An egocentric artists' cooperative with no defined boundaries of discipline. The MPA exists as a protective cocoon where pretentiousness comes to morph gracefully into subtle arrogance. We post about our own art as well as art that we encounter throughout our travels.
Loud Shirt Friday is a project developed by the Communications Committee at my place of business. I was elated to find out that I could create the flyer and have creative freedom over the finished product.
I've used some new tools available only in Adobe Creative Suite 4 and above (I work in CS 5), like turning effects layers into their own seperate, editable layer. This allows you to build certain effects on top of others.
What does this mean? Well, basically, a stroke can be placed on top of a stroke, and a drop shadow can be placed on top of another drop shadow, etc.
Notice how the "Loud Shirt" seems to be building out into four different colors. This could be done in earlier versions of Creative Suite, but this effect is easier to achieve now.
The feedback around the office on this flyer has been fantastic. Now, let's see what kind of creative LOUD shirts we all come up with ;)
I was taking a sunset walk when I came across an old clothes line behind a stand of trees. The posts were made of iron and securely anchored into the ground. The line had seen better days and was quite rusted.
Towards one end of the clothes line were several clothes pins. I was struck by how completely non-mathematical their arrangement was. I often find myself snapping photos of seemingly 'random' patterns such as coffee stains, liquid spills, bread crumbs, scattered rice or fallen leaves. Normally these things catch my eye because the pattern that appears seems to have a level of organization that belies the organic or accidental origins of the subject.
What I hope to convey with this shot is that peculiar attraction that certain uninteresting objects can have. It is an allure that resonates with the perfect blandness of the object. I have been told that in the film industry a clothespin is known by the slang term "C-47".
I chose a slightly saturated look for this to bring out the highlights of the setting sun. I combined this with an overall cooler tone to accentuate the brisk fall environment. I chose a medium f/stop so that all of the clothespins would remain relatively in focus against the background.
This photograph came about during a day of experimentation with different aperture and shutter speed combinations. The settings for this photograph are identical to the settings for Breakfast. The main difference between the two photos is that 4 Windows uses the regular portrait setting while Breakfast was taken on a macro setting. Also, like Breakfast, there is a strong back light.
The most striking thing in this photograph is the color. There has been no color-correction or post-editing (except for resizing) done. Perhaps it is the gradient provided by the reflected light of the white lamp between the two middle windows that causes the whole composition to have a desaturated look that I find very aesthetically pleasing.
The additional elements of a wooden chair and a vase of roses give this scene some context and mystery and the photographer would like to humbly call the viewer's attention to the small blue flower in the window sill second from left. I really enjoy how this accent of blue contrasts with the consistently warm colors in the rest of the scene.
This photograph is a study in false perspective. The subject is a peeled orange. My hope is that the first impression the viewer has is of a subject sitting on the floor within a few feet of a door of some kind with light shining through and under. In fact, there are two sources of light that are separated by a distance of about 8 feet. The main light source is the morning sun coming through the kitchen window (roughly 8 feet from the subject). The second source (the bright spot at left-center) is only a few inches from the subject. It is a reflection being thrown by the beveled front of the stove. That these two light sources seem to combine into a single plane of existence is a remarkable illusion in my opinion. Other aspects of composition took a back seat to this effect and in retrospect I would have liked to have had just touch of fill lighting. Perhaps even a small bounce card of come kind throwing some of the sunlight onto the unlit part of the subject.
This promotional brochure is for Lanakila Pacific in Honolulu, HI. Mainly an InDesign piece, it is part of a holistic promotional branding package that I am working on for our organization.
The package will include roughly six brochures, two flyers and a website overhaul.
Of particular note is the consistent use Orange 021 Pantone throughout. It is the same color for all blocks and gradient backgrounds, just the tint was changed from 20% - 60% - 100%.
Attention to detail is the name of the game (#cliche#) when designing brochures. Look closely at the "Sponsor our Seniors" cutoff on the right hand side. You need to be hella OCD to get check boxes and credit card lines looking that clean.
Last, but not least, is the fonts... I chose a Serif font for the body copy (Minion Pro 8pt, throughout), and a creative font named "Daniel" for the heads.
Again, what does this piece mean? Is there any significance? Not really. But, it is another esthetically pleasing way to get our organization's message out.
Over the holidays I did some photography experimentation. Specifically I was practicing my macro-shooting. I was at my sister-in-law's house when I was inspired to try a detailed focus on a candle flame.
There is nothing spectacular about this picture other than the fact that it was after I took this picture, I noticed my retractable plastic lens-shield was not completely closing when the camera was powered off. Other than leaving the lens exposed while the camera is not in use, it does not seem to be hampering the function of the camera.
However, now it seems like when my camera is powered off that it is only pretending to be asleep. I have convinced myself that I obsessively store the camera in its protective case to keep dust from scratching the lens. In reality it is because the transformation of the camera from a utilitarian technological tool into a robot feigning sleep makes me uncomfortable.
[Update] --- Elam made his goal and then some! Congratulations, friend!
My friend Elam is trying to raise money via kickstarter for a new album. Dale Mackey has a knack for video and put this together in support of the project. Sound is my universe, so I went a different route.
Not only is Elam a friend but he has also been an inspiration since the first time we met.
I was still touring as The World's Tallest People when I had my first meeting with Elam. We were playing a show together at a small Knoxville coffee shop. The first thing that struck me about Elam is that he was short. Also, he seemed much more serious than I had imagined him to be. Until he started talking. There was an ease in his speaking. A tempered irreverence emboldened by likable contempt. I was taken completely away by Angel of the Floor and incredibly entertained by Buddah Cat.
When he played a show in my living room 100 years later, I was reminded of his patience and constant sincerity.
At times I have thought: {Elam : coffee shops = Dondero : bars}
After some gentle insistence, Elam finally sent me a copy of his journal surrounding the time about which Angel of the Floor was written. 120 pages of letters, journal entries, stories and poems that begins with a seemingly spontaneous decision to travel to Mexico with Forest Sun. Throughout the journal, Elam details the intimate workings of a soul in evolution.
Elam speaks as he sings and sings as he speaks. His writing is similar to both. So as a tribute to my buddy Elam I wrote the song Blink. The first few stanzas as well as the chorus are Elam's bio from his website.
The final stanzas are a passage taken from Elam's journal about a venue he and Forest were playing at that burnt down.
Although Elam and I may write in completely different genres, he has been a big influence on my approach to songwriting. I hope that you will consider supporting him as he puts the finishing touches on his new record. Click Here to Kick in something.
Nothing Is Strange is the latest release in a series of online EPs I have put out as George Burl. It is comprised of music conceptualized and written for the Bernie Slavich short film The Act, to be released online in 2011. There are detailed liner notes available for this EP with every download from bandcamp. The official bandcamp version of this release (featured below) includes an alternate take of Long Standing Marsh recorded live last December.
I am a big fan of simple color patterns. Hence, the icey blue, grey and white with only a hint of orangish brown in the carrot nose. I figured this mono-chromatic scheme goes well with a snowman character.
Why is he/she/it falling? Who knows? Maybe I have been in a free-fall lately due to my recent move. In fact, these past few months have been a test of wit, emotion and determination.
On the right you will see the original sketch and on the left is my first piece of sketch-to-illustrator art. This was kind of a trial run, but I am still happy with the outcome.
PS: I owe the snowman inspiration to the Sunday comics.
This half page print advertisement is for Lanakila Pacific's School Lunch Program. While the program is for children, the ad is geared towards an adult audience.
The project took about four hours and will be printed in the April issue of "Island Scene" -where it will then fall upon 300,000+ sets of eyeballs.
This is not necessarily an art piece that comes from the heart, but I enjoy the overall asthetics.
Loud Shirt Friday is a project developed by the Communications Committee at my place of business. I was elated to find out that I could create the flyer and have creative freedom over the finished product.
