Real Life Painter in Second Life

I have not written about Second Life lately. I am still in world just not blogging it so much. The other night by accident I discovered Aussie artist Ritchey Sealy who also has a gallery in world.

After checking out his profile I learned from his blog that Ritchey Sealy lives in Broulee on the south coast of NSW, has won a number of awards and his work is held by the Queensland State Gallery.

 

Using the Fibonacci spiral in a composition

Digital Arts Magazine has published a very good tutorial titled Creating art using the golden ratio. Using the golden rectangle (a rectangle shaped according to the golden ratio) as the canvas the tutorial divided the space into “golden sections” which becomes a spiral.

Not mentioned in the article but related is that the math behind this is based on a the Fibonacci sequence. Yep, that series of numbers that got our hero and heroine excited in the Da Vinci Code.

If you want to explore the Golden ratio and the Fibonacci spiral further check out Wikipedia there is a good article
Image credit: file from the Wikimedia Commons.

 

Is this the future of books?

Have you ever thought about the future of books? This repurposed book made me stop and think a moment. The screenshot is taken from Kyle Bean’s site who describes herself as a illustrator, designer and maker of ‘things’. Pop over as there is some great stuff to see there.

 

ArtCloud

ArtCloud is a free service which aims to bring the benefits of online social networking to artists. You can put your folio online, explore and discover art and artists that interest you, share what you find with friends, add art events to your personal calendar and you can also create interest groups to share information and work.

It is free, browser based and the site is easy to use. You can release your work at what level copyright you choose and provides access to Creative Commons license.

 

Art Demonstrations online

For anyone who is interested in developing their drawing skills pay a visit to ArtDemonstrations.com as the site is a blog in which the author collates together links to tutorials, instructional material and art demonstrations on the web.

 

Art History Timeline

The Timeline of Art History presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art is described on the site as a “chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.”

The Museum’s curatorial, conservation, and education staff have written and researched the content for the site providing a great reference and research tool for both students an educators. You can explore the site via period, subject, theme or artist.

 

Podcasts from Museum of Modern Art

For those of us who spend a good portion of our working week in a studio podcasts are a real pleasure. The latest site to get me through a day of repetitive tasks is the podcasts from Museum of Modern Art in New York. These are discussions with artists, and curators who talk about their reactions to works of contemporary art

 

Blogging about Art and Images

Hrag Vartanian has written an interesting piece about the good and bad aspects of blogging about Art and art practice. In What I Love & Hate About Art Blogging positive and negative aspects of the genre are teased out.

I found myself agreeing with 90% of the article, with the exception being that more flaming was needed in the community. I disagree as flaming closes conversations and blogging is for me about conversing and teasing out ideas. Just as Art stimulates ideas and provokes questions blogs can also stimulate and push ideas. Flaming can stop that process and runs counter to why I read blogs. I am not suggesting that we approach Art in a mindless manner but there is a difference between considered critical analysis and flaming. I know there is a strong tradition of criticism in the Art world but perhaps the model needs at least to be questioned particularly when it shifts to morphing into something else online.

Slorker has published a great post on Pictures that Changed the World. It’s a great compilation of photos that makes you think.

 

Making Sense of Modern Art

Making Sense of Modern Art is an interactive online exhibit produced by the education department of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art which explores aspects and key themes in modern art.

You can explore the work of ten artists that are represented at the SFMOMA. The art works are presented in an imaginative and informative manner. It is a great educational resource that makes Art Theory fun.

 

Optical Illusions

Do you see these images moving? Swirling just a little bit or perhaps they make you feel a little dizzy? They are not animated gifs but in fact they are still images. That is right, they are actually a static image which is supposed to indicate your level of stress.

These images are currently doing the email rounds and the story goes that these patterns are used to test the level of stress a person can cope with. The more movement you perceive the less stress you can handle. The slower the pictures move, the better your ability of handling stress.

I actually think they are just an optical illusion rather than a “stress test” but I could be wrong.
I was googling to see if I could find the source and copyright of these images. I was not successful but I did turn find some interesting sites on optical illusions however.

76 Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena by Michael Bach will not only trick your eye but make you question what you actually do see. The tour is very interesting and worth taking time out to explore.

There are many optical illusions and this site has explained 120 of them and Optical Illusions and Pictures is an archive of optical illusions

The Visual Fun House of optical illusions is a blog which solicits images from readers and collates together a collection of images that trick the eye.