tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49918312590184616482024-03-05T07:30:12.780+00:00Artyfax - an artists blogThe Trials and tribulations of a leisure artist, including thoughts on sketching and paintingJohn Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.comBlogger334125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-54824363257759781352016-09-23T16:05:00.000+01:002016-09-23T16:05:47.873+01:002016, Knowle Art Group Annual ExhibitionI cannot believe that 12 months has passed since our last exhibition. I have just browsed the blog looking for a reference and realised that the last post was our last (2015) exhibition notice.<br />
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I have not even reviewed how last year's went. Well, it went very well, both considering visitors and sales; but this years which we held last Saturday was even better. We are getting wise to ways of promotion and I have come to believe that prior advertising is a little bit of a nonsense.<br />
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Yes, we need to tell friends and family and even visitors from previous years but the general public, who often buy paintings, don't make arrangements to visit small amateur exhibitions like ours, based on prior advertising. It is the signs/posters and banners which we put up around the town and on the main roads which attract those who have come in to do a bit of shopping.<br />
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I am able to boast another sale from my semi-abstract landscape portfolio.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouYm43asT6vGMmuvBYHDF9mSQwRZllXCwS3SP8ho9THRJpV9lcRpihQFzOMOQwF4SGQc1yx4tgtemX9B6lp3pSMxhK2Hn9WFKikeoM6j5NWqGxfx4BxyWOroLASVaRNW_mZSLESJRp3Cf/s1600/autumn+moods_450_edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouYm43asT6vGMmuvBYHDF9mSQwRZllXCwS3SP8ho9THRJpV9lcRpihQFzOMOQwF4SGQc1yx4tgtemX9B6lp3pSMxhK2Hn9WFKikeoM6j5NWqGxfx4BxyWOroLASVaRNW_mZSLESJRp3Cf/s320/autumn+moods_450_edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have actually been posting these pastels on a Facebook page,<br />
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which you are very welcome to visit. This was originally started to promote sales on <a href="http://www.zazzle.co.uk/pastelsbyartyfax">Zazzle.</a> I have been designing a number of products with these images and even hoping that I might sell a printed canvas or two, you never know! But of course in actual fact without heavy involvement all I am selling is the occasional greeting card or equivalent, LOL.
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John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-46047345135810482952015-09-06T14:05:00.001+01:002015-09-06T14:05:32.134+01:00Knowle Art Group Annual ExhibitionThis has been a terrible year for me for many reasons, and many of these affect my ability to make regular posts to my several blogs. But I have been shaken out of this attitude today by the thought that it is only 2 weeks until my art groups annual exhibition. I just want to take the opportunity to mention it and maybe any friends living in the area will be able to pop along and join me in enjoying some of the art work which has been produced by the group over the last twelve months. First the poster - the landscape is one of my own paintings - used, let it be said because I designed the poster this year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfB_80uh8wD25j74VCMAtHWBKL_wcyXhAOIlf9iAYnZG5upYWH1PnAsO9YIrG-ADS8CRIlUcE0KbYuGB8Q9zARWiC2vPdct0Y8ZZpNGh-6ZnCEpK08jjEttnK6FqVrdbQInlxtc75USqB/s1600/DSCF6684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfB_80uh8wD25j74VCMAtHWBKL_wcyXhAOIlf9iAYnZG5upYWH1PnAsO9YIrG-ADS8CRIlUcE0KbYuGB8Q9zARWiC2vPdct0Y8ZZpNGh-6ZnCEpK08jjEttnK6FqVrdbQInlxtc75USqB/s320/DSCF6684.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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As you should be able to see, the exhibition is on the 19th September at St John's Church Hall, Knowle. It is free to enter and is open between 10.00 am until 4.00pm</div>
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My own entries are:-</div>
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Three lanscapes and an abstract painting. All are in artists' soft pastel this year. Because of increased membership this year, the maximum number of paintings are four although it is likely that not everybody will enter that many; so some of us will take a few extra pieces along, just in case there is room.<br />
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We have designed and built our own display boards which allows us to use locations which do not allow hooks to be knocked into walls, etc. The following images show a couple of shots from last year. We have a very good reputation locally for the exhibitions that we hold.<br />
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Hope as many of my friends as possible can make it. I will of course be seeing one or two people individually to try and <strike>persuade</strike> <strike>shame</strike> get their agreement to attend.<br />
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Hope to get back on a more regular basis if the real life issues start to solve themselves.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-28837151633613241372015-07-27T12:55:00.000+01:002015-07-27T12:55:17.014+01:00Pastel LandscapesSo much to do so little time ... I must have heard that before somewhere.<br />
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Painting is taking a bit of a backseat at the moment because of another major interest in my life. I am learning to play the ukulele, and the club I have joined - I used to call it a group (?) but that seems to suggest a gigging band to many people - not only meets regularly for "jams" but does play concerts for local organisations such as schools and rest homes. We also put on a few concerts for friends and family now and again.<br />
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Soooo, artistic output is musical rather than paintings. But I am just catching up on the blog with a couple of pastel landscapes which I have done recently. One is an imaginary scene in a forest and the frst is a skyscape - but with a crazy yellow sky. Hope you like them;<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdATJs-ddPD3vjMFBx39ltqihHzxogM32r3HIHWsIGfWFLKd2vp8FMCDKy3WP9gbIyTzJvCms7UH8skxUOUJtg7Rx_m7oGFPfxjzn51x0PRWq0d9eSV2BVDqIiYGKPKUm-kUcK7qxmbaH/s1600/DSCF6534_650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdATJs-ddPD3vjMFBx39ltqihHzxogM32r3HIHWsIGfWFLKd2vp8FMCDKy3WP9gbIyTzJvCms7UH8skxUOUJtg7Rx_m7oGFPfxjzn51x0PRWq0d9eSV2BVDqIiYGKPKUm-kUcK7qxmbaH/s320/DSCF6534_650.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yellow sky at night</div>
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Deep in the forest</div>
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Oh well back to the ukulele for a little while ...</div>
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-58072126396875396842015-05-15T09:12:00.000+01:002015-05-15T09:12:05.666+01:00Accepting the rough (with the smooth)After last weeks mixed media demonstration, I had decided to give it a go, however a bad cold and then a trip to Brighton left me totally unprepared - where had I put all the stuff I needed?<br />
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So for this week only, it was back to another acrylic landscape - another miniature, I might add and not the wall-sized painting I would have been creating if I had done the mixed media piece. I went about it in my usual way and finished the background with a smile on my face, I really did like the yellow-green foreground, the green rolling hills and the "red" sunset sky. Unfortunately I did not take a photo for posterity, because I think I have totally spoilt it by adding a mass of foliage from the trees which were supposed to have been around the height of the hills - and in the distance!<br />
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What went wrong?<br />
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Well my best guess is that the ladies at the club, were organising a trip to "Art In Action" and were trying to drum up enough interest to be able to hire a coach for the journey. So much going on, and I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. Fatal! As I was to find out when I finally managed to stop myself from adding yet more foliage. Here is the result, I have to say I do not like it, I may well paint over it and start again.<br />
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Ah well, as I said in the title, you have to take the rough with the smooth - the good with the awful. Some you win and some you lose, this one I feel that I definitely lost with thoughts of a coach trip uppermost in my mind.</div>
<br />John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-48476016255182487712015-05-06T15:20:00.001+01:002015-05-06T15:20:27.901+01:00Mixed Media Demonstration I have always enjoyed mixed media work, but last night at our art group, I had an opportunity to see this type of art demonstrated. It really made me want to have a go for myself. It is quite a small group (23 members as of now) and we try to ring the changes with our demos to try and please the largest number of members. This usually means that although subject matter is widely varied, the media are typically the main contenders; water-colour, acrylic and coloured pencils.<br />
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This year we have a new organiser for our program and she has taken some different directions. A portrait in oils and this mixed media work are the very different demos that she has arranged.<br />
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Fiona Payne was last nights demonstrator, a very active local artist. After starting with a lively white wax layer, she used water colour paints to prepare a background on a heavyweight cartridge paper. And she worked in size A1, I think (A0 is too large - I guess I should have asked) working on 2 paintings at once to give time for drying between layers. She said that she often worked on several pieces at once in her studio, when time was not limited although after cropping and selection the number coming thru the process was limited.<br />
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She added details with media including acrylic inks and solid, water-soluble "acrylic ink sticks" (Inktense) continuing with the layering process layering. All the way thru the process she liberally used a water spray to induce mixing and runs. Of course the resulting abstracts are not completely repeatable but the immediacy can lead to stunning results.<br />
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Final details are added using soft pastels,<a href="http://www.fionapayne.net/32.html" target="_blank"> here is an example of her work, titled "Ragley Flowers".</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oAJpj59CM9otdsLsji4CXyX34MM-B4PvcLU9DQDqQCQxJsogrO4gaqAN25uVg1pUKid5NYO_w2yMl9Ak4itaoJcjeq_YuurGksT6q7GF3XbNM5gGeLypwAxe7NQuGFrUoZnIm0Nkf39L/s1600/fiona+payne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oAJpj59CM9otdsLsji4CXyX34MM-B4PvcLU9DQDqQCQxJsogrO4gaqAN25uVg1pUKid5NYO_w2yMl9Ak4itaoJcjeq_YuurGksT6q7GF3XbNM5gGeLypwAxe7NQuGFrUoZnIm0Nkf39L/s1600/fiona+payne.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fionapayne.net/index.html" target="_blank">See this and more of Fiona's work on her web site.</a> When she showed us a print of this piece, she was showing how two paintings could be selected from the one work by cropping into approximately two halves; the upper and lower halves of the original, in effect. Selecting the final composition is the final act in the process. In a piece created with such a free process, there are bound to be some areas which you like and some that do not seem so "happy". Make sure that the cropped work meets your highest expectations of good composition and imagery.<br />
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Finally, It should be noted that Fional seldom uses brushes ( she claims she only has three) but uses almost anything else that is capable of making a mark. Adding colour direct from the glass droppers from the ink bottles, spreading and making marks with "your flexible friend" (- credit card, etc), she also uses a roller, the wrong end of the brush,etc and more.<br />
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I am inspired to "have-a-go" at the next art group meeting, I don't have the acrylic inks but will find a substitute. After all rules are made to be broken. Hope to have something to show you next time.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-90472407777885833802015-05-03T21:56:00.000+01:002015-05-03T22:01:44.727+01:00Surplus Craft Stash - Need to find a new home!One of the reasons that I combined this blog with my painting blog was that I saw myself spending increasingly little time with art that did not include painting.<br />
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I had decided to go thru my stash which I have collected over the past few years and have a clear out. Started throwing out stuff today and after binning large amounts of craft paper and images I had printed out (when it seemed a good idea), plus a fair bit of paper ephemera, I had to stop as I came to the boxes of more interesting stuff.<br />
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I decided that I would try to sift out the crap and bag the rest and offer it to anyone who may be interested. Once I have got myself into some sort of order, I will be photographing the contents of those "bags" and offering them free to anyone who might be able to give them a good home.<br />
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I have a button collection which includes items from my mother-in-laws sewing box (she died recently at 102, however no promises about the source of the buttons), also buttons I have collected from clothes being thrown out and even some purchased collections. I have a bag of clock/watch parts, a collection of off-cuts of materials from haberdasheries and around the home. And those bits of ribbons which seem to come on even chocolate boxes and greeting cards. I squirrelled away so much. And don't ask about the watches clocks and keys, etc (steam punk anyone?).<br />
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These are typical but not the actual collections - photos to follow soon.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbZM7s5yT4-UjEq4Qb8y-p93etFdnsAuebs6SeIS7xPe34JsTcgAJPzbDjcNa9ncsB7Ype-zWuNf-GuXptUD3znc5Pyrkl9lH5WYymzQpY3G-_HzhNiWRjvrn93UwVkWoKPVM1jfFFk1v/s1600/ribbons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbZM7s5yT4-UjEq4Qb8y-p93etFdnsAuebs6SeIS7xPe34JsTcgAJPzbDjcNa9ncsB7Ype-zWuNf-GuXptUD3znc5Pyrkl9lH5WYymzQpY3G-_HzhNiWRjvrn93UwVkWoKPVM1jfFFk1v/s320/ribbons.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6Wx91ol43CsyR9k4ImbxS-M2rL5VWxWcw7d2Krlyu-4N64cQ9qwYKx-kjC4Yd-SlNBFjNxfEeM7qJPtoTLow2_MDYxvfM0YwheiPxfW7ByedxfG2XtZxgKt6i1zda5ZZ9ACuGb7X2P3X/s1600/watch+parts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6Wx91ol43CsyR9k4ImbxS-M2rL5VWxWcw7d2Krlyu-4N64cQ9qwYKx-kjC4Yd-SlNBFjNxfEeM7qJPtoTLow2_MDYxvfM0YwheiPxfW7ByedxfG2XtZxgKt6i1zda5ZZ9ACuGb7X2P3X/s320/watch+parts.jpg" /></a></div>
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I do not know when the job will be complete but it is likely to be weeks rather than days - so much happening at home at the moment.</div>
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Oh yes, lots of rubber stamps; mounted and unmounted and the ink pads which will become redundant.</div>
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-40661166528929040392015-04-28T23:10:00.000+01:002015-04-28T23:10:33.692+01:00Development of a new acrylic painting - part 2Here I am presenting the completed acrylic painting, which I started and<a href="http://johndyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/development-of-new-acrylic-painting.html" target="_blank"> posted on 18th April</a>.<br />
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Not sure if this is what I had intended that first week, I rarely leave completing a painting to a second session let alone leaving it for so long. I normally know exactly what I am going to do and aim to complete in one two hour session.<br />
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There are fewer daffodils than I expected, and which appear in the reference work, although I do like this version and have had many positive comments from my colleagues in the art group.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJaSIElDoRp02RngXgePo2b59VPyXFDCbekWglBJUzftjB9VgMWgWeNST9va7VYocuV4PxCXvjymWe88Il2RTgVXeSrXLGpdLGVNKcizWPaNsGd_dZpdQ-FlROc7O07zh96gFoj7Vciqw/s1600/yellow+flowers_2_450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJaSIElDoRp02RngXgePo2b59VPyXFDCbekWglBJUzftjB9VgMWgWeNST9va7VYocuV4PxCXvjymWe88Il2RTgVXeSrXLGpdLGVNKcizWPaNsGd_dZpdQ-FlROc7O07zh96gFoj7Vciqw/s1600/yellow+flowers_2_450.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I do think it has a very definite spring-time flavour, in fact much more so than the original reference painting. Is mine better? I am not quite saying that but they are different. This is always a feature of my work when "copying" from a reference; I study the original and then create a new work in my own style and do not try to copy the original exactly. In fact, quite the opposite. I select my own colours and work to my own composition. This can lead to images very different to that which I am working from.<br />
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Hope you do like this, not my usual subject matter although it is a landscape, but I think I like it. Time will tell ....John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-1413398461231890952015-04-16T22:47:00.001+01:002015-04-16T22:47:19.618+01:00The Winged Man - After Odilon RedonI have just got to tell you a story of an old (early) pastel painting of mine based on an oil painting by Odilon Redon.<br />
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When I first started to learn "pastelling" techniques, I used to spend time copying old masters, often oil paintings but anything was open season as far as I was concerned in a quest to develop my own style and the techniques I wanted to explore. One of the sketches which I most liked was painted using The Winged Man by Redon. I still like it and enjoy looking at it.<br />
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Today, I wanted to remind myself of the original media used by Redon for his painting, I thought it was oil but I wanted to confirm it for a post I was writing for my FB page. I googled ... and found a copy of <u>my version</u> on a blog which seemed to purport to be a serious art blog. I am not sure! <a href="http://soareesphilosophy.blog.com/2010/05/12/odilon-redon/" target="_blank">There, some way down the page, I found my own painting</a> amongst a large number of works by the master himself. It is actually signed by myself so how could this blogger have made the mistake? Or did he not actually know or care?<br />
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I can only assume that by posting the work onto <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadfan66/2663141255/in/set-72157606149058803" target="_blank">Flickr</a>, I have put my work out there and it has gotten mixed up with the original somewhere along the line.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgsntkJFOX5zbTT0mJo9y8qb31I85T91OxWmTdYbv7SH2tH49x8Rw9hS9hMVfLKCzTHhgH_evQR-9wzv1-oB43-kzh1TObspc-CrrvXYd4YFIDfAq1I1oX9OknKyR2vKuNPiV8J1mw6-f/s1600/winged+man+-+after+O+Redon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgsntkJFOX5zbTT0mJo9y8qb31I85T91OxWmTdYbv7SH2tH49x8Rw9hS9hMVfLKCzTHhgH_evQR-9wzv1-oB43-kzh1TObspc-CrrvXYd4YFIDfAq1I1oX9OknKyR2vKuNPiV8J1mw6-f/s1600/winged+man+-+after+O+Redon.jpg" height="320" width="221" /></a></div>
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Can you see my signature (JRD) at the bottom right? Just for comparison <a href="http://www.wikiart.org/en/odilon-redon/winged-old-man-with-a-long-white-beard" target="_blank">you can see a copy of the original here.</a><br />
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I am not sure whether to be flattered or to be angry that my painting has been used without permission, it is supposed to be copyrighted (all rights reserved) - so much for Flicker's categorisations. I think perhaps, It is slightly more the former. And we all know that most people on the internet think that copyright is something that does not apply to them.<br />
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It is interesting to see that the colours in my painting are much more vivid than in the original, something I had not really noticed before.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-2786052598363938052015-04-15T10:55:00.000+01:002015-04-15T10:55:36.812+01:00Development of a new acrylic paintingI decided to work "large" with this latest piece, all of 8 inches by 6 inches - well at twice as large as my post cards, it is large as far as my last few weeks are concerned. Quite honestly I was looking for some card to continue with the post-card sized theme and came across a couple of slightly larger (but quite thick) pieces. Not wanting the bother of cutting these, I decided to use them as they were.<br />
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First of all, I prepared the surfaces with an acrylic gesso. The miniatures had been painted with quite "wet" paint, the acrylic had been diluted so that I could work wet-into-wet as if with watercolour. This time I was going to work with paint straight out of the tubes to try and get a textured effect. This was because the reference photo I had chosen was a photo of an oil painting from an old art magazine, and I wanted to try to achieve the same effect. I did not want the paint sinking into the surface of the card.<br />
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The painting I had chosen to work with, was from a 1998 (?) copy of The Artist/writer was Edward Noott. A scene of springtime daffodils growing in profusion at the edge of a road (?) with hedges and hills in a distant background. Here is a poor photograph of the painting from the magazine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfcA15KR-v48WJKdZUoQWTtUxtZ9U37SDQdB2SZCW6rG7oB1gbQXdEY6dBUQ3EsBuyrEX8vv16FrFFRDFAUwexLbMVo5zaZ-HtK6O6wMauRDvAytHepyyCMw1W_871dV-cda22b9CLArV/s1600/yellow+flowers_reference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfcA15KR-v48WJKdZUoQWTtUxtZ9U37SDQdB2SZCW6rG7oB1gbQXdEY6dBUQ3EsBuyrEX8vv16FrFFRDFAUwexLbMVo5zaZ-HtK6O6wMauRDvAytHepyyCMw1W_871dV-cda22b9CLArV/s1600/yellow+flowers_reference.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this sort of subject, well in most subjects really, I like to paint the background first and then add the details in the foreground. In this way the background can be seen through the foreground subjects and I do not have to consider what I should do in the gaps - assuming there will be some.<br />
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My background looked like this:-<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGycioZ93nMXpWdzdZeyL8dzB_r6cHK4c9wJ7FB_HcuflQsXges2K6obqgzkKSQH3LWnVA41aZ3WeIL8t7LGAfkwnFIPFQnqup1LsqfqkHsH66ntHd0bubdey7bDl9BNXjd3oA61oFmgW/s1600/yellow+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGycioZ93nMXpWdzdZeyL8dzB_r6cHK4c9wJ7FB_HcuflQsXges2K6obqgzkKSQH3LWnVA41aZ3WeIL8t7LGAfkwnFIPFQnqup1LsqfqkHsH66ntHd0bubdey7bDl9BNXjd3oA61oFmgW/s1600/yellow+flowers.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Not exactly a copy but that is how I work. I take the main elements from the reference and "do my own thing" with them. Not too sure it is exactly what I had in mind but good enough to work over at the group meeting next week.<br />
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Incidentally, a few of my colleagues thought that it was worth leaving it as it is - I suppose it does have a simple symmetry with a bright and airy feeling, but I shall finish what I have started. Hope to be posting the results next week.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-8048400873877490342015-03-31T22:46:00.001+01:002015-03-31T22:49:48.433+01:00A Surrealistic Sunset In AcrylicStill on a role with these miniature paintings!<br />
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My fourth post-card sized painting in this media and format. I don't know why but I do love sunsets and the colourful displays which are possible. This painting is actually based on a reference photograph which I "borrowed". I never actually copy - I am not clever enough for that, but inspect my reference photos (maybe try one or two thumbnail sketches) and decide how I am going to tackle my version.<br />
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I decide on:-<br />
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<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Size</span></b> (although to be fair this is often decided and I look for subjects to match)</li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Format</span></b> (portrait / landscape)</li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Media</span></b> (for me, the choice is watercolour, pastel or acrylic)</li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Colours</span></b> (I often use alternative colours to express the mood I am trying to capture)</li>
<li>How to <b><span style="font-size: large;">simplify</span></b> the chosen subject (I usually do simplify most of my paintings as it is colour and texture which I use mostly in my artwork)</li>
<li>Exactly <b><span style="font-size: large;">which elements</span></b> of the reference to include (or I may add something else to tell the story I am describing)</li>
<li>Lastly, knowing what I am going to do, I decide <b><span style="font-size: large;">how</span></b> I am going to tackle it. Maybe which colours to lay first, will the colours be built on layers or individually laid down and such mundane but important constructs. Will the be laid wet-on-wet or otherwise. Do I need to do any drawing before putting down any colour.</li>
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Finally, I am ready. And once I do start the actual painting I aim to finish it as quickly as possible. I am not like many of my art group colleagues who will spend week after week on the same painting. Often necessary for the realistic work they choose to paint. I am a fan of the slap it on and watch it dry school of art. I always did like the impressionists way of working. Work quickly to capture the light of the moment.</div>
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Well after all that crap, here is the painting itself:</div>
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In the reference photo, the foreground trees / bushes were in silhouette, I decided to capture an earlier time before the light was completely gone. The foreground is therefore completely from my own artistic dictionary.</div>
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Well there it is, I hope you like it. Having used up all my postcards(?) I will have to try something else next week. If you enjoy my miniatures,<a href="http://paintingwithjohn.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/miniature-acrylic-landscapes.html" target="_blank"> check out one of my posts on my atc-sized miniature canvas paintings - also acrylic.</a></div>
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-15289502738249750752015-03-25T14:42:00.001+00:002015-03-25T14:42:36.436+00:00Acrylic Paintings - The Northern LightsI am intending to include all image-based artwork on this blog, returning to its original objectives as a diary of my travails on the road to creating art. I am reducing the number of blogs I currently manage from seven (check out the Nav Bar under the header image, above) to 3 or possibly four.<br />
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This is the first post on the subject of my painting for quite a while, but will become its home in the future.<br />
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Have you been watching the Big Art Challenge on the BBC. Not a great art program, maybe a good TV program but that's a matter of opinion. Anyway, The BBC is running a competition alongside the TV show called The Little Art Challenge. It supplied a quartet of four post-card sized cards for the use of participating artists. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I have used these to paint three paintings (so far) using acrylic paints. As plain card not usable for watercolours and too small for pastel (my main media) and so I called up the back-up acrylics. I don't use it very often but have painted <a href="http://paintingwithjohn.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/miniature-acrylic-landscapes.html" target="_blank">miniature canvasses</a> and abstracts, which have been exhibited at my art group's exhibitions.<br />
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So ... what have I done? Well the two paintings of the aurora borealis are (as is my style) quite stylised and were taken from photographs I came across and used as references.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RinkbSE_O_Hgp_ESYEzKJFNs6I8tEXo0z0QnvtRTexY4PNfCMkJHdxxDR2vfnPl1j1XXL9YZ6Buq9qqxHQ7rqtw_6735ORAsBCAPZLaj-W-FsABT3d077vOTZ1NbKK8lnuSsC8EDQAU/s1600/DSCF6244_450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RinkbSE_O_Hgp_ESYEzKJFNs6I8tEXo0z0QnvtRTexY4PNfCMkJHdxxDR2vfnPl1j1XXL9YZ6Buq9qqxHQ7rqtw_6735ORAsBCAPZLaj-W-FsABT3d077vOTZ1NbKK8lnuSsC8EDQAU/s1600/DSCF6244_450.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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I enjoy working on this sort of subject. If you have followed my painting blog I will have said that sunsets / sunrise / etc are my favourite subjects. I can allow myself so much freedom, it is quite exhilarating. And after all I paint as a means of relaxation -it is one of my main leisure activities.<br />
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Well hope to see more of you on this blog as I write about all aspects of art based around imagery.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-8735676724897247042015-03-21T23:34:00.001+00:002015-03-21T23:44:26.042+00:00My Last ATC's - Probably?<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">So many things happening in my life at the moment, I have had to sever the last links with the last site which involved me in creating "craft" rather than "art". A very subjective statement but I guess what I mean is that I will be spending lots more time painting rather than creating art in other ways. So please don't be upset, I do not mean to suggest that painting is in any way superior to making art in other ways.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Here are the last pair of artist trading cards which I made for the ATC challenge which I have been leading. I have had great fun for a number of years but I started papercrafting when I was at a low point with my painting. I had been painting ACEO's - and selling them on Ebay - and accidentally found collaged cards on the site. Thinking it was something I could do, I joined a number of sites over the years looking for ever more creative ideas / inspiration. I have a large collection of these miniature works of art collected by trading with friends from across five continents.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">However, I have now found my muse again and need to spend more time painting. The site I referred to above, PDA, has not been very active for a good while and although I kept the challenge alive it has been in a long slow decline. I finally burnt my bridges last weekend. I intend to take this blog back to its roots and write about my art journey whichever media it involves. I will be mothballing the "Painting With John" site and including all art related posts on this blog in the future.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">OK, here are the ATC's I promised. The theme was, "A magical recipe":-</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Look out for more art in the weeks to come .... thanks for reading about my artistic journey.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">I have just realised, I wrote along similar lines when I first started creating ATC's using collage. <a href="http://johndyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/art-versus-craft.html" target="_blank">Check out what I had to say then in a post written in 2008, </a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">PS, I will be carefully looking over my "stash" collected over the last few years and will be reducing it considerably. Look out for the free give-aways of material which will be happening over the rest of this year. </span></span>John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-55735618729858135362014-12-29T17:38:00.001+00:002014-12-29T17:38:24.170+00:00Underneath The Arches - End of year ATC Trade themeWell the title just about says it all, the deadline for the last challenge/swap for <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/" target="_blank">the ATC group on PDF</a>, has passed. Wondering what 2015 will bring for us. Difficult at the moment as our "leader" has been concentrating on a bricks and mortar shop. But we live in hope and muddle along in the meantime.<br />
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The Theme was "Underneath The Arches", and boy we got so many interpretations of this theme. Here are my two cards:-<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFB75DSIc0T4Eu8Ijc_KivkJdcYRHjmuiNVctZVJ4eoc9pVX83MpK9caR6wyvAFwcbWOK3cQ3e37CMLrQuUxqrCsmhYN353mT3ryK6TZTTutnzP5HoFVAaYCSxKs2mgQIY0fA-xrQ2ZKM/s1600/DSCF6022_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFB75DSIc0T4Eu8Ijc_KivkJdcYRHjmuiNVctZVJ4eoc9pVX83MpK9caR6wyvAFwcbWOK3cQ3e37CMLrQuUxqrCsmhYN353mT3ryK6TZTTutnzP5HoFVAaYCSxKs2mgQIY0fA-xrQ2ZKM/s1600/DSCF6022_350.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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The first is titled, "No Mice Here"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC976tY0oV6_luxxAWayw5YHcC6-hczn6K2AbiXFvYc12rMy8qe6XwTFhmlMuAeGCte9-lq59cE62KN2vkZ_zpODXLOwRwIXk0gLZkiYsymJbdK3gDval99fPogFgTethMsgLonzwdFRJ4/s1600/DSCF6023_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC976tY0oV6_luxxAWayw5YHcC6-hczn6K2AbiXFvYc12rMy8qe6XwTFhmlMuAeGCte9-lq59cE62KN2vkZ_zpODXLOwRwIXk0gLZkiYsymJbdK3gDval99fPogFgTethMsgLonzwdFRJ4/s1600/DSCF6023_350.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
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And the second, "Behind Every Good Man ..."</div>
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I am not sure without reading back thru previous posts but I am getting myself into a rut with these ATC's and need to start setting more adventurous technique challenges. I am in need of a good dose of inspiration. Maybe 2015 is the year in which I start using my "many" different skills. I have been to lax about my art in general and really need to pull my finger out, as thte Duke of Edinburgh is fond of saying.</div>
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Here's to a great 2015 for all.</div>
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-45253264763886880752014-11-05T11:51:00.001+00:002014-11-05T11:51:41.677+00:00Progress on HubPages and latest ATC'sI have been so very disappointed with Hub Pages. It is a different system of payment to Squidoo, which seemed to help those few lenses which floated to the top. On HP it really is down to the number of views and my income has gone down tremendously.<br />
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I have as noted last time culled a number of non-performing hubs and moved them elsewhere. I may be following on with a few more which have become non-featured. I am not sure that money was ever the real reason for spending time at the keyboard, and I wrote lots of lenses to simply increase my tally. Well they won't be missed. The issue is whether I will ever get around to editing any of the Hubs. I guess a few which are doing best should be saved but I don't really know if I feel like it. I haven't updated any yet. Maybe a mad dash in the last weeks of the 4 month grace period. But for now, it is not something I feel like bothering with.<br />
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I am still creating ATC's and here I am sharing the latest of those few I am doing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__o5Q5B7s1-TdMrUPEOc3Cc-6KR5j-FEfCWmFPob0PulPVxVD2xmsNESbv8ywgZ_b127605j9RAAVz43-XSKsWFTC5_exnvBVJdi4NO7NAmgnCevVtv2x2UzCRXLV4dXrY9HUvjmMtfo9/s1600/mirror+mirror1_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__o5Q5B7s1-TdMrUPEOc3Cc-6KR5j-FEfCWmFPob0PulPVxVD2xmsNESbv8ywgZ_b127605j9RAAVz43-XSKsWFTC5_exnvBVJdi4NO7NAmgnCevVtv2x2UzCRXLV4dXrY9HUvjmMtfo9/s1600/mirror+mirror1_350.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAwgvhqgMgsazyl1PcZJgAML8csJfdjICxnD1B2-TVxoaXxyiM9gxbgS74rJV10o_dNJoy1oCxUvgTFauhreLFFVeesvdwBhiiDeMYK6_WlorLyAeJATDeFhlejWuW1uxR7ulSMcDjPgX/s1600/mirror+mirror2_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAwgvhqgMgsazyl1PcZJgAML8csJfdjICxnD1B2-TVxoaXxyiM9gxbgS74rJV10o_dNJoy1oCxUvgTFauhreLFFVeesvdwBhiiDeMYK6_WlorLyAeJATDeFhlejWuW1uxR7ulSMcDjPgX/s1600/mirror+mirror2_350.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></div>
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The theme for this challenge was "mirror, mirror", I used it to reflect the thoughts of children on theier potential futures. The boy see a respected and wealthy businessman, and the girl imagines being swept off her feet by her lover. Silly really but then that's me.<br />
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I think I have said enough about the HubPages issue and promise not to bore you anymore with it.<br />
<br />John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-53257726389775802042014-10-08T09:49:00.000+01:002014-10-08T09:49:47.924+01:00Hub Pages And MeAfter a few weeks at HubPages with my transferred Squidoo lenses, I am finding that the shorter review lenses do not seem to be sitting happily on HP at all. Visits are well down on the higher traffic articles and I have not even started editing these yet to re-format them to sit on HP's pages. You can find <a href="http://www.bubblews.com/account/19320-artyfax" target="_blank">my profile page on Bubblews</a>, and see some of my short but interesting (If I do say so myself) articles mostly talking about my photographs and artwork.<br />
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What I have done is to start to cull those non-performing review lenses. I was never very happy with them but Squidoo was pushing this format very hard, and there was a minimum needed to retain the benefits of Giant status. Although towards the end these benefits were not really obvious.<br />
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I have started to move the reviews, suitably modified to Bubblews which I use for short, posts about ... well almost nothing really, but a short time spent on Bubblews does seem to help to make up for the loss of on-line income from Squidoo. HP is paying but I doubt whether I will make their minimum payment every month. On current earnings, it will take me a month and a half to earn the $50 needed to get paid. Still, once things get sorted by christmas, the end of the four month grace period, I will have to make some real decisions.<br />
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Now what have I been doing recently?<br />
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I am still not working properly after my operation, but have managed a few atc's, two particularly for the PDA challenge/swap. This group is suffering from a drop-off in entrants but hopefully the end of the summer will see some extra action again. If you are looking for a "low-maintenance" atc trading group, why not give <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/group/atcaceoartistcards" target="_blank">the atc artists' group at PDA</a> a go, all styles and levels welcome.<br />
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The theme in September was SEASONS, here are my entries for the challenge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhio4P3u_g400eeOAmpTnIVHwI1Ka2w8a4qbJx3zfcI7qJE4eO3wcaV3Vcanfp3yusdgbuSchl8GfB7NrJuMiAuil8bbcE5baqpFzy2_jOdpkMGvKFRscNLDa1Tqyk6uUy-5yOmIr9DVv-l/s1600/spring_pda_450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhio4P3u_g400eeOAmpTnIVHwI1Ka2w8a4qbJx3zfcI7qJE4eO3wcaV3Vcanfp3yusdgbuSchl8GfB7NrJuMiAuil8bbcE5baqpFzy2_jOdpkMGvKFRscNLDa1Tqyk6uUy-5yOmIr9DVv-l/s1600/spring_pda_450.jpg" height="320" width="237" /></a></div>
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Not sure if I have missed the theme on this one but it is supposed to represent SPRING<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEi1XIaoMbd6g6WRsYw5zbd4JfUG8NQ4NkmLscarqdbWAgWPxntacFQy-cHaAj6sO1qHSUXYUjxE7XJp5HW2tIYVZhioefzqFt6rY28cfJdq-ulhgCtsyLLrjW2nKfbnswikt9H7P0Ba6/s1600/summer_pda_450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEi1XIaoMbd6g6WRsYw5zbd4JfUG8NQ4NkmLscarqdbWAgWPxntacFQy-cHaAj6sO1qHSUXYUjxE7XJp5HW2tIYVZhioefzqFt6rY28cfJdq-ulhgCtsyLLrjW2nKfbnswikt9H7P0Ba6/s1600/summer_pda_450.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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A more targeted offering for SUMMER.<br />
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You can quickly see some of the atc's entered for the group's challenges at the group's official blog, <a href="http://atcpda.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Artist Trading Cards on PDA</a>.<br />
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Well I hope to be back to normal with my art/craft interests quite soon and return to a more regular posting on this and my other blogs. Keep on creating! See you soon.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-82310390124897875762014-09-10T16:22:00.001+01:002014-09-10T16:22:54.822+01:00Hub Pages is calling me .....Well here we go, having deleted nearly twenty Squidoo lenses which I did not think would sit happily on HubPages, 79 of my remaining lenses have been transferred to that site. My profile on there is under my real name of <a href="http://johndyhouse.hubpages.com/" target="_blank">John Dyhouse</a>.<br />
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Only a few have been graced with the ignominious red skull, which indicates a violation of the TOS. These are not quite as lax as those of Squidoo so some work needed to edit the new Hubs to meet these new requirements. Looking at the marked Hubs, I find that they mostly refer to All-Posters images and Zazzle products. Both sites were "white-listed" at Squidoo so on some sites they were librally sprinkled throughout a lens. Luckily, I do not have too many of these.<br />
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The bigger problem will be revising the format of the best performing lenses which were all quite long. I shall be taking steps to cull some of the more pointless information, which I may well start to use to make the odd post on this or other blogs I currently write. Don't fear that I will be flooding you with pointless information though. For instance, I have (had) a lens on techniques for making art trading cards,<a class="title" href="http://johndyhouse.hubpages.com/hub/making_aceos"> Making Artist Trading Cards - 1001 Techniques </a>maybe you have read it. In it I cover many techniques which are not very common such as paper sculpture. I will probably leave this out of the revised Hub, and create a short post on this Blog. <br />
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So much for my new work schedule, though we lensmasters do have four months to edit and revise our new hubs it may well be a close call.<br />
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Now, what have I been doing this past month. Well my recent surgery has kept my crafting activities to a minimum but I do have the usual ATC cards for the monthly challenge/swap on <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/" target="_blank">Paper Digital Art and Images by Kim</a>, the theme was to colour orange. Some very unusual interpretations but here are my entries.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDA-XNnqv7eemrYV405G3Xeujf1xQvOyTIXPDqSLOfvt2F4qe9tU_AX6lTWUlfbMf1uwonXLZKGFRsrgJqJPqpfQVVakw8nUz0RtdsDdFIVuOoGR1VJ7OnLhhG8z9K1ue62JJKLH0G-1bK/s1600/DSCF5736_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDA-XNnqv7eemrYV405G3Xeujf1xQvOyTIXPDqSLOfvt2F4qe9tU_AX6lTWUlfbMf1uwonXLZKGFRsrgJqJPqpfQVVakw8nUz0RtdsDdFIVuOoGR1VJ7OnLhhG8z9K1ue62JJKLH0G-1bK/s1600/DSCF5736_350.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
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This first card utilised a "lacy" black backing paper over an orange card. The vintage image was a lady wearing an orange dress.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiyeyOj-mTEl9MIzu8dEEzFv7Zrtfw-zjlytEF4NoJNCV_SDIdmKT97StVvjnGN2IG6Izyvd7jx53RzzvzrPPNiwF7a35skQw5lrtI_ElqcwbCPr7yoE3s9-XfPdHfitX4beIMtgq7SMJa/s1600/DSCF5737_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiyeyOj-mTEl9MIzu8dEEzFv7Zrtfw-zjlytEF4NoJNCV_SDIdmKT97StVvjnGN2IG6Izyvd7jx53RzzvzrPPNiwF7a35skQw5lrtI_ElqcwbCPr7yoE3s9-XfPdHfitX4beIMtgq7SMJa/s1600/DSCF5737_350.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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This card is an abstract interpretation which had nothing whatsoever to do with the fruit. Hope you are able to enjoy the colours.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-72481256530730783562014-08-22T14:06:00.003+01:002014-08-22T14:06:40.781+01:00After the dust has cleared from Squidoo ...I had been wondering what to do with this set of blogs, you may have noticed that The last post was nearly three months ago. A combination of factors really but two closures for me have finally stung me into action.<br />
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First of all, long term illness in the family together with my own hospitalisation for a total knee replacement meant that I had to cut down on time spent on the internet. However, the two factors which have pushed me into action were:<br />
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<li>The closure of Squidoo, which had been my main writing site and</li>
<li>the continued lack of payments by Bubblews for as far as I am concerned no good reason.</li>
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I have always maintained that I wrote on-line to share my hobbies / interests but even so if a site offers to pay for content and a writer sticks to their rules (where many do not) I simply got too frustrated to bother to carry on with that site. Also they changed their rules so that only one image was possible and in doing this destroyed a few hundred short articles which I had written on the site. It has become a very spammy site and more of a place for social chit-chat than well written articles. I have had more than enough of the attitude of the admin team to their contributors. It has become a total scam.<br />
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I wrote on Squidoo because it was available in 2007 when I wanted a free-hosting site to develop web-pages without too much knowledge of HTML, etc. I found out I could earn money on there, and over the past 12-15 months, despite issues with Google Panda, I started earning a small but regulaar amount. They are to close by the end of this month and articles (lenses) are to be transferred to HubPages. It remains to be seen wether this will be an easy process, but I fear the worst.<br />
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I will be spending far more time writing on my own sites; blogs and web-pages where the content I want to write / show will not be decided by others. I will not be trying to make lots of money from these sites although I do have a few adsense adverts around the page. I will be keeping adverts strictly limited.<br />
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The major difference for this blog is that I will be explaining the processes and methods I use to create the art which I show on here. In the recent past, I have shown (mostly) collaged ATC's, but I hope to widen the scope of my artwork now that I have more time and talk about the why's and wherefore's.<br />
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Just to add a little imagery, here is a new ATC created for one of my challenges in <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/" target="_blank">the ATC group on PDA</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlYXCbxKiUThUPQxqoge3xtseEfDeRFEWI5MU7G9n0lnyzo68h3oTqDncSnRosRW8VTu4xTkvmahrV9J7szhgq8thZoDwDbEjuKR1uEOa4_EQbPJuSBCc2w0OODd3Eqfxg8yIB8F5nc_j/s1600/DSCF5717_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlYXCbxKiUThUPQxqoge3xtseEfDeRFEWI5MU7G9n0lnyzo68h3oTqDncSnRosRW8VTu4xTkvmahrV9J7szhgq8thZoDwDbEjuKR1uEOa4_EQbPJuSBCc2w0OODd3Eqfxg8yIB8F5nc_j/s1600/DSCF5717_350.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
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Very little to say about this one. I had to create a couple for the challenge and still not feeling well I chose a very simple design. The whole picture, background and beauties was layered down onto the backing card. This was then decorated by using a piece of ribbon stuck down and also held by a couple of brads. The text was created using a collage sheet which I purchased as a download from Lisa Vollrath a few years ago and had never used. Do you do that? Collect stuff you think may be useful and then forget why you bought it. I guess many of us crafters/artists do so, that is surely why we have such a large stash of materials in our studios.<br />
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Anyway, please look out for new posts in the near future, I hope I will be seeing you.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-61405997319835149942014-05-22T09:46:00.001+01:002014-05-22T09:46:35.069+01:00Have to keep making those ATC'sNow with so much going on, I still seem to be making ATC cards. Not as many as I used to do but they still keep rolling off the line regularly. And the thing is I always feel so very happy with most of them. I still enjoy the sheer simplicity of a simple collaged ATC.<br />
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Yes, I use a background (several layers possibly) and not only a main image but also other images which extend the story. And most of my ATC's do tell a story.<a href="http://artyfax.squidoo.com/everything-i-have-learned-about-artist-trading-cards" target="_blank"> I have writen a few tutorials on creating simple ATC's which you can find on Squidoo</a>. This page covers articles about ATC's (ACEO's), tutorials and some thoughts on various aspects of ATC's.<br />
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Today, I am posting 2 cards from another challenge on PDA, with the theme, RETRO<br />
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If you like a good read, then try this article,<a href="http://why I feel" target="_blank"> Simplicity in Art</a>, in which a try to explain why I feel so happy with this concept. It is based on quotes from many masters from the past and right up to the present time. I also include oone or two from other art forms which I feel may apply and add value to the discussion.<br />
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-77147221171589848592014-05-08T14:13:00.002+01:002014-05-08T14:13:53.852+01:00Exhibition Extra - how to use all those fun canvasesWe held the exhibition this past weekend and what a success. It was a glorious holiday weekend and this bought out crowdss of people into the town centre, lots of them popping in to visit our exhibition. I have already written about this on <a href="http://paintingwithjohn.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/knowle-art-group-exhibition-2014.html" target="_blank">my painting blog</a> so I will not repeat myself here.<br />
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You didn't know I had a separate blog for painting? It has been active for some time now and in fact is one of SEVEN (yes 7 blogs) which I write to keep the posts limited to niche areas. The trouble is that I have to be careful about keeping to a schedule or I find myself missing posting to one or more of them.<br />
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The blogs can be accessed via the <span style="color: red;">navigation bar</span> just under the header image at the top of the page. If you did not realise I was writing so many blogs then why not browse over to find out what is happening. There are times when I do write across subjects but this is mainly because one of my interests has been keeping me busy and I have missed a post or two. For example, I have recently spent some time converting several e-books (<a href="http://www.scribd.com/my-uploads" target="_blank">on scribd</a>) to a format which allows me to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=John+Dyhouse&search-alias=books&text=John+Dyhouse&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">publish as a paperback on Amazon</a>, I have excused a lack of posts for a few weeks on my blog, <a href="http://anovelappears.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/procrastination-or-clearing-decks.html" target="_blank">A Novel Appears</a>, by mentioning these books, three of which are poetry collections. And now I have done the same on this blog. You can of course flit from one blog to another using the navigation bar. It is essentially the same on each blog.<br />
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But to the real point of this post, I mentioned the exhibition last time and slipped in a photo of my frames paintings. I also exhibited a collection of the miniature canvases I have been working on. Mostly acrylic landscapes, but they are the same size as the Artist Trading Cards and I think they are really dinky. Most of my colleagues in the group agree however I did not sell any. As for the exhibition, we all considered it a great success based on a 30% increase in footfall over our best previous visitor numbers. Sales however were very poor, a sign of the times perhaps?<br />
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My miniatures displayed at the exhibition</div>
<br />John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-88241306359038128952014-04-22T12:03:00.000+01:002014-04-22T12:03:13.589+01:00More ATC's, 2014 Exhibition, New Web-siteI have several thing to cram into this week's post, as you can see from that badly formed title. Oh yes, a title is important!<br /><br />First of all I have two ATC cards for the latest PDA challenge, the theme this month is Queens/Royalty, I could have come up with something a little more original but I was sitting working in front of the TV and my mind was sapped with the crap on the screen, I guess. 500 channels of Sh_t, now where have I heard that before? But here they are anyway:-<br />
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I have titled this card</div>
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MARIE ANTOINETTE</div>
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A TUDOR QUEEN</div>
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I feel that I have become too stuck with simple collages, and need to get awa from the TV (!!) and out of this aquired comfort zone to try some of the dozens of other techniques (if not hundreds) which used to keep me coming back for more with excitement and creativity.</div>
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Maybe I need to kick myself up the butt and stop procrastinating. But what else have I got for you? Oh yes my art groups annual exhibition will be held in two weeks time. With a larger group this year we have been limited to five paintings each - but I have framed 6 just in case. We always seem to be able to use a few extra when we have hung the items in the catalogue.</div>
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They are all pastel landscapes this year, no abstracts have got under the bar although the two on the lower right are very brightly coloured. Are they abstracts or possibly semi-abstracts or simply expressionistic interpretations?<br />
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And finally, I am creating a set of static web-sites (on WIX.COM) to stand as complimentary sites to my blogs. Have you seen any of my other blogs, they can accessed via the navigation bar just below the header. So far I have set up sites to feature myself as a <a href="http://johndyhouse.wix.com/poetry-by-john" target="_blank">poet/writer</a>, a <a href="http://johndyhouse.wix.com/guitarbashin" target="_blank">musician/songwriter</a> and as a <a href="http://johndyhouse.wix.com/pastellandscapes" target="_blank">pastel artist</a>. Please feel free to take a look at these although they are only a work-in-progress so far. There will also be more, for instance as a creator of artist trading cards, hopefully featuring many different techniques from my chequered past. See you there, then?<br />
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John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-60748161054950939372014-03-31T23:18:00.000+01:002014-03-31T23:21:09.934+01:00ATC's on a theme of MUSICI do seem to be getting into a rut with my ATC's. I am doing so much these days and it is keeping me from the wide range of art activities which I used to participate in. from writing (several blogs, poetry, articles mainly on Squidoo and now a novel) to art (only weeks away from my art groups annual exhibition) I am not getting enough time to experiment or play with the vast number of techniques available.<br />
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I must try to make time to go back over atc's from the past few years and rediscover those fun techniques which I found so attracted me to the world of ATC's. I have even written a very successful article on Squidoo, <a href="http://artyfax.squidoo.com/making_aceos" target="_blank">Making Art Trading Cards</a> which attracts a number of readers (and a few dollars) everry month. In the article I give examples of many, many techniques and these don't even scratch the surface of what is out there.<br />
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I need to put a little time aside each week (where from I don't know) to get myself inspired again to make new and different cards. But for now, here are another two cards which I have created for the <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/" target="_blank">PDA monthly challenge/swap</a> a small but lively challenge. The theme this month was Music:-<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TIiJN6d9gsAnSsOhM1M9TlfZ7NPecn-sgSxfbxQ4G_ZyI_2m2v2XjVuMjRMvY_5vjpmX5qPfoPLM8PIMrUeL0sFproR14geWknuq4mVOJIhaV0FL6XC5UPiheQxOr15jkh3S-k6YpQz0/s1600/john1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TIiJN6d9gsAnSsOhM1M9TlfZ7NPecn-sgSxfbxQ4G_ZyI_2m2v2XjVuMjRMvY_5vjpmX5qPfoPLM8PIMrUeL0sFproR14geWknuq4mVOJIhaV0FL6XC5UPiheQxOr15jkh3S-k6YpQz0/s1600/john1.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
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I usually give my cards a title as soon as they are done, but here for some reason I have not named either of these yet. Maybe I am afraid of being a little too "twee". You can see more of the cards from this challenge on<a href="http://atcpda.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"> the official PDA blog</a>.<br />
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I hope that by next week, I shall be getting myself sorted out and scheduling a little time for more art in this genre.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-30290234321834010292014-03-17T20:33:00.000+00:002014-03-17T20:33:57.544+00:00Abstract Activity CardsI have been designing a "card" game for artists who need help to create non-representaional paintings, in other words Abstract Paintings.<br />
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This post fits in to this blog becase of the method I used to create my prototype card decks.<br />
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Here you can see four separate decks of cards. I used an old standard deck as a start point, and then printed out roughly ATC sized copies of original pastel paintings / photographs.<br />
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I needed four decks to represent sets of cards which contain instructions to the artist which taken as a whole and used with creativity (I am afraid the artist still has to provide this) will provide a design for an original abstract painting. Whilst it is not intended to provide a masterpiece of abstract art every time, it does give the artist practice at creating non-representational abstracts.<br />
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The three images above show three of the decks; the background, the foreground and a style card. As well as the individual backs for each deck, the front is also colour-coded. I have made enough to show the idea to my artist colleagues and gauge their reactions. A workshop on abstract painting I ran for the group did not produce the results I had hoped for, many were bemused when asked to paint an abstract. they are all competent artists but could not grasp non-representational ideas. <br />
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If you are interested in this "game" / methodology then please see my <a href="http://artyfax.squidoo.com/creative-abstract-card-game" target="_blank">Squidoo Article</a> which is the third in a series describing the reason I designed this game and what it is designed to do.<br />
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I seem to have let this development take over my available spare time this past week or so; it is almost done now and I will be letting it rest for a while. <br />
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-90809109452197042252014-03-04T13:25:00.000+00:002014-03-14T14:16:34.319+00:00ATC's on a theme of IllusionThere has definitely been a change in my output these days, I am painting and writing far more than I ever have since starting this blog. In the early days, I posted about many things her, including all aspects of pictorial art.<br />
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These days I write in separate blogs which cover: crafting, painting, photography, poetry and now writing my first novel. All of these are acccessible from the tabs at the top of this page.<br />
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I also maintain a blog about music and one of my Zazzle stores.<br />
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In a way they are all very closely linked, and often a story will appear in more than one blog slanted to reflect the subject of that blog. For example, A painting mentioned in my painting blog may well appear in my Zazzle store. Or a poem may be included in my novel, giving me ideas about the plot, etc. One thing is certain it all takes time out of my week.<br />
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The entry this week, however, is about more ATC's which I created for a challenge with a theme of "ILLUSION".<br />
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This first was a little tongue in the cheek but the other entrants seemed to like it. BTW, I have done something aabout that terrible question mark but not had time for a second photo. I did not notice it before posting.<br />
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The second alludes to the dreams we all have when young, many turn out to be illusions.<br />
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So there you have it, I do wish I had more time for all my arty interests but I have to ration time if I am to keep them all going. See you next time.John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-27055196747517995162014-02-09T20:55:00.001+00:002014-02-09T20:55:20.336+00:00Steampunk ATCOK so it is back to atc's again, but I do find them to be so relaxing. You cannot go wrong with them. It is always possible to see what they will look like before you appply the glue and finalise the composition. I explain how I go about <a href="http://artyfax.squidoo.com/atc_collage" target="_blank">creating ATC's in an article I wrote on Squidoo</a>; select the background and the elements for the collage, move things around on the base until the composition loooks right and then use the glue. Easy as falling off a log.<br />
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In fact, I have a page highlighting all the ACEO/ATC based articles which I have written on Squiddoo, I called it <a href="http://artyfax.squidoo.com/everything-i-have-learned-about-artist-trading-cards" target="_blank">Everything I have learnt about Artist Trading Cards</a>. Why not take a peek and you might even learn something, even if it is only how little I really know about ATC's :)<br />
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This steampunk card was actually for a challenge in a new group on PDA (Paper Digital Art) which is all about <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/group/everything-steam-punk" target="_blank">Steampunk</a> and related stuff. Although I am so busy with so many things at the moment, I couldn't refuse to learn a little more about this fascinating genre. You can read more about the steampunk movement on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk" target="_blank">Wikipedia </a><br />
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I should be making two but since I am not sure of completing the challenge here is the first anyway.<br />
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I called it, The key to my heart. As it is supposed to be about valentine's day.</div>
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In a few words, steampunk is probably best deined as a mixture of Sci-Fi using victorian technology. Lots of steam-driven stuff, cogs and gears and clocks. Oh yes and headwear which seems to have been inspired by diving helmets. A very strange genre, but one that is great to play with. </div>
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Hope to have the second card available soon.</div>
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4991831259018461648.post-15141166232613956842014-02-03T23:20:00.000+00:002014-02-03T23:20:15.288+00:00Time To Submerge Myself In New WatersSince christmas I have been very busy and my blogs have slipped but coming back I realise that I have fallen into a sort of rut. I have been creating art cards and painting but the subjects and techniques seem to have become very samey, almost stale. I feel that I have to open up a little and try some new things to "get my mojo" back again. I need the change to recover creativity. To some extent writing on-line and writing poetry has kept me going but I am an artist first and foremost so I need to induce a little variation in my work to keep it exciting.<br />
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I will be tackling this issue on all my blogs (have you noticed the tabs below the banner, above) but the different subjects require different approaches and I am thinking hard about all seven blogs and the subject matter.<br />
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This is really just a very quick note to say that I will be developing the blogs to accomodate these changes. BUT I can say that I have at least made some small changes, for instance, I have joined a number of groups on <a href="http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/" target="_blank">PDA</a>, here I am concerned with one which is aimed at Doodling or Zentangles. I have just posted the first drawing in this style which I have done for a very long time.<br />
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Maybe not a brilliant example of the genre, but at least it is not a mixed media collage. Oh, I will still be doing these and many of them but at least the die is set to make those changes.<br />
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Two older attempts at this art form are:-<br />
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These next three sketches are examples of doodles where I was trying to sketch an "idea". The first is to illustrate a "story that tells itself".<br />
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A "story without an end"<br />
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The idea of "structures"<br />
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More examples of different genres, etc, to follow in the near future - I hope!<br />
John Dyhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15030825278881460771noreply@blogger.com0