IN THE MEANTIME...

I am frustrated that I don't have time to work on some painting.  I have managed to do some work in my sketchbook but mostly I am doing catch up activities, office tasks and other uninteresting but necessary activities.  I am preparing for a workshop in LaCrosse next week and converting my clip files of examples to a digital presentation.  I am anxious to see if this will be as helpful to the students.  In the meantime, I found this amazing video of Vincent VanGogh's portraits morphing one into the other.  I don't know how to resize it to fit better on the blog, but you can see most of the image and the startling effect! If you double click on the screen, it will open up and you will be able to see the entire image full size.

 One artist. one face and so much difference in each image.  Will the real Vincent please stand up.  It makes me wonder which image comes closest to his actual appearance.  I would love to know how this smooth morphing technique is done.  It would be fun to apply it to my own self portraits.

SMALL TUTORIAL ON CREATING A VIDEO

In response to some of the comments and questions on my last post of creating a video demo, I thought I would share with you what I have learned so far.  The camera is an amazing!!!! little thing. I placed it under a dollar bill and next to my ipod for size comparison  I think there are a number of brands on the market, but the one I initially saw was the one Costco had.  I had a year end check from Costco - based on my credit card purchases with them - and I wanted to spend it on something other than groceries.  The devise is called a FLIP Video mino HD.  I have posted photos of the equipment.  This little video device takes high definition video and has a built in usb connection (I popped it out for the photo) where you just attach it to your computer for downloading.  The software is also built into the camera.  The camera has 60 minutes of recording on 4 GB of memory.  The battery is rechargable by plugging into the computer.  The whole thing is sealed so I don't know what happens when the batteries finally go dead.  Anyone out there know?  The other benefit is you can isolate a frame from the video and print it out as a single image.  This makes getting an action shot or a stealth shot fairly easy.  I haven't tested this aspect yet.  The cost for this device was $150 with a $30 instant rebate.  Even with California sales tax I got some change back from my check!  So, it feels like I got a free present from Costco.

The other piece of equipment that was very helpful is my Gorilla Pod tripod.  This is a flexible devise that is stable on any surface and can be positioned perfectly at any angle.  When I discovered this fabulous little gizmo, I had a heavier camera than the one I use now, so I bought the medium size Gorillapod.  This little Flip Camcorder can be easily supported on the small size one.  This larger one actually stands taller, so I find it useful for this setup.

I learned that it will be best to do short segments of video that can be stitched together by the software into one smooth seamless movie.  I haven't mastered the editing part yet.  As far as I can figure out, there is very little instruction information, so it is trial and error.

The hardest part is talking while videoing.  It feels kind of embarrassing talking to yourself and then hearing your voice  when you play it back.  That part will feel more comfortable with time and practice.

The software makes it easy to upload the finished movie to you-tube.  From there you can copy the html and drop it into a blog or website.  You can also send the video in an e-mail.

Any tips and tricks using this or a similar devise are more than welcome!

MY DIRECTORIAL DEBUT!

I purchased a wonderful little mini camcorder today and this is my first effort! I am excited about the possibilities. It will take me some time to fully understand how to do everything. Please share any helpful hints and/or suggestions for improving the quality. Also what other demos you might want to see. I am thinking I could video each drawing I do for the Drawn to the Mirror project.

MY FIRST ATC'S

Today was the annual Holiday Party for our Critique Group. It is the highlight of the season for me. This is a group of very, very talented artists who have become wonderful friends. The annual party is very festive with great food, an extremely generous hostess who offers her magnificent home each year and lots of great art. This past year we had occasion to make a book of Artist Trading Cards from each of us put into a small book as a "Get Well" gift and a "Happy 80th Birthday" gift. The rest of us were jealous and trying to figure out how we could snag one of these "books" when we came up with the idea to create one for each of us as the painting holiday gift exchange. We each needed to make 18 little 2.5 x 3.5 A.T.C. paintings for the exchange. WHAT FUN! We had a great time looking at each artist's efforts. Then, we dropped one in each of the 18 bags (made to look like a Christmas Boot) After lunch, we each put our little books together and then everyone signed their card in each other's books. It reminded me of several fun times in school (Valentine's day, yearbook signing day, art projects).

Today I am posting my set of cards I made for this gift exchange. I collaged over an old painting and cut it up into the right size cards. A half sheet of watercolor paper will yield 18 cards. I drew this figures with a permanent fine point pen then colored them in with oil based colored pencils. The finishing touches were put on with a gold pen. (The gold photographs white!)

Tomorrow I will post the sets of paintings by the others. Jane Ferguson made a little video showing how to make the book. I am sharing that video with all of you so you, too, can have the fun of making one of these little treasures.