Posts Tagged ‘art’

Bionic Cnidaria Computer Art

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Bionic Cnidaria
Bionic Cnidaria

Had a tough time deciding whether or not Bionic Cnidaria belonged in the Computer Art Gallery or in the Nature Art Gallery. One the one hand it is meant to be a tribute of sorts to the phylum of cnidaria, which includes jellyfish. On the other hand it is an artifical creation of my own imagination. In the end I decided to add he/she/it to my Computer Art Gallery.

When visiting Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium or Brookfield Zoo, I’m always drawn to the jellyfish and the slow rhythmic fluidity of their movement. Now I need to decide whether or not to create more cnidaria.

For more about this new piece of art and to see a wallpaper sized version, check out my Bionic Cnidaria Computer Art page.

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Posted in Art and Artists, Digital Art, computer art | No Comments »

Artist Reception and New Art

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Modern Life
Modern Life

I’ll be leaving in a couple of hours to attend an artists’ reception at Advocate Good Shepard Hospital in Barrington. The reception is for myself and fellow artist Eric Hill. It is being sponsored by the Northwest Cultural Council. Eric and I are both artists in the Northwest Cultural Council’s Corporate Art Gallery program and currently have art on display at the hospital.

So here is a chance for you to have some free wine and cheese, talk with Eric and myself about whatever strikes your fancy, look at some art, and have a good time. The reception begins at 5:30pm and runs until 7:30pm. For complete details on the reception, see
Artist Reception at Advocate Good Shepard Hospital, Barrington

The Illustration

To illustrate this post I used a piece of art that I just added to my Technology Gallery. Titled Modern Life it is based on a digital photograph I took a year ago. For more about the piece and to view a wallpaper sized version of the same, see
Modern Life.

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Posted in Abstract Art, Art Shows, Art and Artists, Digital Art | No Comments »

It’s All A Conspiracy

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Conspiracy Crowd
Are You In On It?

Yes they are all in it together. In this case they is that unknown force which has worked to arrange it so that everything that I am even remotely interested in doing is happening on the same weekend in February.

It all started with the Capricon Science Fiction Convention. I will be participating in their art show, deliver two presentations on art, and be a panelist on a number of panels. Capricon is Feb 11-14.

Along comes the Northwest Cultural Council and offers a seminar on State Of The Art Giclee Reproductions. I would love to attend but can’t because it is that same Saturday.

I was then asked if I could do a presentation for the Northern Illinois Rocketry Association at their mini-conference scheduled for the same Saturday. Would have loved to both present and attend but alas no can do.

I was also asked to speak to a school group on that Friday about careers in the aerospace, astronomical, and planetary science fields. Can’t make that one either.

Most of all I would have loved to attend the College Art Association Annual Conference being held in Chicago this year! If it wasn’t for my obligations to Capricon, I would be at this conference.

There was something else as well - I forget what it was but it was the same weekend so that was dismissed.

And oh, I forgot to mention that my older son’s birthday is, yep you guessed it, that Friday!

On the bright side - nothing else has showed up on my radar screen for the other 24 days of the month.

Sadly this seems to be all to typical for me. I distinctly remember after returning from my honeymoon with my wife - we were discussing vacation plans for the next year. Out of 52 weekends I had only one weekend blocked out - that to attend the International Space Development Conference. My wife wanted us to go to California to celebrate her father’s 60th birthday. You guessed it - out of 52 possible weekends her father’s birthday was the same weekend as the conference I was obligated to attend. So for our first vacation post-honeymoon, we spent it a few thousand miles apart.

Being powerless to stop this evil conspiracy, I’ll just shrug it off and do my best to enjoy all those other free weekends.

Jim

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Posted in Odds and Ends, Presentations, SF Cons | 1 Comment »

Space Art and Astronomical Art for Mensans

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Mensa audience at costume parade
An audience of Mensans at the costume parade

Last Halloween weekend I attended the Chicago regional Mensa gathering known as HalloweeM. Held at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest in Arlington Heights, this four day event brings together Mensans and features presentations, games, food, drink, and a costume parade.

This was the second HalloweeM that I’ve attended as a speaker. At last year’s HalloweeM I gave two presentations. One was my The Universe According to Monty Python presentation which deals with a range of astronomical and cosmological topics. My other presentation was Algorithmic Art: Where Art Meets Math - a personal favorite of mine as it deals with a topic that fascinates me. You can read more about my exploits at that HalloweeM at Mensa, Algorithmic Art, and Monty Python.

My original schedule called for me to speak Friday night. My presentation that evening was Art And The Exploration of Space which is a history of the evolution of space art and the ways in which art has been used with respect to space exploration.

Later that evening while thoroughly enjoying the ample quantities of food and drink served up to the attendees, I was approached and informed that one of the speakers for Saturday had to cancel and would I be interested in coming back and giving another presentation. I promptly said yes and then proceeded to scratch my head trying to decide which talk to give. I did not want to repeat either of the presentations that I had given last year. I finally decided on giving one of my newer presentations - The Art of Astronomy, a talk I had recently given at the Hinsdale Public Library. This presentation deals with astronomical art as opposed to space art. Think of astronomical art as being about nature and space art as being about the human exploration of space.

In addition to my presentations, and lots of eating and drinking, I also attended a few other programs. The most interesting, and which I unfortunately missed the first half of, was That We May Never Forget: Chronicling the Life and Experiences of a Child Holocaust Survivor by Paul Argiewicz, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. His was a moving story. One thing that particularly struck me was his deep love of the United States. I feel that this man has a far greater appreciation of our country than many of our native born citizens who have known no other way of life.

Ad Astra, Jim

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Space Art for Mensa

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Digital Painting of a Stellar Atmosphere
Digital Painting Study of a Stellar Atmosphere

This Friday October 30 I’ll be speaking at the Chicago regional Mensa gathering known as HalloweeM. My topic for the evening will be Art And The Exploration of Space. I start off by providing a history of space art and how space art has evolved over time. Perhaps more than any other art form space art has truly been influenced by technology beginning with the invention of the telescope.

The bulk of my presentation deals with the different ways in which art can be used to convey information and emotion. A fair portion of the art I use is art that was created as a part of the NASA Art Program. Last year an excellent book on the subject was released. You may want to read my book review NASA/ART: 50 Years of Exploration.

This four day gathering of mensans is being held at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest in Arlington Heights. To learn more about the Mensa HalloweeM, visit HalloweeM 34: Chicago-area Mensa legendary gathering. You can also read a news release I placed on my web site: Digital Artist Jim Plaxco and Space Art Featured at Regional Mensa Gathering

The Illustration

To illustrate this post I’ve used a small digital painting I recently did of a stellar atmosphere. This was a study of a technique that I’ve been working on. The software I used was Adobe Photoshop. My focus was on painting the star’s limb. My next step will be to focus on the star’s main surface. If I am satisfied with the results, I will proceed to do a full size version.

Ad Astra, Jim

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Posted in Presentations, Space Art | No Comments »

Art Quotes and Artists & Art Materials USA 2009

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Not A Flying Saucer
Not A Flying Saucer

Last night I added two new pages to my Artsnova web site. The first is A Small Collection of Art Quotes which consists of both some funny and serious quotes about art. I’ve been collecting quotes for some time and figured it was time to share some of my favorites.

The second addition - Reflections on Artists & Art Materials USA 2009 - is an overview of the Executive Summary of the Artists & Art Materials USA 2009 industry survey. As an artist, the most interesting aspect of the summary is the information about the categorization of artists and the amount of artwork created last year.

The Illustration

The illustration I used for this post is not a flying saucer. It’s not even a flying sausage. In fact it only flies if flung. This is the result of some Photoshop manipulation of a … well I’ll let you use your imagination.

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There Once Was A Limerick

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Forest Guardian
Forest Guardian

I always had a fondness for limericks. I recall reading that Isaac Asimov, one of my favorite science fiction authors, was quite fond of composing limericks on demand. A few months ago I was looking at a photograph of some installation art that seemed to involve hanging an automobile from some ceiling. That image inspired me to write the following limerick which I titled An Artist’s Fate.

An Artist’s Fate

There once was an artist named Roe Tate
with a serious itch to be great
He created some art
using old auto parts
But his art ran him over - that’s fate

Earlier today I rediscovered this limerick in one of my to-do files and wondered if it was short enough to post on my Twitter account. Alas, no - nine characters too long. But the thought of posting a limerick to Twitter was now implanted in my brain and I resolved to write a limerick short enough to post.

After some head scratching, I came up with the following limerick:

Twitter One Four Zero

Twitter’s limit is one four zero
In which to post I am a hero
This brevity with words
Is strictly for the birds
No time to fiddle like Nero

Unfortunately Twitter strips out the carriage returns so my four line limerick becomes a one liner and I didn’t have the characters to spare to insert any sort of separator between lines. If you head over to my Twitter account you can see the limerick in all its glory. End of story.

The Illustration
To illustrate my limerick post I pulled a photograph of a bush that I had taken atop a small mountain in Arizona. Using Photoshop, a variety of filters and adjustment layers, I converted that photograph into the pictured titled Forest Guardian.

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