Sketchbook, page 11

(Previous pages)

The process of filling a 120 page sketchbook by year's end continues:

"p.93 of How to Draw Animals by Jack Hamm"
In page 5's sketchbook post, I explain how I removed the non-photo blue sketch lines from the image. For the camel, I also used Photoshop's clone stamp to clean up the remaining residue of the blue lines a bit since I tend to draw with a heavy hand. (I am making an effort to go lighter with the blue these days so we'll see how it goes with later sketches.)


A year ago on TTaT: And now for a quick read...

Life of Art SitRep #5

A series to mark what I did to further my pursuit of a life sustained by my art each week. Committing to these posts is a commitment to action, because to have content for them, I have to do something. Every week.

If you have any sort of goal you're pursuing, feel free to share your efforts of the past week in the comments. Encouragement is also welcome.

*******

This week, I

• Revised tags for shop.
• Tweeted & FB'd links to folders of new shop photos.
• Went to a Spring Flower Show/Bulb Show.
• Saw "The Inner Beauty of Flowers" exhibit, x-rayed flowers & plants-- rad!
• Shot 256 photos.
• Bought another pencil set, 4H to 6B and a 9B.
• Drew 4 sketches.

*******

Whether or not these actions were the right ones to take or were enough of an effort is not the point of this series. They are simply a list of what I accomplished related to my pursuit this week. Any amount of progress is better than none. Having clocked ages of none, I'm certain of that.

What did you do to pursue the life you want this week?


A year ago on TTaT: Have you been watching Angel of Death?

The Bulb Show, a spring treat

I've got more winter photos to share, but here's a spring reprieve:

If you can get to the Spring Bulb Show at The Botanic Garden of Smith College, go. The suggested donation is just $2. I'm allergic to flowers and I really enjoyed it.

In the lobby exhibit space in front of the greenhouses is a super cool exhibit called The Inner Beauty of Flowers. Retired radiologist Merrill C. Raikes uses his expertise to print x-ray views of flowers and other plants. The effect is delicate and beautiful.

You can read about how he does it and see several of the prints online: http://radiographics.rsna.org/content/23/5/1149.full.pdf. I liked trying to figure out what I was looking at before reading their titles. If he'd had a book of his work, I probably would've gotten it.

For now I'll content myself with the 275 photos I took of the Spring Bulb Show. I'll post more down the line.


Two years ago on TTaT: I'd hire Miss Pettigrew

Sketchbook, page 10

(Previous pages)

The process of filling a 120 page sketchbook by year's end continues:

"p.34 of How to Draw Animals by Jack Hamm"
One page away from an original, albeit dodgy, sketch! S'aright, I like the one after it.

How weird, I just typed "light" in place of "like" above.


Two years ago on TTaT: Four for four

Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle

The allure of science fiction for me is its imaginative answers to so many questions: What's out there? Who's out there? What would it be like if time travel were possible?

Most of the answers seem so remote, but time travel? That we can do.

A TARDIS you can hold in your hands,

10. Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle by Michael Benson (5/5)

At first, I paged through the photos of stars, skipping the text, but then I saw the Horsehead Nebula and had to know if my identification was right. It was. I started over, reading Far Out from the beginning.

Each chapter has two to three pages of text plus captions in which Benson describes the phenomena pictured, how they interrelate or were formed, and how far away they are. The text illuminates the photography without bogging it down.

The book is arranged spatially/chronologically, starting with near and recent and progressing to the farthest reaches of space and beginning of the universe. It's designed so that it can be read front to back or back to front.

Brief looks at what was going on in Earth history at the same time as the photographed light was transmitted from distant galaxies help keep the scope fathomable. Since the speed of light is finite and the photographed stars, nebulae, and galaxies are 450 to 12.8 billion light years away, all of the photos are of the past even though they were taken recently*.

When you have a bit of context (read the captions!), the multitude of photos become mind-blowingly awesome. I knew a few things about the universe going in, but in my daily life I'd lost sight of the universe's vastness. This book not only restored but deepened my understanding of it. And made me want to be an astrophotographer.

In case you're unfamiliar with my rating system, a 5 out of 5 is super rare. I reserve it for my absolute favorite books. So check out Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle!

*Time travel, baby! I frakkin' love this stuff.


A year ago on TTaT: Grande due

Snow Dunes

A year ago on TTaT: By way of Lou Ferrigno

Sketchbook, page 9

(Previous pages)

The process of filling a 120 page sketchbook by year's end continues:

"p.46 of How to Draw Animals by Jack Hamm"
Bit too heavy handed with the non-photo blue lines here. I.e., even though the color is removed, I pressed down so hard, some of those lines still register.


Two years ago on TTaT: Now that it's tomorrow