art

Free-form Crazy Quilting

My wife is currently working on recycling all of her old yarn into this patchwork unplanned quilt type thing. The quilt has knitted bits, some crochet and will probably have things hanging off it by the time it is finished. It is a work in progress.

Here are some photographs, click on the small thumbnail for the larger image and the double arrow for an even larger one.

A quick note about the photography: Accuracy was deemed more important than warm and fuzzy so I went with two full spectrum daylight balanced floor lamps one on each side of the quilt. These were placed at a roughly 20 degree angle to the quilt. This is great lighting for bringing out lumps and bumps i.e. the third dimension. Not great lighting to use on a middle aged or elderly people unless you are going for gritty realism.

No diffusion was used and this really adds to the cool hard look. Again, don’t do this when photographing your elderly relatives – they won’t thank you.

I placed a homemade reflector under the quilt at a 45 degree angle to throw a little more light onto the bottom edge of the quilt. The reflector is a 4ft disc made out of a plastic hula hoop and that insulating silver material that is a bit like bubblewrap.

Painting Sold at Auction

Just to prove that I do something other than rant about politics dept.

Found out the other day that one of my paintings sold during our local PSB TV channel’s annual auction:

The auction itself was a few weeks ago.

This is the painting, Boy on a Dune and it was framed, acrylic on canvas 20″ x 16″ It sold for $130, which, considering the economy and the region was pretty good.

Boy on a Dune by Steve Johnson

The setting is Miller Beach on the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan with Chicago in the background.

More of my daubings can be found here: http://artbystevejohnson.com

Newly Added; Digital Art Desktop Wallpaper

I have just added some digital art images (around 35 images) that have been resized for use as Desktop wallpaper or background:

They can be found here

Free Images – Repost from yesterday.

This one is from the illustration pages.

Blog Talk Radio – Must listen!

Show Name:
THE AGE OF NEGLIGENCE: THE DEPRECIATION OF THINKING, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY & CHOICE

11/10/2009 (This Evening!) 9:00 PM

Call in radio show with panel covering possibly the single most important topic there is. Unlike many of my statements that one’s not hyperbole.

Sixty people pay nearly $10,000 to become spiritual warriors at spiritual teacher James Ray’s retreat. Despite the signals of the body and verbal complaints, they are encouraged to surpass their limits. Two die and dozens are hospitalized. Flocks of people stand together in defense of a Bible that they have never read and denounce people that they have never met. Teams of “patriots” protest legislation that doesn’t exist. Less than half of Americans know that the earth orbits the sun. Have we given up personal responsibility for the comfort of victimization? Have we grown so weary of thinking that we allow others to do it for us? Have we surrendered knowledge for entertainment? Have we forgotten that not making a choice IS making a choice? Many suggest that we are quickly becoming a flock of ineffective sheep with a growing inability to engage critical thinking. Personal enlightenment gurus, organized religion, politicians, media pundits…to whom are you surrending YOUR power? Are we on the fast lane to destruction or can we turn this car around? Join Mark Ward, AJ Lambert and guest panelist Donna Blanchard for a discussion about what we have become and where we may be heading. Call in and join the conversation. We want to hear what’s on your mind.

Listen to The Pill on Blog Talk Radio