have been in control of our society in the past through physical strength. Now that we are in the age of machines and computers, brute strength can be controlled by computer; the mind will be the great equalizer. Not to say women will control 100%, but the majority will be women…. Ready or not.

Lost in July

2007-07-19T15:30:00.000-04:00

July has been a write off for me in the painting department. I'm starting to realized that if i put off painting... it all becomes lost. So when I get back from vacation, my life becomes artcentric again.

Speaking of vacation, I will only bring my palmpilot and sketchbook with me and do NOTHING but sleep get some sun, draw and swim...

I really should think the "direction" my artwork is taking while hanging around the cottage. But then again I should not think, i need to do nothing.

Paintings by the Juggling Fool

2007-07-05T14:34:00.000-04:00

Lately I’ve been trying to juggle all the things that have to get done, and time is getting shorter before going on vacation this month. The house needs the bathroom finished off (minor trim and relocation of the water closet supply line), a couple of paintings have to be done along with the usual nasty loose ends.

I can’t seem to get enough done. I am doing a lot of this work, so in the future I will have more time to dedicate to my panting.

A few weeks ago I was talking to a visiting artist and I told him the problems I was having with my painting… he helped me out pretty fast and I am now eager to start painting again. I’m taking a workshop with him that will be cutting into my vacation time because I’m really hoping to get more knowledge from him. Anyways, I feel the final pieces of the painting puzzle are falling into their milieu.

ahhh... I can hunt this year.

2007-06-29T15:37:00.000-04:00

I did my hunting safety and gun training courses last weekend, a total of 20 hours! I am excited to get into the woods this fall. I figure I'll get out at least 2 - 3 times minimum this year but I'm hoping for a lot more. I'm planning to take my camera with me to get some photos that I might use as reference for painting.

I'd like to get a GPS and a new shotgun. My father gave away my Baikal 12 gauge single shot in the mid '90s when I stopped hunting. I believe I'd paid 95.00 for it in the late '80s... a fact by itself isn't significant until I tell you it was made in the USSR by the "worker" before the fall of communism. The gun could not be bought and brought in/into the United States.

Hunting VS Golf

2007-06-07T15:10:00.000-04:00

While eating lunch last weekend with my family at a Chinese restaurant the conversation turned to the topic of me getting my gun and hunting license. I had these before in the ‘80s and loved hunting, my nephew was also interested and I was telling him about the upcoming course at the community college.

As a lark I asked another brother if he wanted to join us. He thought it was a waste of time and money and was cheaper to go golfing.

This is where my brain started swimming in its Cerebrospinal fluid. I couldn’t see any comparison… besides both being recreational.

Now people might not get this idea, but I don’t go out to kill animals or rack up a kill ratio. I have killed rabbits and grouse in the past, but not as my main goal. I would not kill a large mammal like a deer or moose.

The main reason to go out is to connect with nature. In the fall, the northern woods are spectacular. The air has a slight chill and the bugs are all gone. In Northern Ontario the terrain and landscape are breath taking. When I think of nature… I picture strolling through the woods in my hunting gear.

The golf courses I’ve been to reek of the same terraformed green grass perfection I despise. How can something so organic be so inorganic?... with the magic touch of man.

When I want to relax I don’t want to wait for tee time, I want to walk through the woods and smell the breathing air.

Pretending to Learn

2007-05-25T16:27:00.000-04:00

When I see people learning I always see two types of students. The first student is learning but is insecure due to the lack of mastery and the second is the student who pretends to learn.

In the first instance the student is going through the motions of following the instructor blindly. In our modern society this is thought of a bad thing, conventional thinking is that there is problem if someone doesn’t “get it right away”. Mastery on any skill is acquired with time and practice, eventually the understanding falls into place.

“Getting it right away” is the point that stops most artists. I know when a student is nodding and agreeing just to not be singled out of a class. I get comments all the time about charcoal on my face when I’m drawing, I DON’T CARE! I care about what the drawing is doing, where my progress is going to lead me. You have to be able to make mistakes, know your own mistakes and correct your own mistakes… and to hell with what people think.

I went through parts of my life “not getting it”, now, as I get older, I make it a point to understand it, no matter how foolish I look.

Artist – Part 25 – Painting.... again

2007-05-18T16:55:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a title! I’ve just completed a painting and I still have some minor retouching to do. I would like to start a new piece by holiday Monday.

In this painting the effort seemed more natural. I really want to get another studio canvas done before I go outside to paint.

Also, this weekend I’ll be finishing the bathroom by adding a new tub. If I can get the tub in fast, then all I have to do are the tiles. I’ve worked on this part of the bathroom ten years ago, so there shouldn’t be any major surprises. While waiting for the tiles to set, I should be able to start painting.

I’ve been mucking on facebook

2007-05-11T16:14:00.000-04:00

I’ve been mucking on facebook since Steve and Ann sent me a request on the same night a few weeks ago. I just got a new scanner from a friend and hopefully will get some of our family photos scanned before the colours get too shitty.

For now i've put some photos up that I've grabbed off the shelf.

2007-05-09T16:48:00.000-04:00

Last night I didn’t start painting until 10:20 after House MD and some piano playing. I was tired but manage to paint for an hour and a half. It seems that lately I paint better when I’m tired, but if I’m too tired I become a washout. I feel my work is becoming more fluid but I can also see where I can go back and emphasize edges and colour. I should get more painting done tonight and after this one is done I’ll set up one more still life before going outside to paint. Oh yeah, I almost forgot… besides painting I also have to get some renovations done this week.

I have included a picture of a paint box that my brother Glenn got for me when I was in grade ten. I believe he got this box, books and an easel for 10 bucks, thought his mother-in-law who got them at a yard sale. I used this paint box all through my four years at OCAD and might use it for painting outside soon.

They say it's your Birthday.. it's my Birthday too!

2007-05-05T18:15:00.000-04:00

Today is my Birthday... yesterday was the one year anniversary of my dad's diagnosis. I've decided to celebrate my birthday for the first time in years, usually I ignore it and pretend it isn't.

I was up at 7am, went to Tony's house at 9:30 and we fixed my car stereo setup, it sounds too cool for school now. We then went to the valley to see my mother and her yard sale. After that I came home and cleaned out the car until I went to teach my private student at 2:30. I really want to paint tonight but it looks like I won't be a able to! Damn!

I must reload my ipod, too much of the music is old school AM.

Artist – Part 24 - What it takes

2007-05-04T16:04:00.000-04:00

I was reflecting on what it takes to be a classical observational painter/artist. I tell students its patience and perseverance. No more, no less.

I never had the patience until I moved to Toronto for school. There I waited in line for everything. Classes, food, busses etc..

Perseverance is what an instructor at school told us about. A student asked him one day… “what made him an artist”. He replied… “When I was 20, here at college, all my friends were artists. When I was 30, half were still artists and the other half left the field. When I reached 40, very few friends were still painting, most had other passions and families that became the centre of their lives.”

Basically, an artist is the last one standing, who doesn’t give up on the dream and passion.

Wow… 99% less Stagnation

2007-05-04T16:02:00.001-04:00

Like a bat out of hell last night I painted. I’ve come to the conclusion that if I keep painting I’ll achieve the look I want. The mechanics behind the technique seem to be sound, and I noticed last night that if I think less after I choose my colour, my drawing ability kicks in and the results are better. I just have to do the time in front of the canvas.

I am very happy my painting is turning out (so far). It’s really energizing and a rush.

Wow… Stagnant

2007-05-03T16:23:00.000-04:00

My painting hasn’t been touched in four days and my work project is taking forever. I believe this is a good sign because it’s usually a tipping point where I start going like a bat out of hell.

I’m in a funky state today where my bones want to jump out of my skin; I’ve cut out caffeine so it must be a natural high.

I am also finding it hard to progress lately because I have no one locally to talk to about my painting, well… that isn’t true because it’s the narrow focus of my particular technique that is isolating me.

Learning the Piano - Part 15 – Those Damn Notes!

2007-05-03T12:06:00.000-04:00

This week I decided to take my sticky notes off my piano. I’d already taken off the middle C to G stickers 6 months ago. They were on there good so I only managed to get off only the seven bass notes (thank god I didn’t do all the keys). So now I only have stickers on the 5^th octave. I used vegetable oil and a credit card to soak and then remove those little bastards.

I’ve since been playing and changing the octave on some of my bass chords. It’s harder to place my fingers but it’s becoming a richer experience. I’ll pickup my speed with time.

Oh yeah, I’ve been playing with the velocity sensitivity on and my playing is getting more even.

40, being forever young like Bodhi and Johnny Utah

2007-05-01T14:35:00.000-04:00

I sometimes call my friend Tony, “Bodhi” (Patrick Swayzie) and he calls me “Johnny Utah” (Keanu Reeves), names taken from the movie “Point Break”. This works well when we pretend and talk like cool surfers. Our group is the last of the rock and roll generation… the end of the boomers.

This week I turn 40, but in my mind I’m still 18 or 22. I love driving in my car and singing to the blaring music. I still love making art like I did when I was five. Excitement for me is still going to a gallery and getting new art supplies.

I remember my first year at collage like it was yesterday and thinking.. “four years is a long time to be in school”. I loved it then and still miss it.

Maybe 40 is the new 20.... or in the case of the Rolling Stones, 130 is the new 20!

New Car Speakers and Silly Nuns

2007-04-30T16:27:00.000-04:00

While looking for some 5” speakers to replace the front factory installed ones in my car, I found out I needed special 6x8 made for mazda/fords. I scoured the net for some but they were $$$. Then an hour later I remembered to check thesourcecc.ca… bingo! $99 on clearance for $19. They sound awesome!

Now my rear 6x9 Alpines from My Civic are great sounding but need a serious amp to run them (there’s very little bass). So, today I bought another pair of the 6x8s and will make an adaptor to put them in. I’m so crafty.

The silly nuns speak for themselves.

Insomnia and Painting

2007-04-30T15:18:00.000-04:00

Lately I’ve had insomnia. So when I paint, I don’t feel anything, which is bad because I’m just going through the motions. When I’m excited and well rested good things start to happen with my work. I am excited with this new painting and hope to get it finished in the next two sittings.

Yesterday while painting, I put on some WKRP episodes that I recorded four or five of years ago. I was surprised they still made me laugh, I love laughing but find so little amusing lately. Not that I'm depressed, I just find everything so homogenized.

Lies, all lies.

2007-04-29T21:07:00.000-04:00

Recently i caught a friend in a lie. What surprised me the most wasn't the lie, but the person believing i wouldn't suspect or excuse it. This is really sad. The other people involved within the lie are really corrupt and really have nothing tangible to offer.

I know a few people that are compulsive liars, do they realize most people see through them? I guess not. When forced to listen to these people my eyes glaze over and for some reason i stop blinking.

I have now a bitter taste in my mouth and my trust level goes down yet again.

Artist – Part 23 - Kicking ass and taking names

2007-04-25T14:41:00.000-04:00

I know that’s dramatic sounding for an artist sitting in front of his canvas and easel and painting, but that’s how I felt last night painting. It all started Monday night when I had an epiphany… I have to quote Marlon Brando here…

“And then I realized... like I was shot... like I was shot with a diamond... a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought: My God... the genius of that.”

It’s an urge I haven’t had in a long time, to throw down the gauntlet and put my total devotion into my work.

Enough of waiting for my weak mind to overcome the weak body, I have to do this with only will. My body is always tired and lazy and if left to its own nature, would fall asleep and die of blood clots caused by bed sores. My mind is the leader of the less-than-dynamic duo, it will watch TV, renovate the house, worry about irrelevant world news and events…. and god knows whatever else it can dream up to avoid painting.

So sometime Monday night I decided, “I will paint one painting a week in the new style”. Besides some minor home repairs it seems a bit of a challenge but there’s no reason I can’t do it. I’ve done a lot more in less time. The key is the will.

Last Night Painting
It took me a good hour and a half to realize I had been painting without any TV or movie on.

I started also comparing my paintings to my favorite artwork from other artists. I know where my work is lacking, but how to fix it…hmmm.

My list grew fast, I now had about ten points on my list of how to improve my work. Not general fixes but exact brush strokes and techniques. I MUST CONTINUE TONIGHT.

Blogging and Water

2007-04-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

Since I stopped drinking diet cola a couple of weeks ago I've started drinking water, lots of it. I've always hated the taste of water and I still can't get used to it.

Over the last week the water has started tasting like milk. Well, watered down milk.

Also... last week I was looking over some old Posts and realized I haven't been putting up my thoughts and should do more even if I didn't feel like it. I didn't have much to say.

Wow, this week my thoughts are in free fall.

I really want to finish my still life paintings so I can go outside and paint some scapes!

Artist - Part 22 - Something Good

2007-04-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

Something good is happening in my art world, i don't know if it's because I've laid off for so long, or... I'm continuing from where i left off on my last paining a month ago. I seem to be on the right track.

I've included a picture of my start... a wash in the background and the two objects that seem to be turning out as i see them in my mind's eye.

I've done a ruff block in of the objects for placement on the canvas. I have always drawn with a brush and oil which is faster and easier than charcoal on canvas.

Next time I paint i'll plug in my easel light. It's been blown for six months... last week i finally found the right size bulb.

Learning the Piano – Part 14 – I Begin Again

2007-04-19T10:49:00.000-04:00

I stopped playing for four months; it was just too weird at home. It only make sense that since my painting wasn’t getting done, my piano massacre would progress even less.

Over the last few weeks I started up again, but I decided to change the fingering of my chords so that three note chords would transition easier to four note chords. I’ve retreated to one song… “Both Sides Now” but I’m going to add others soon, now that my fingering is better. ;)

Artist - Part 21.1 - Repressed Artists... yeah, more thoughts My brief manifesto

2007-04-19T10:03:00.000-04:00

Now, to give equally time to how positive I feel about art and life… here is my brief manifesto.

The most important things in life are learning and passion.

Simple… no?

When I draw and paint it is a constant play of drama between learning new techniques and the passion of being in the zone laying down media.

Artist - Part 21 - Repressed Artists

2007-04-18T16:55:00.000-04:00

I find most “creative people” repressed. Although they brag about how free they are, most are fraidy cats that are scared to put themselves on the line and truly learn new things and techniques. Most are just afraid to go for anything that puts them out of their comfort zone for fear of being labeled frauds or rejected.

The only time I get scared is when something stops me from creating art. I am uninhibited as long as it keeps the paint flowing.

Go for it in life. Take your chances. Knowledge is good. No inhibition.

Chocolate Causes Acne!

2007-04-18T15:31:00.000-04:00

I scoured the net for information last year on this topic but could only find fluff pieces and articles on how chocolate doesn’t cause acne... all without any kind of heavy duty evidence. I was suspicious because I noticed that my acne was staying with me throughout my adult life.

Chocolate, along with coffee and red wine have triggered migraines all my life. So last fall I decided to test my theory after I broke out after a chocolate binge. I cut out the brown demon and 2 weeks later I was almost acne free. I then decided to try some chocolate, bam… breakout.

I guess that old wife’s tale is based on some kind of reality. It makes sense.

I told my mother this story and she reminded me the chocolate used to make me breakout in hives when I was a boy. Gee, I totally forgot about that.

Since then I have read articles that it’s milk... etc. that causes acne, but the fact remains… chocolate is the only thing that makes me breakout.

Artist - Part 20 - The End is Near….

2007-04-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

Well the beginning of the end is near… I hope.

I see something in my mind’s eye that I’ve never noticed before… something that should add some needed oomph to my painting.

… that’s the easy part, seeing something new for the first time, that I could have overlooked all my life.

… the hard part is being able to physically put the oil paint on the canvas the way I see it in my mind’s eye.

Some of the artist’s I like make every inch of the canvas interesting…well, I don’t. I want to.

To put it another way, whenever I did photography or video I could make an image interesting. I watch any film by Robert Zemeckis and I am amazed by his attention to detail and how EVERY SHOT IS IMPORTANT, detailed and the utmost care is taken to get it right. This first hit home to me when I read Zemeckis was on the set of Speilberg’s ET and suggested the that ET should be in the closet with the stuffed animals and overlooked by the mother as the camera pans across the stuffed toys. Brilliant, every shot and scene should be brilliant… like a painting.

I’ve done a basic line drawing and last night did a wash for some of the background, it’s taken me a week to get the nerve to start. I hope to get a block of time Wednesday evening to do some real damage on the canvas.

Father Ted, the funniest show ever on tv...

2007-04-13T13:49:00.000-04:00

I ended up buying the three seasons of "Fahter Ted" a couple of years ago. The show follows the exploits of three Roman Catholic priests who preside over a parish on Craggy Island off the Irish coast. Father Ted Crilly (on the island for embezzlement), Father Dougal McGuire(on the island for being an idiot) and the retired Father Jack Hackett (on the island for being an old perverted drunkard who screams "drink, feck, women") live together in Craggy Island's parochial house, along with their housekeeper Mrs Doyle.

Favourite quote:

Ted: 'Dougal if you had one wish what would it be?'
Dougal: 'Ah no Ted I'm fine'
Ted: 'You wouldn't say want to have a big car?'
Dougal: 'Oh my God yes that would be great?'
Ted: 'And if you had a second wish?'
Dougal: 'Ah no I'd be fine with a big car thanks.'
Ted: 'You wouldn't say want to be a rockstar like Elvis?'
Dougal: 'Wow that would be great if I was a big rockstar like Elvis and I had a big car.'
Ted: 'And if you had a third wish?'
Dougal: 'Ah no I'd be fine with a big car and if I were a big rockstar like Elvis thanks.'
Ted: 'Dougal, you wouldn't say..want this cup?'
Dougal: 'Wow, oh my god if I had a big car, and was Elvis and had that cup it'd be great.'
Ted: 'You've never had much of an imagination have you Dougal..'

Artist - Part 19 - Painting Stuff

2007-04-10T14:11:00.000-04:00

I started a new painting last week; my previous two attempts were not to my liking. I am going to use more walnut oil to keep the oil wet.

In my last painting I painted a still life with three sets of shoes. I achieved what I wanted technically in the last two hours of the painting. That leaves the majority of the painting in just OKsville. I know working wet into wet is the only way to achieve my goal.

My next strategy is to work section by section as to keep the paint wet as i move along the canvas.

Do I have Parkinson’s? no, it seems Aspartame is causing my Shaking!

2007-04-10T11:48:00.000-04:00

A month before Christmas I started getting tremors and muscle spasms, they were like nothing that I had ever felt in my life and occurred when my muscles were at rest. It all started with a muscle, deep in my back twitching uncontrollably for about 5 minutes. Weeks latter my left arm vibrated for a 5 days. I thought I had Parkinson’s.

I went to see my doctor before Christmas; he couldn’t find anything wrong in my blood work or neurologically. I took his valued opinion to heart and decided it had to be something I was doing or wasn’t doing to myself that was causing these unnerving symptoms.

The first thing I gave up caffeine, then ibuprofen and that seemed to help for awhile but over the last month it started coming back with a vengeance. Hmmmm.

Last week someone suggested I stop drinking diet coke with aspartame. I hear something “is bad for you”, a few times a day so I took the suggestion with a grain of salt. But I didn’t reject it totally… I started doing some research….

WOW… aspartame is very bad… skull and bones bad. It’s been a week and my tremors and spasms are all but gone and the majority of symptoms disappeared after the first day. I’ll give it time, maybe a month or two to draw complete conclusions. But so far this seems to be working.

Lawnboy / Lawnbastard

2007-03-26T15:53:00.000-04:00

Last summer as I was getting ready to go on vacation, I remembered that my lawn needed to be cut. So that Saturday morning with the car packed and my dog eager to get on the road, I took out the “Lawn Bastard”.

This fine piece of machinery was at least 20 years old and I got it from my father. My father rarely bought new, he was trained as a mechanic.

The grass was getting long, even by my standard. I took out the old lawn mower, pulled the cord… and nothing. I pulled and pulled… for half an hour…arrrrg! I had to give up, got the dog in the car and away I went to Golden Lake.

While away relaxing at camp, I had decided to get a new cheap lawn mower. Fast forward a week and there I was at home depot looking at the summer leftovers. The last piece of yard equipment I bought was a snowblower by Mauray… it blew. I’ve had a lot of problems with it and realized in hindsight I should of paid a bit of more money and got a better blower.

So I took the leap and bought a Deluxe Lawnboy. I’m not the type of person to buy deluxe all the time but with this mower, it was worth it. This blurb came about this weekend when I was taking out the lawn mower, I had to get a snapshot as a record of ten years of mowage.

"the last art class you'll ever need to take"

2007-03-24T02:46:00.000-04:00

... ok not really, just over-hyping my next class in April

The Art Gallery of Sudbury
251 John Street, Sudbury

ADULT SPRING MINI-SESSION
Drawing with Fabian Hynes

Tuesday April 17 to May 22 (6 weeks), 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
$75.00 plus gst.
Learn to translate what you see into drawings. A materials list will be provided upon registration.

http://www.artsudbury.org

Artist - Part 18 - Wow, I’ve finished another painting.

2007-03-22T15:48:00.000-04:00

It took me only 2 hours to finally complete it last night. I might do some retouching tonight, the brick background seems kind of orange to me. I was learning Autocad while doing this painting and near the end, the act of painting became easier than the Autocad program! It’s a feeing I hope will only get better.

I finished priming two canvases on the weekend and put a first coat on another two, it’s quite the process. I have to start painting outside soon and get more work done.

I might just gesso some canvases for when I want to practice, I don’t know where my stretchers all go, I might have to get some more soon.

Also, on a geeky note, my router died today so I’m going to have to replace that tonight.

The pic is of an old mouse pad that must be over 10 years old, I haven’t needed it since I got an LED mouse years ago. The pad is now in the trash.

My computers

2007-03-05T13:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the computers I've owned, my computing needs change from year to year. When I started out it was a need for graphic programs, but since '95 my graphics are done at my business. Primarily I use my computer to serf, email, burn, and learn Autocad. I’ve used AMD since the mid ‘90s because of their great price performance ratio. I’m not partial to any particular computer, Mac, Intel, AMD… I just don’t like to overpay for technology that becomes obsolete a year after you buy it.
1990
Amiga 500
3" .740mb micro floppy drive
1 mb of ram
27" sony tv used as monitor
1991
ALR 386DX 33 mhz with external cache
40 mb hd / 80 added later
5 mb of ram
14' seiko monitor -trinitron tube
1994
beige box 486DX 100 amd
500 mb hd
8 mb of ram
15" fst monitor
1996 - upgrade
beige box pentium 150
500 mb hd / 2 gig
8 mb of ram
15" fst monitor
1998
beige box amd 400 k6
13 gig 7200 rpm hd
16 mb of ram
2001?
aopen case - amd socket A 1000
20 gig 7200 rpm hd
64 mb of ram
2002
amd socket A 2400
128 mb of ram
2004
Antec case - amd socket 754 3000 (free motherboard!)
160 gig 7200 rpm hd
512 mb of ram
19" Viewsonic
2006 - upgrade
80 gig 7200 rpm hd sata (free harddrive)
1 gig of ram

Not painting, Sick again, and now addicted to HDTV

2007-01-30T09:29:00.000-05:00

I figure I’ll start painting this week (if I don’t get sick a fifth time). The only thing I didn’t get was Norwalk.

Over the holidays we got a new lcd tv to replace the old 27” Sony that I got back in college in 1989. Wow, it seems like yesterday I had the Sony delivered to the apartment in the west end of Toronto. Back then I was dazzled by the quality of the VHS movies we’d rent.

Standard TV looks crappy at 37”… so I ordered the high definition channels three weeks ago and I’m hooked. House, 24 and even American Idol, it’s like looking through a window. The last time I was this thrilled with technology was when CDs came out. No more cracking or popping!

Buy yourself an up-converting DVD player It’s worth it when you have hdtv.

24 is Back on the Air

2007-01-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

24 is back and the first four shows were awsome! I came across this article by Stephen King about 24 and it's success.
article

“I hope we have a white Christmas”…. I dislike this statement!

2007-01-04T12:38:00.000-05:00

We’ve had no snow here, for the first time I could remember. And even today on Jan 4^th, no snow. No shoveling, no skidoos going down the sidewalks and no snow banks.

Snow is a hardship for the average person and it only seems to get worse as you get older (sliding on ice etc) . I wouldn’t mind the few inches they get in Toronto, but the couple of feet that sticks around for months here is just silly.

Sick of Being Sick...

2006-12-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

I have been sick for about 3 weeks now, the first two weeks it was strep throat… then I had two whole days of feeling great. The day I finished my antibiotics, pow! My sinuses were the size of the Niagara Falls. I am finally getting over my cold. Nothing stops me dead in my tracks like strep throat. When I was a kid I had strep so often I didn’t know what a normal sore throat felt like.

I have started painting again and have decided to move to walnut oil as a medium. My natural black is too transparent so I have been adding Payne’s grey.

Artist - Part 17 - The Big Lie... Painting from Photographs

2006-11-29T12:32:00.000-05:00

This is a blurb I’ve tried to write many times but often give up and delete it near the end.

I started drawing by coping photos when I was in high school, that lead to drawing from life soon after. I still do the odd commission from a photo now and then. But nothing beats the thrill of drawing from life.
(Self Portrait of Albrecht Durer, the great draughtsman)

I always tell people that the thing I learnt at Art School was how to draw from life. There were some amazing draughtsman, teachers and students. Mostly better then me!

This is where the problem comes in… some artists say “they use photos as a tool”?!?!?!!? hmmm…, but they never learn how to draw from life. Isn’t drawing skill the most important skill an artist can have? I see a lot of photorealist artist coping from photos, but it’s used as a “crutch”, rather than a tool.

Where does it stop? Using a grid to double the size of a simple photo? Using an opaque projector to trace the image?

I’ve also worked as a graphic designer for many years and used photoshop as a primary tool and the question ping pongs in my head….why don’t these artists take their photos, edit them in a computer, and blow them up on a glacee printer?

Just don’t tell me photography is a tool, when it’s being used to cover up the fact your drawing skills aren’t up to snuff.

The most important thing is the direct connection the artist has with the live subject, there is no machine between him and his canvas, no lens distortion, no computer colour limitations, and this is where the artist makes his mark on his/her work.

Fall Drawing Class Is Over!

2006-11-22T17:01:00.000-05:00

Well, one of the best drawing classes I’ve had is over, thank you Jan, Dinah, Linda, Cathy, Elaine, Léa, and James for an excellent class. Also thank you for the awesome food and t-shirt. I am including a snapshot, it’s cool to see something you’ve been preaching for eight weeks on a shirt.

I am currently getting over a cold so hopefully I can get some painting done soon.

Artist - Part 16 - Some of my paintings are in the window at 168-170 Elgin Street beside Sudbury Paint and Custom Framing...

2006-11-21T16:46:00.000-05:00

Some of my paintings are in the window at 168-170 Elgin Street beside/at Sudbury Paint and Custom Framing. Jane has done a wonderful job displaying and framing (some are unframed). I was blown away at how good they looked when I first saw them framed last week. They look so polished and finished… reminds me of a question people ask… “how do you know a painting or drawing is finished?” Well I think I have a new answer, “when it’s framed and hanging on a wall away from my studio”.

It really helps when you have a good framer.

Artist - Part 15 - Weak fingers, I’m cured, I’m cured!

2006-11-17T15:32:00.000-05:00

I have weak fingers…. Well, I didn’t always have these sad digits. When I was in my late teens I could stretch canvas by pulling the material tight and taut with just using plain old finger grease. But over the last few years I’ve noticed that my canvases aren’t as tight. I used to believe I’d never resort to using canvas stretchers but there I was at a local art store buying a pair. I’ve been struggling with this decision for the last year but after moving towards the two step process of a traditional oil primer, it’s become a necessity.

My first task was to re-stretch some canvases that were obviously loose. Wow, what a difference, I don’t remember the pliers working that well! Last night when I was painting I couldn’t get over how taut the canvas was and there was still enough bounce when my brush hit my canvas.

Office Spaced Out

2006-11-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

I’ve decided to throw out some junk in my office space and found I had a desk. When ever I come across something as interesting as cleaning, the urge to run myself through with a dull butter knife becomes likelier. I have quite the extensive list of things to clean and things to do this week…. It’s not going to be a good week ahead; I’ll have to let some things slide so I can get a new painting done.

I have included some pictures of my office area, there’s a lot of fake wood and only one drawing. But since I do most of my creative work in the virtual world, it doesn’t matter. Well if you’ve read some of my prior posts with pictures of my studio, you’ll see much artsyness oozing out.

Artist - Part 14 - Wall of Shame

2006-11-08T14:58:00.000-05:00

This is a photo of my studio just before I took my current paintings off the wall (some to be framed and others are just out the door). Now that these paintings are gone my studio walls seem bare. I have nothing really to use as a reference but old studies and web images. The eight paintings in the photo are the successful ones, two didn’t make it and one got painted over. But all is not lost!... I just finished another painting on the weekend and I am about to start another one. I am trying to get four paintings done a month. So by the holidays I hope to have my studio walls filled again. Actually, now that I think about it, the colour mixing charts plus the paintings represent a years worth of painting work! Next on my list is to get rid of more non-oil painting equipment/supplies and books to make room for more still life objects.

Artist - Part 13 - The Natural Way to Draw – review by Salvador Dali

2006-11-07T15:36:00.000-05:00

I’m not really Dali, I find this book a hard read, almost as bad as “The Artist’s Way” I have to post this picture of me and the book because Dali, gesture drawing and this book are all ridiculous.

Well, I am being hard on Dali, the man was a great draughtsman, meaning he could draw well. Although his paintings I find fun, most people find them nightmarish. He is still a silly sod from the 20^th century.

So to recap, gesture drawings, blind contour etc… made orthodox by this book, “The Natural Way to Draw” and Salvador Dali (the man) are all silly

Artist - Part 12 - Gesture Drawings – Modern Revisionist Crapola

2006-10-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

I’ve always hated doing gestures since high school. Even in college at OCAD they forced us to do these pointless exercises that have become orthodox throughout schools around the world. Why… because of one man and his book…. The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study by Kimon Nicolaides.

The Natural Way to Draw is one man’s vision on how we all should draw realism in some loose schizoid manner. It’s been selling since 1940, published after his death with questionable drawings from his students. I have yet to see anyone’s drawings improve by doing gestures, blind contour etc... . The most beautiful realism i've seen produced has been done by artists spending time measuring and blocking in.

Why does the old masters technique of “blocking in” work so well? It’s a process learned in the “psycho-motor domain”. The book also tries to make an argument that the old masters did gestures… sorry but not really. The master could draw fast but that was only after they could draw perfectly. Most of these thoughts and facts are not all my own and can be found on the interweb.

Artists that can see past this type of negative modern influence on drawing will be the better for it.

Crayon in the Brain

2006-10-06T15:12:00.000-04:00

I haven’t been posting too much lately because I am in the process of learning something new related to art. It’s taking a lot of concentration and time to achieve this but it must be done.

The shitty part of this is I haven’t painted in two or three weeks… it’s killing me. So, this weekend I will make it a point to start a new still life.

Learning the Piano – Part 13 – New Chords and Song

2006-09-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

I am learning some new chords for “Longfellow Serenade” and I am starting on the melody for “You Don’t bring me Flowers”. Why the sappy ballad? Well I started playing it and wow… it is excellent to play! It’s funny how some songs that don’t appeal to you when you are listening to them, are a joy to play. I think that this is one of the driving forces guiding me to play music.. the sheer boredom of listening to the over-produced crap that’s out there.

Neil Diamond was born and raised in Brooklyn, attending Erasmus Hall High School where he took part in "SING!" and sang in the school choir with Barbra Streisand.

Barbara Sher - Wishcraft - Free

2006-09-13T16:22:00.000-04:00

I'm though half of this book, reading it in my spare time... wow! It's awesome so far, and good news, it's on-line for free in PDF form at http://www.wishcraft.com/. I'm not disappointed I found it online for free after shelling out $20 either. It's a book I plan to read over and over.

Too Funny... I received my books at 9:45 this morning...

2006-09-08T15:29:00.000-04:00

Too Funny... I received my books at 9:45 this morning sept 08 ... This is from 3:30 today.

Track your package

Destination: SUDBURY, ON, CA
Estimated Arrival: Oct 19, 2006

Date	Time	Location	Event Details
Sep 08, 2006	01:01:00 PM	SUDBURY ON CA	Out for delivery
Sep 03, 2006	11:10:00 PM	MISSISSAUGA ON CA	---

Barbara Sher – The Anti Self Help Guru

2006-09-07T21:48:00.000-04:00

On the way back from the cottage last week I was listening to two hours of Barbara Sher. I had dubbed it down from a video that i had taped off a PBS pledge drive about six years ago. She is the ultimate anti self help guru. She gives you practical help to get your life on track. I listened and was surprised how much stuff I had applied to my art career since getting it. I think I have listened to it well over 10 times.

So after getting hyped up on the way home I decided to order a couple of her books, “Live the Life You Love: in Ten Easy Step-By Step Lessons” and “Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want”. (I also ordered How To Play Popular Piano In 10 Easy Lessons by Norman Monath ). I've ordered from amazon.com for years and finally ordered from amazon.ca, now that they are getting their prices lower. The picture shows they are still not perfect...in Mississauga at the Postal station since last Sunday and expected here in Sudbury in 42 days.

Drawing from Still Life - Class at the AGS!Shameless Self Promotion

2006-09-06T16:48:00.000-04:00

Drawing from Still Life

$125.00 plus gst
Fall - Tuesday October 3 to November 22
Winter - January 17 to March 7, 2007
at the Art Gallery of Sudbury, John Street
6:30 to 8:30 pm

Material list available upon registration

Join local artist Fabian Hynes and discover techniques used to build on basic drawing skills. This course explores various media, techniques, and compositional elements with special emphasis on portrait and life drawing. All levels welcome

http://www.artsudbury.org

Songs on my ipod - Kill me now!

2006-09-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

It's a slow day here in hellsville, so i decided to list my ipod playlist, it's a 4 gig so it dosen't contain any of my many CDs... that's another 15 gigs...

They are mostly singles and pop tunes.

Learning the Piano – Part 12 – Longfellow Serenade - Hitting the Sharps

2006-09-01T16:26:00.000-04:00

I finally started playing the melody of Longfellow Serenade on my home piano. It’s sounding pretty good and I am finding that I am playing better and faster. Practice is really the key when doing this music stuff. Getting use to the fingering of more sharps is easier than I thought but I don’t feel like I own the keys yet, guess I still need to practice.

Another song I'll add to my play list “In My Life” by the Beatles. I've always liked the song but love the Chantel Kravitz version.

Artist - Part 11 - Learning to Draw

2006-08-28T23:12:00.000-04:00

Leaning to draw is simple and can be taught to anyone within a couple of hours. The problem is that after the basic instruction, bad habits creep in.

students try to make their drawings look like something. Insecurity and fear that they aren’t producing anything tangible (a pretty picture) makes them abandoned the basics (shapes, lines, blocking in, etc).
they start using curves
they don't practice and repeat the basic blocking in skills learned in past the classes

I see students abandon solid, classic techniques before they are mastered.

On a personal level, when I was learning to draw, I did not question the instrutors and went through the motions of repeading them mindlessly. Drawing is the technical foundation, self expression should be done through your medium.

The Easier Way to Learn

2006-08-28T23:10:00.000-04:00

When I was young I’ve realized that sometimes it easier to learn new things if you have newer technology to help you. I took swimming lessons through school but that when nowhere. One summer around that time, grade five or six… I found a pair of broken flippers at the local lake. They were missing the straps and my mother fabricated some new ones with elastics. I put them on and all of a sudden I could backstroke across the lake. I flippered all summer long. Near the end of that summer I went swimming without the flippers and to my amazement, I could swim! Not as far, not as long, but I could swim.

With music I realized I needed to learn as much as I could on my own. Eventually I plan to get a teacher, when I run out of things to learn about on my own. As of yet that hasn’t happened and it keeps getting pushed back as I master new musical ideas and skills.

"I know one thing, that I know nothing", (Socrates, paraphrased from Plato's Apology)

Musical instruments are like that too, I used to believe electrical guitars and digital pianos were “taking the easy way out” but if you don’t start playing... even on a cheap electric keyboard you’ll never learn to play any keyboard/piano.

I tell art students all the time in my classes… always learn or find a style or skill level and learn how to achieve it. After you achieve that find new goals and skill levels.

Artist - Part 10 - I’ve Decided on a New / Old Direction for the Painting

2006-08-28T23:07:00.000-04:00

After thinking about it I’ve decided to go back to a more simplified setup for my lighting and composition. I created a painting about eight months ago that until it was finished, I had no idea that it was successful. It combined some of the best elements of my successful paintings but it had a lot of drama. I haven’t posted many pictures of my paintings over the last year so visually, you'll have to take my word for it.

When you create drama in a painting you’ve really just created a successful design. As a working graphic designer I hate the term “design”, it always conjures visions of the disposable art that is design and advertising.

So from now on I don’t design a composition… I create drama!

Learning the Piano – Part 11 – Longfellow Serenade – Key of E Major – and almost being a Deaf Infant

2006-08-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve decided to tackle Neil Diamond’s Longfellow Serenade on vacation. My friend Tony lent me an old Yamaha 61 key keyboard, it’s got some pretty good sound but lacks the feel of my M-audio digital piano at home. It has 3/4 size keys but it is not as small as my Casio 4 note polyphony at home. I started banging through the melody and found the Yamaha adequate. The key of E Major has four sharps which is a big pain to learn. I play “Red Red Wine” which has only one sharp... (G Major) and it taught me a lot about how something is “suppose to sound”. I’d play the low F# in the melody as an F and it never sounded right, I got good at playing the wrong note too. Then it clicked, (I realized the note was F#) I don’t know why either…. the sound just wasn’t right.

As a small child I had chronic ear infections, so bad in fact it caused a speech problem that took years of therapy to correct it. R’s, S’s were my worse. I believe that because of this ear problem I’ve received the ability to tell what doesn't sound correct. It’s very finely tuned too. The flip side is I can’t tell how to fix what I am hearing or I’m not quite sure whats going wrong with the sound.

Now that I started playing music I find that the skill of finding problems with sound is helping me play better. It might take my a while to fix it, but I find fault aurally and intuitively which is pretty cool.

Cleaning of my Basement

2006-08-28T22:56:00.000-04:00

I had the messiest basement in the world and something had to be done about it. I ended up throwing away 6 bags of garbage and actually managed to get things organized.

I set up an old wooden rack from the main floor then piled all my extra wood in the newer part of the basement. To my delight a workbench started to appear! Workspace! Hmmm.

There could be a studio setup down there, 20 x 16 feet… and it would be a nice size!

The before and after photos don’t look too different, mostly because every tool and object is a different colour and will always look like clutter.

The hard part of cleaning the basement is coming across tools that my dad lent me and I never got around to returning.

Artist – Part 9 – My Tools / Old Socks

2006-08-28T22:51:00.000-04:00

Since my college days my tool of choice for taking away oil paint from my canvas has been old socks. Some people don’t really care about what type of rag they use but after trying many different materials I found that cotton socks are the most absorbent. While cutting up some old socks the other day I came across and old favorite pair… worn in the heals and toes… they must have been in my rag bag for at least 6 years.

It’s funny also how different parts of the sock can be used for different aspects of paint work, the elastic for cleaning brushes and the rest for the surgical work of defining the lighter part of the underpainting. In school I’d keep the sock whole but now I cut them into pieces 4”x4”.

The socks that brought up these thoughts were a pair of light brown ones. I thought back to when they were freshly washed and turned up new in my sock rotation, they were chosen first above all other pairs even when newer socks appeared and these became ratty. Then the fateful day when a hole appeared and they were put in a bag for painting rags.

We Are Going on a Summer Holiday

2006-08-28T22:45:00.000-04:00

It’s 10:30pm on Sunday August 20^th, and this is my second evening at the cottage we rent every summer for a week, we rent Saturday until Saturday in the Bonnechere near Ottawa valley. This is the only time during the year I get to truly relax. I’ve brought an old laptop, Yamaha keyboard w/61 keys and many music and art books. The cottage is on Golden Lake… we’ve been coming up here for the past seven years. It’s a good location because you’re 90 minutes away from Ottawa and there’s a lot to do in the local area.

Tomorrow I plan to read, get some sun etc. . I am watching Spielberg's War of the Worlds thanks to the mini dvd player, I know it isn’t campish but neither is updating my blog. I listened to my ipod on the way and made it here in 4 hours. On the way back next week I’ll listen to Barbara Shear.

I don’t plan on painting on this this trip but maybe will try to get my drawing in shape for my next painting.

Learning Music & Learning Art & Learning Computer Programming & Learning Math

2006-08-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

I’ve read numerous articles on “how formally taught musicians make great programmers”, this is always explained by the pseudo science reasoning that music is very “mathematical”.

Why is it then mathematicians and math students don’t necessarily make good programmers? You can forget about artists all together!

About seven years ago I was forced to learn some database programming. I hand coded all the queries from the book and read the chapters repeatedly. I wouldn’t skip ahead unless I fully understood the theory, practical and could fully repeat the code from memory. You know what happened then? It changed the way I learned about art. I started applying the same logical procedure to the holes I had in my art education, no more getting by with tricks, faking it or shortcuts.

This is called learning in the Psychomotor Domain. Imitation, practice, and habit.

That’s how visual art was taught before the modern movement, impressionism, and photography… very regimented, logical, methodical…. not the more modern paint how you feel school of art.

Now if you are a musician with formal training this is how you were more than likely taught. So the transition to the logical steps of programming and programs are natural. Hence, it isn’t the fact you’re a musician that could make you a future programmer, it’s your ability to learn in a certain logical method.

My next rant will be about the Art and the Psychomotor Domain of learning.

Artist - Part 8 – Critiquing my own Work… “I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!” ... Mugatu

2006-08-08T15:28:00.000-04:00

This weekend I was planning to do some painting but Saturday I was running around doing stuff I’d been putting off for a month and Sunday I was ailing. Monday was a holiday, so I slept in until ten. It turned out to be a good thing because I then had enough sleep to think clearly and get something done. I headed out for some coffee at 11:00 and noticed that a florist was open! I decided to buy two roses and paint them.

I painted from about 1 to 8pm and finished the piece in one sitting… hmmm, how did that happen? By the time I was finished, I left with that old nagging artist feeling…what was I looking at?

What was I looking at? Sometimes you look at art you’ve done and you know it’s a good piece. Sometimes you think it’s great but it turns out to be crap. This painting fell into the “I can’t tell if it’s good or bad” group. This is the purgatory of self criticism. Self criticism is what I count on to improve and learn. If that is gone goofy... I’m screwed. I once did a self portrait back in my college days… I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad, I gave it away to an old teacher. When I saw it hanging a year latter, I was shocked at what a strong picture it was.

How to deal with the self criticism purgatory…
I usually have to avoid looking at the painting for a while… cover it, turn it around. I have become too close to the work to see it on a professional level. I think sometimes a painting becomes “parts” and disconnected from the painter.

Playing the Piano - Part 10 - Everyone's a Critic

2006-08-03T17:04:00.000-04:00

My worse critic is our dog bubbles. When I first started playing he’d start shaking and sat beside the front door, looking like any minute he was going to soil himself. This week, after playing since May… a breakthrough! He fell asleep while I was practicing. He’s an old guy now (10), and we rescued him from the spca when he was just a pup. He’s never snapped and is always happy (he's smiling in the photo).

I can play three or four songs and I am currently going through a piano instruction book “Learn to Play the Piano in 10 Easy Lessons” (sure you can). I guess the book wouldn’t sell if it was titled “You Might Learn to Play Piano with these 10 Complex Lessons and a lot of Practice Every Day for a Year!” I looked over some of my posts and realized how far I’ve come in the last month. I also realized my sheet music height needs to be lower… so I’m going to figure out some sort of attachment for my piano stand.

Fabian’s Play list (order of skill)

Both Sides Now
Red Red Wine
Jingle Bells
Auld Lange Sine
Night they Drove Old Dixie Down
Tiny Dancer (the intro)

Artist - Part 7 - "I'm painting, I'm painting again" ~ David Byrne

2006-08-03T16:01:00.000-04:00

Well, I did finish my last painting two weeks ago… It seems to look best in daylight, it seems most of my paintings look best in natural light since working in Flemish colouring. I took photos of my last seven paintings with my sony camera, I need a digital SLR camera to achieve what I want, along with some fancy lighting. The sony camera is 90% effective so it’s hard to justify the cost of upgrading.

The unfinished photo is fuzzy because it was taken in my dark studio on a whim. I can tell it is a transitional piece because there aren’t any visual cues that cause me to ask “how in the hell did I do tha?!” It shows a confident approach but still lacks the confidence of future pieces I know I can produce. I consider it a very successful piece and believe it can stand the true test of time. (I won’t cringe when I see it in years to come)

This concludes my base body of work… 7 paintings done in the past year, 3 -7 other paintings done before this and between 5 - 10 drawings.

Over the next year I will continue to oil paint more directly, draw (as much as I can), and start developing some new water colour moves I’ve been learning.

Artist - Part 6 - Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

2006-07-28T15:57:00.000-04:00

This is a book I’ve read four or five times, the last time was a year ago while keeping my mother company during her chemo. The book is written by writers for all artists. It really helped me create more work and understand why I do art.

The word “Creativity” is on the black list for these two writers which is something as an artist I agreed with before reading this book. Try to define the word “creativity”, it’s too general, a simple word put out there for non-artistic types.

I received “Art and Fear” just after I started teaching some classes at the art gallery. One of the themes in the book is; an artist should either be teaching or learning to be producing work. This was a real nugget! I started looking back to when I was recently teaching and back when I was student in art college… I was producing work! Teaching was motivating to produce but when I was learning…. I was producing like a mad man. So now I don’t paint unless I am learning, right now it’s practical colour application and composition. Some people seem to think you can learn by osmosis but it’s a lot easier to pickup a book or find a teacher (why reinvent the wheel).

I don’t want to ruin the enjoyment and knowledge you’ll get from this amazing book so in the words of Brad Hamilton to Jeff Spicoli - Learn it. Know it. Live it.

Artist - Part 5 - My Studio

2006-07-20T13:39:00.000-04:00

When I was in college I remember seeing one of my prolific instructor’s studio… it was small, very small and that really surprised me. At the time he was exhibiting in a very prestigious New York gallery. I would of thought he would have been grandiose but I realized back then something important, it isn’t the studio, your eccentricities, or the big sales that make you a visual artist, it’s the pieces you create and the learning process that help you create that are paramount.

Now, my studio is only 5x11 and that also contains easels, tv and computer setup. It would be nice to have a bigger studio but to what end? Store more props and raw material? My materials and learning are more important than the space in my life.

Artist - Part 4 - Life is for Learning

2006-07-19T11:42:00.000-04:00

I started painting in my background in a dominant grey (cobalt blue/trans oxide red). This made my painting look monochromatic and hopelessly lifeless. I’ve decided to paint the bottles; this should brighten things up and help me decide on how to continue with the background. In my experience a piece doesn’t come together till the final 5%.

I recently went back and looked at some paintings in books to see how they simplified glass. Something exciting happened! It was obvious and I have overlooked it many times. To phrase it politely… curves are treated with respect…. Translation… curves are to be omitted! Painters that I study replace curves with other elements eg: soften edges, blocked in lines that aren’t refined to curves. This becomes even more obvious in the non-focal point areas.

This lesson I’ve learned is also important because it is how I already draw and paint my underpaintings. My painting should have followed suit but I guess all those pieces that I painted using fat on lean were counter to this.

I am very excited to continue this painting, it should be very interesting.

Playing the Piano - 9 - Neil Diamond's - Red Red Wine

2006-07-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

I’ve started playing Red Red Wine after I picked up a Neil Diamond’s sheet music pocket book. The song is in the key of C so it becomes the second song in my repertory. The song has helped my arpeggio playing because it transitions from chord to notation. I like Neil Diamond because when I was at college in Toronto CHUM AM was one of the few stations to play oldies from the ‘50s to through the ‘70s and the music was a friendly sound coming from my clock radio when working on my school projects. My favorite Neil Diamond song is Long Fellow Serenade and I’ll have to learn that one after I’ve gained more skill. (old picture of Diamond at the paino writing music)

Artist - Part 3 - Starting Up the Painting Machine Again

2006-07-11T15:06:00.000-04:00

I have finally started my latest painting. After the past few months I feared that it would be harder than it was. I setup a new glass palette and started looking for a stretched canvas. In my minds eye I have just stretched three canvases so there is never any need to prepare more. So, there I was Sunday afternoon without anything to paint on. I was egger to go back to a more traditional ground (PVA), but that takes about a week to dry. I found an underpainting from March that was abandoned because of the boring composition. I figured if I re-primed the canvas I’d loose a day of painting, so I decided to paint directly over the failed attempt. The underpainting looks chaotic but I am more concerned with drawing and proportion. (the first picture is of my underpainting, the second is a poor photo of my still life setup)

I also had to run to the market to get 4 limes to last a week. Hopefully the fruit keeps it shape and colour while painting it.

So far I’ve just blocked in the bottles and lime roughly. I draw with a 1” filbert horse hair, some oil paint (burnt umber) and mineral spirits. I use old rags to tone the canvas and I also use the rags to draw (negatively) with. My underpaintings don’t have a huge tonal range like they once did when I would layer glazed colours on top. I paint more directly on my underpainting so my paint is thicker and I control the tones at the same time I add colour.

I hate wood working and renovating! But that’s another story (or post)

2006-07-05T11:19:00.000-04:00

I hate wood working and renovating! When I was twelve I started watching "This Old House". Actually I watched it from its first season in 1979… After that I really wanted to buy and renovate my own house.

In ’92 I did. Drywalled, new walls… etc…. In 2002 I started helping my father- in-law with his insulating business on the weekends. I did that for three years. My father in law is a great guy and was a master of what he did. Master? That’s a term that's thrown around a lot. He’s been in the construction industry since the ‘40s and his crowning achievement was insulating the first R-2000 house in Ontario. (The house is in Walden/Lively).

I took a lot of shop classes in high school including house wiring, wood, auto, sheet metal, drafting, and machining. At The Ontario College of Art Design I took Wood Media (fancy wood shop), and Jewellery from some of Canada's top instructors.

So, why do I hate doing this kind of work? Painting and Drawing.

Painting especially is a journey. The more I paint the more possibilities I see. After you redo a wood floor or build a piano stand the moment is gone. I can guess what the next piece will bring. The depth of knowledge seems limited compared to painting.

Talking about my piano stand… Piano and music themselves share many qualities as painting. The depth of knowledge and skill needed is awe-inspiring.

So when I look back on the things I’ve built, things that were fixed-up, I think to myself… I could have been painting.

Playing the Piano - 8 - Hey... More Chords!

2006-07-04T15:42:00.000-04:00

I tried the new stand… and my playing improved! Must be the position of my hands since the piano is a lot lower now than before on the temporary stand I had.

My chords are still coming along well; some of “Both Sides Now” is actually starting to sound like something! I can play the melody part perfectly but when I add the bass part… not so good. The first few times I tried both hands the sounds where like something from Debussy. I guess now I’m getting close to getting my playing together. I can see that practicing is improving my playing.

After I get good enough playing this song, I’ll figure out what I’ll do next. I could try more songs, try more songs in the key of C or practice scales in the circle of 5ths. I’ll read some more music theory, that seems to help a lot.

Playing the Piano - 7 - The Piano Stand from Hell - Part 2

2006-07-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

Well, during the long weekend I decided to get the piano stand construction over and completed so I could concentrate on my painting. The piano was suppose to relax me when not painting but has been taken up valuable painting time.

I gave the upper part of the stand an antique black finish… WHICH DOSEN’T WORK WELL WITH MDF! So I had to retouch parts with some oil paint (yellow ochre light). The antiquing glaze will have to go on later. Some of the old screws that attached the legs were rusted or stripped, so I had to use new ones and some of those broke under the stress of the dry hardwood.

My brother told me about MDF screws… information that would have come in handy when I was assembling the upper MDF box. The MDF screws speeded up attaching the legs to the MDF (minus the hour to let my drill recharge). I have included some pics, one of which shows some of the details.

I will add a door that will fold up into the top of the unit when I go to either Ottawa or Toronto to pickup the hiding hinges.

Playing the Piano - 6 - The Piano Stand from Hell

2006-06-29T12:01:00.000-04:00

I’ve been working on a stand for my digital piano. The idea was to build something other than a simple keyboard stand that could hold a monitor, computer keyboard and other stuff that might add to midi expansion. I’m not that interested in midi and find playing away with the 7 high quality keyboard instruments very satisfying… but I’m still a geek. I also wanted the stand to look like a piece of furniture since it was going to be in the main part of the house.

I hate wood working and renovating! But that’s another story (or post). I feel I should be working on my art work so the guilt haunts me. I knew that this project was going to be slow, but it is slower than I expected.

The Upper Part of the Stand
I used MDF which is good but has it’s own rules and problems. I used a faux antique black finish and the MDF soaked it up like a sponge. I read that if you use PVA on the edges that would be enough to stop the absorption of the paint… it wasn’t! so, I’ll have to sand the paint lightly to get rid of the ridges of the faux paint before a second coat. The paint brush that came with the kit was awful; I’ll buy a better one.

The Leggy Wagges
The legs are from an old ’50 table that was made from 3^rd grade wood that was heavily stained… which means… after stripping, the wood looks awesome! I will spray just put a couple of light coats of polyurethane to bring out the natural grain. I’ve had to cut the legs 3 inches to get them to the proper height for playing the piano.

Cars that I’ve Owned - more boring stuff....

2006-06-27T15:51:00.000-04:00

I like cars a lot. But they are a great waste of energy and money. Up until May 2005 I was car less for two years. My Honda lease was up and I didn’t really need one. The reason I got the 626 was I needed to spend more time with my parents so I went car shopping with my dad….

1987 Dodge Aries Sedan (parental donation, used)
1982 Oldsmobile Ciera Coupé (parental donation, very used)
1998 Honda Civic SI Coupé (new and very black)
1998 Mazda 626 V6 (low KM and very green)

I got the Honda new to see what it was like to buy and own a new car… it just cost more. It was my favorite car for one reason… it had a moon roof. If my 626 had a moon roof it would be awesome.

Artist - Part 2 - Drawing with The Drawing Circle

2006-06-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

I am treasurer of a local drawing group “The Drawing Circle”. I have been apart of it for about 15 years but the Circle has been around for a long time before that. The interesting thing about our group is we range from novice to classically trained, and the only thing that brings us together is the common need to draw the human form. For eight years in the ‘90s it was the only fine art I did, mostly incomplete studies. But it kept the art in me alive until I found direction and started understanding what being an artist meant. (the picture is of the studio at the Art Gallery of Sudbury where we draw twice a month)

One of the greatest things about being an artist is the people you meet. The vast majority are awesomely nice. I use that yard stick to judge people I deal with every day.

Well, back to drawing… I had four years of life painting and drawing back in college. The poses were quite long, the shortest being 3 hours and the longest, around 21 hours, spread over three day-long sessions. I find the human form by itself, quite boring without the proper lighting. In most cases I’d rather do a portrait.

We draw the nude form twice a month at the Drawing Circle and I work mostly for practice. My more serious work is done in my tiny studio, but once in a while I do a piece that I like, and keep it. Most of the life drawing on my website was done in the Drawing Circle.

My Favorite TV Shows

2006-06-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

WKRP In Cincinnati
Father Ted
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Chef!
The Kids in the Hall
SCTV
Keen Eddie
Police Squad
Star Trek (All)
Muppet Show
Chips
The Dick Van dyke Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Carol Burnett Show
24

My favorite Laugh Out Loud Comedies

2006-06-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

Here is a list of my favorite laugh out loud comedies

The Jerk
Raising Arizona
Back to the Future
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python and the Meaning of Life
Austin Powers – Goldmember
Sixteen Candles
Sleeper
Zelig
Back to the Future Trilogy
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Uncle Buck
Something About Mary
Animal House
The Blues Brothers
Dumb and Dumber
Zoolander

Playing the Piano - 5 - Learning the Chords

2006-06-16T17:09:00.000-04:00

I’ve learnt a few melodies… and one really well. So I’ve decided to learn some chords. I found that I can play music with my left hand pretty good, so I assumed the chords would fly out like a bat out a hell… it didn’t happen. I can either network the computer I’m using for the keyboard and get chords off the Internet or buy a cheap piano chord book. Looks like I’ll be running some more networking cable soon.

One recommendation I read was to “play the cords by themselves first”. I will try this method first.

In memory of Louis Hynes 70 years, Friday evening, June 2, 2006

2006-06-06T16:01:00.000-04:00

HYNES, Louis - In memory of Louis Hynes 70 years, Friday evening, June 2, 2006 at the Sudbury Regional Hospital - Laurentian Site. Louis and Marie shared a great love that spanned 46 years. His family, strong faith, love of the outdoors and cars were part of who he was. He was happiest with his family and spending time in Chapleau with his friends, fishing and hunting. A son of Newfoundland, Louis moved to Sudbury in 1967 and worked at Falconbridge where he retired after 31 years of service. He leaves behind his loving wife Marie (Barter). Loving father of Richard (Elva) of Val Caron, Glenn (Kimberly) of Sudbury, Wade (Lana) of Sudbury, Fabian (Jennifer) of Sudbury, Deidra (Trevor Thibault) of Ottawa. Special Grandfather of Laurie, Graydon, Steven, Jordon, Alexander, Trent, and Griffin. Dear son of Richard and Mary Hynes both predeceased. Dear brother of Kevin, Matthew, Henry, Jackie, Michael, Neil, Conrad, Fred, Gerard, Allan, Brendan, Helen (Brennan), predeceased by Vince, Mark and Lawrence. Sadly missed by many nieces and nephews. Resting at the LOUGHEED FUNERAL HOME, Val Caron/Blezard Valley Chapel Main St. Val Caron. Funeral Mass in St. Kevin's Church Val Therese Tuesday, June 6, 2006 11 a.m. Interment in the Civic Cemetery. Prayers 3 p.m. Monday. Donations to the Northern Cancer Research Fund appreciated. (Friends may call 2-5 and 7-9 p.m. Monday)

Things to do before I Die

2006-06-01T12:53:00.000-04:00

Seeing my father slowly drifting away from us over the last three weeks has caused a stir in me. Having never experience such a loss so closely is changing who I am and what I do. (I'm being reflective in the photo)

Play a catalogue of songs on the piano
Producing paintings and love doing it (see next on list)
Sell my paintings
Build a new studio
Build a car
View the origianal art I admire

Playing the Piano - 4 – In the Key of Stupid

2006-05-31T15:57:00.000-04:00

Well... I read this and it made sense…

ebtx.com/music/music04.htm
Excerpt...

One must learn to get one's conscious thoughts out of the way. As soon as you "think" about what you're playing (the technical aspects) your efforts will collapse.

This is better understood.

When you think, you think in words at about 6 hertz (6 words per second). this is painfully slow in comparison to the rate at which we can "take in" musical notes (about 30 hertz, i.e. 30 notes per second). Obviously then, if you think about your playing like this ... "Oh what note comes next? ... oh yes, this one ... then this one ..." , you're going to trip all over the place.

So, I decided that I would make notation stickers for the keyboard…. It seems to be working because I’m starting to read the notes on the sheet music and my fingers are hitting the notes faster and faster. Most books I read emphasize the “letters” that represents the notes. It takes an extra step to translate it from “sheet music notation” to “name of note” to “which finger and key”. I did write the notes after, but never use them.

Coreldraw 7 template (they still need trimming after printing)
Adobe Acrobat PDF template (they still need trimming after printing)
AVERY LASER LABELS
05160
AL-100
2 5/8" x 1"

Artist - Part 1 - Where I Stand

2006-05-31T15:11:00.000-04:00

I haven’t done much painting since my father became ill 3 weeks ago, before that I was averaging one finished painting a month and picking up speed. I’ve been painting still life… building up my skill in certain areas I felt were lacking, mainly colour. But after getting some help with my colour… thank you Richard Schmid, I realized my compositions had some problems.

Richard Schmid Rant
This is praise for the colour section of Richard’s book “Alla Prima”. I believe there are about 50 pages in the colour chapter, I’ve read it over six or seven times and done the charts. Before reading it I was a tourist in the land of colour. Four years at art college, with numerous teachers and classes teaching me “Colour Theory”. If you are an artist, do yourself a favour and learn “Colour Practical”

So the past few years I’ve been concentrating on technique. If I don’t understand something inside out or have problems in a certain area… I study, read, learn, do over and over again until I am pleased with it. When I did my first painting last summer using the new colour knowledge I had, the painting turned out hideous! The colours were rich and vibrant but I neglected to plan focal points in my composition. Back to the easel to figure out how to fix it.

So, a year later I need two or more paintings before I get them photographed. I have the subject matter and have had some new ideas and insights about applying the paint. But other concerns swim in my head like goldfish in a bowl.

Quotes

Look, man, all I am is a trumpet player. (Miles Davis)
The higher we soar, the smaller we seem to those who cannot fly. (Friedrich Nietzsche)
Color is an inborn gift, but appreciation of value is merely training of the eye, which everyone ought to be able to acquire. (John Singer Sargent)
Mine is the horny hand of toil. (John Singer Sargent)

Playing the Piano - 3 - Getting the Piano

2006-05-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

My stage piano finally arrived on May 8th, 2006… a full month after it was ordered and charged to my Visa! “Tom Lee Music” in B.C. isn’t getting my biz again.

Oh, I don’t believe I mentioned what I bought… the M-audio 88sx Stage Piano. It’s awesome. I’ve had to put off playing it because as fate would have it, my strong, good hearted father was diagnosed with terminal cancer two days latter. He is going way too quickly and is barely still with us.

I have been messing around with some 70’s songs from my old guitar book and I am getting “Both Sides Now” down pretty good. I will tackle the chords soon.

Playing the Piano - 2 - Oh, we Need a Piano

2006-05-29T16:50:00.000-04:00

Old notes from my hard drive May 4th, 2006

entry 1
I'm expecting my digital piano any day now... I ordered it a month ago (April 8th, 2006), but that's another story.... . "Tom Lee Music" what a mess.

entry 2
I haven't been sitting on my arse since March..., I've read 5 learn how to "play piano books" in my spare time. I've had to skip a few chapters, mostly practical.

Playing the Piano - 1 - The Beginnings

2006-05-29T16:34:00.001-04:00

Around March 10th I got the itch to try to attempt once again to play the guitar, my last attempt was ten years ago. As luck would have it, Detroit PBS was running a show "playing Piano in a Flash" with Scott Houston during one of its pledge drives. I was hooked... I understood everything he was saying and quickly put a tape into the VCR.

Firstly, some background on me... "artist wanting to be musician". My prior experience in music was playing some songs on the guitar and two years playing the french horn in grades seven and eight. I say "playing the french horn" but I never got past some simple notes in two years. I passed it for two years but I think Mrs. Stewart had great pity on me... She was also my french teacher, the poor woman. I did change schools briefly for 4 months, and took up the alto sax. How stupid, going to an instrument with more valves.

I starting to understanding more about music when I played guitar, but since I didn't own the guitar my playing ended when the guitar moved away. I could play notes to songs such as "Both Sides Now" and was starting to play chords.

So back to the Piano... "Playing Piano in a Flash" showed me most popular music I wanted to play were simple chords, I headed to the internet. Found a wealth of info on FAKING, GUITAR TABLATURE, and EASY PIANO which all work on the some concept. There turned out to be a wealth of music and educational tools to download and buy.

Why Titanic is a Great Movie… it’s obvious...

2006-05-29T11:28:00.000-04:00

Why Titanic is a Great Movie… it’s obvious...

You can talk about the love affair between Leo and Kate, the special effects, human interest, box office, or many other positive things…. But Titanic has something like no other movie…

Man hitting propeller

Before Titanic we lived in a world where men would give up their lives in movies and would fall directly to the earth. Now, and rightly so the possibility exists that they may hurl themselves onto giant propellers.

The Actor who played “man hitting propeller” seemed to be overlooked by the Academy that year at the Oscars. Sure, he might not be Tom Hanks, but does Tom have the acting range of “man hitting propeller”…? I think not! At best Mr. Hanks could be man who lands on propeller!

To me Titanic will always be a two part movie… the part that leads up to the man beside Kate Winslet, releasing himself from the railing screaming, and the second part.... starting with the metallic twang and a lifeless body tumbling to the ocean.

Yes, “man hitting propeller” is what makes Titanic a great movie