a swift pass

I know, I know: Corny title. I couldn't resist.

So here's the next pass on the chimney swift from before. I decided to keep the tail. And nix the nest. It didn't seem necessary. Again, striving for tactility in the marks, proper "structure", and line weight to give depth and convey hard/soft edges in space.

In other news, I've been thinking again about teaching myself to tattoo. Free simple tattoos! Any takers?

The Next Pass

Finally got back to work on this after a long work week. Headed off on a work trip in a couple days, so this is probably the last entry for a while. I'm pretty satisfied with it in its current state. Might need to spend another few minutes on the face. It's definitely a lot cleaner now. The marks are more tactile and the line weights are more effective. I find it difficult to ignore value (and in this case, the pattern on the feathers) and still try to accomplish the illusion of a change in plane. That's what's got the left side of the face looking so much heavier than the right at the moment.

If I make the time to finish up those chimney swifts, we'll be back in business on the computer...

The Other Stuff

So this is what I've been keeping under my hat: Anaglyph stereo images. I'm still getting a handle on this part of it, but it's about time to start making prints and paintings out of them. These are just objects, but I do have environments (meaning buildings) in the works. The current long-term goal is to create an entire world in 3-D so that I can basically compose my own interiors, still-lives, etc.  I think it'd take me a year of full-time work to finish everything I've started so far, and I'm already more excited about things I haven't even started yet...

...which is now making me wonder why I'm drawing those birds...

Considering past events regarding my process, I'm hesitant to go into the details of how these have gotten to their current state. I was hesitant to even let anyone see this stuff, but this forum seems "safe". Anyone with a decent amount of smarts and motivation could do this, anyway. In the end, it's the natural idiosyncrasies of the individual that make the piece what it is. If your idiosyncrasies are more charming and accessible than mine (and many are), then you'll end up making it yours and not mine. There's no more intellectual property among individuals, anyway. That kind of opens up the big old can of worms called ethics (no, not morals: ethics. The way I see it, morals are oriented towards specific actions and social control, ethics are oriented towards a worldview and how one wants to effect the world). And that's beyond the scope of this blog.

All that said, this is extremely time consuming work. The birds were public property, the cages mine. The rest of it is made from the ground up by me using various methods. One of the guiding principles of this body of work is to make the thing "all the way through" to paraphrase Robert Irwin.

Having worked from photos for most of my life, I'm at a point where I feel like I have to use the reference to make something that's my own, rather than pay homage to it. I'd like the end product to be something interesting, as well, but that's another matter. I'll probably be working on that one for the rest of my life. I guess that's the point.

Red lens on the Left
I plan on re-drawing this one to put the light source at the center of the honeycomb. And right now it's too washed out in comparison to the hand
(and this one is better at full screen)

It's a good idea to play around with the viewing size, as that has a major effect on the quality of the stereopsis.

Red lens on the Left
Needs more contrast, but you get the picture.

But I think, dear Imaginary Reader, that you can see how I would say that I'm not really thinking in terms of painting at the moment.

Red lens on the Right
using an old method, making the cage to this took two weeks and was full of flaws. with this method, it took maybe two hours. total. and then i got more ambitious.

As far as how to view these, send a dollar in a SASE (Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope) to:

Red lens on the Left

Tim Brown

c/o Oat Willie's

617 W 29th St

Austin, TX 78705

Red lens on the Right
...big plans for this one...

And I'll send you a pair of red/cyan or red/blue glasses to view these with. You can also use any other glasses that use those colors. Hell, red/green may even work. But if you can't find any, I'm here for you. Funds will go toward buying more glasses and (hopefully) making some screen printed mailers some day. If you buy glasses from me or if you just send me your snail mail address, I'll save it for that project.

Red lens on the Left
domes will fade to white at the base. better larger...

I'm also sorry to say that not everyone can see in stereo. I've been kicking this idea around for over a decade and working on it for over two years now. I recently found out that someone important to me doesn't see in stereo, and it breaks my heart to be unable to share this stuff with him. He and his brother are two awesome little men.

The end of 2010, the beginning of 2011

Following are images of one part of what I've been doing. Started a painting in the summer, but never finished it. I let the job and life get in the way, and for some reason painting just hasn't been very central to how I conceive things lately. That's what 2 degrees will get you, I guess.

Anyways, yes, mostly drawing. Good old draughtsmanship: solidity, austerity, clarity. Those are the goals. No fudging allowed. Everything in the drawing has a purpose. The rest gets chucked. I don't want to waste anyone else's time or attention on anything inconsequential to the piece. Even if it's just a little picture (or maybe especially because), it's worth saying things clearly. To be useful, even ambiguity has to have a purpose, something it's pointing towards.

It's pretty obvious why this one was done. The tail looks kinda broken and that big loop is kinda silly in retrospect, but there's no taking it down. I'll post a pic of the sign later.

 This was the sketch for a rejected t-shirt design for KOOP. They went with a copyright-free clip art paste-up instead.  This is the same thing that happened when I submitted designs for KALX years ago. I think the clip art for both of those came from the same book. I guess I know how to win those contests now!

 and then there are more birds. I defy you to tell me that you still think grackles are ugly.

 can't decide yet whether the tail should stay or go. These guys (or this guy when I decide) need to be cleaned up.

And this one needs more work. Just one sitting so far. He'll need another approach once I figure out how to make that wing look more supple.

Like I said, I'm keeping it humble. For now. I'll devote the next one to the *other* stuff.