bassline

207/366: to the left

After spending the day painting, I made use of my studio mate's large expanse of wall space for some self portraits. I had to get my '365'shot in for the day and took advantage of the big wall and tall ladder. To make better use of the space, I set up two light sources. I normally only use one because I don't have the time to do a more involved set-up every day, which is probably good because I'd over-think everything.

The hardest thing I had to do was think of poses. After spending all day using most of my creative energies on paintings and drawings, I was pretty tapped out mentally and physically by the time I got around to the photos. That said, I think a few turned out well for my skill level. I learned a bit from the experience, but I think I can take it further. I just have to make the time and make the most of it.

Three more under the cut...

( +3 )

shadow self

Took a bunch of experimental self portraits I took a couple of nights ago. I wanted to get some kind of obscuring effect without digital means. Enter plastic wrap covering the lens.

( +1 )

Playing Field I

Another view of the game pieces where I did my self portrait Sunday morning. In addition to the dominoes, there are representations of chess pieces, bingo chips and Monopoly pieces. ( 2 more )

m & m store.


Stockboard. Seems like an anachronism these days. I wonder how many people walking through Times Square actually read and understand the stock numbers rolling by, or do they see them as no more than another bright layer in the neon soup that defines the area.

Central Park, on a hill looking south.

Took a bunch of shots during our day-trip to New York on May 15th.

We hadn't been to the South Street Seaport on any of our trips to NY, so we ventured down there and hung out after going to MoMA and having lunch in Central Park. The SSP was interesting if only for being one of the oldest parts of Manhattan, but today, it's basically a big mall on the East River with lots of tourist trap stores. There was even one of those year-round Christmas stores that E could not resist going into. I don't have anything against Christmas, but I can barely handle the three month monster that it's become.

The funniest part of our time at the seaport was watching these two 'performers' on the pier next to the mall. Two guys, one had a Jamaican accent and I'm not sure about the other one since he didn't speak. They had an area blocked off with little orange pylons that fenced in a 'stage' with red mats and a booming sound system that played old-school New York b-boy music from the 80's.

They paraded around, shirtless with tight leggings, doing stretched here and there and talking with each other. It took forever before they decided to 'perform'. When a crowd of tourists from the nearby docked ships wander by, the guys suddenly sprang into action imploring those who "wanted to see a show" to gather around. The "show" consisted of one of the performers showing off his flexibility by bending over and folding himself into a plastic barrel and working it over his body. They'd do a couple of lame break dancing moves interspersed with stretching moves but that was it. It seems like they were in a perpetual 'warm-up' phase and never really finished their show.

Well, you get what you pay for and this was free...

Large photos under the cut-may not be dial-up friendly.

( New York-5.15.08 )

This was supposed to be 'Expressions Week' with my self portrait project, but for the time being, I've decided to put it aside. I've not been feeling my best and the most I could get out of myself when I got in front of the camera was what looked like 'slightly pissed' and 'blank'. Yes, those are expressions, but not quite the only ones I was after.

Today was kind of ok. I was on my bike behind a car that was stopped at a light. The light changed and the vehicles in front started off late then stopped. The chain reaction started and I bumped into the back to the car. I only tapped the bumper, but apologized to the driver anyway. She yelled that she hadn't even noticed as I rode by. Making a left turn at the corner, I almost hit this guy who was crossing while I was looking to see if there was any traffic coming in the opposite direction.
......
Stopped by the gallery and picked up a painting that needed to be finished. I lent it to Bridgette so it could be photographed for an event announcement. There wasn't much to do with the painting except to add a layer of color over a pre-existing form. I really needed to do that before I can let the work stay out in the world.

Picked up six new 6" x 6" panels to work on next week. I'm hoping to have a few small pieces to add to the paintings Bridgette is taking to the Red Dot Art Fair at the end of the month. I could have used more time in the studio than I did, but I managed to be productive despite feeling slightly crappy. The good thing is that I have a few projects going on, so no matter what I choose to work on, something will get done. I wish I had tomorrow to do what I didn't today, but I'm working to cover the shift of a co-worker whose mother died earlier this week.

The time change (clocks move 1 hour forward) happens this Sunday morning. I can't believe that it's come around again already. Spring is definitely in the air and winter seems to be petering out. Well, this is March and anything is possible, but it still doesn't seem like we've had much of a winter, at least here in Philly. I'm ready for warmer weather. I have a hard time with the up-and-down nature of seasonal changes. I'm just beginning to trust that I can leave a layer or two of clothes at home.

58/366: three of me

I managed to split myself into three today for this shot. You wouldn't believe how much I was able to get done in the studio.

It didn't start off like this, but after looking at the poses, I thought that they belonged together in one shot. I was excited about the prospect of multiple images but my 'shop skills are pretty minimal. So, when I got home, I immediately enlisted the superior photoshopping skills of my wife.

I also shot some video footage of me going from one pose to the other. I haven't done any video stuff in a long time. When I did, I was just starting to learn. I'm going to play around with it and see what I can come up with.

......

It was one of those ridiculously productive and inspired days in the studio, even without the other two of me ;) I've been trying to kick-start some new ideas for a while now, and today I just let myself play a bit more than usual. I've been working with some birch panels lately which have been a little challenging because of the solid surface; I'm more used to the 'give' that canvas has. I had to sacrifice two panels in order to figure out that my layering of paint has been too heavy-handed, leaving me with too much texture and raised surfaces, which I didn't want so soon in the process. The solution was to just use more water to thin out the paints.

I was attempting to find a shot for my '365' project tonight when E decided that it would be funny to try and get a reaction out of me. Well, as you can see, there was no try about it.

I can't take credit for the gif montage, though. I went to take a shower and within the short span of time it took for that, she'd made this up.

My friends, Rebecca and Mike, held their annual Halloween party this past Saturday. It was pretty well-attended and a great time was had by all. I I'm sure there's a photo or two of me in costume floating around out in the world, but I didn't get anyone to take any with my camera.

More shots here

My costume came together as a last-minute thing, as is usually the case. I like dressing up for Halloween, but I can never come up with any costume ideas that far beforehand. This year, I came up with a character that was basically a demon who tortured the souls of...chickens. I was demoted to one of the lowest levels of soul-torturers because of some departmental reshuffling in Hell headquaters. My costume? Black hood with eyeholes, all black clothes, rubber chicken with fake blood, and a plastic hatchet with fake blood. It was effective. People were mystified and a little scared. Mission accomplished.
......

E went along reluctantly. We didn't come up with anything for her to wear. In fact, she was going to stay home when I came home from work on Saturday, but I convinced her to go anyway. She had never been to a Halloween party since it isn't celebrated in Australia. There were a few other people who weren't in costume, so she wasn't alone in that department. I think she had a decent time anyway.

Tonight, we went out to see the kids and parents going around Trick or Treating. It was a great night out, weatherwise and a lot of people were out on thier stoops handing out candy to passers-by. I was kind of surprised by this, because I remember going around as a kid and having to knock on doors and ring bells to possibly get a response. Tonight, there were whole blocks having Halloween parties outdoors. E mentioned that there was something of a village-like feeling to the neighborhood and she was right; people were out just having a good time wih the kids with houses decorated and the streets lit up. Most Halloweens I'm either working or getting off from work and hurrying straight to a party, so I never see any of this going on. We've decided that we have to really dress up next year and if we have our own house, have a party.
......

Tomorrow, we're heading up to New York. E is due for some jewelry-making supplies and we're going to see some art: MoMa for the Martin Puryear retrospective and The International Center for Photography to see Other Weapons:Photography and Print Culture During the Spanish Civil War.

The Cira Centre on a cloudy late afternoon. Seems appropos for Halloween, no?

( there's two more here )
......

Yes, it's only mid-afternoon, but I'm tired as crap. Had another episode of waking up to go to the bathroom and not being able to return to sleep afterwards this morning, on top of having to get up early for work. At least this was my flexible Wednesday and didn't have to stay after completing some price updates at work.

Not doing anything special for Halloween. There was a party this past Saturday that we went to, so that was it for us. There's some photos I'll post later. Halloween isn't celebrated in Australia, so we'll be taking a walk later to see the kiddies dressed up.

Blue Cluster

Center city Philadelphia, looking west on Market Street.

It's been a while since I've taken any self-portraits. I was just going through my photos and saw these two recent ones and thought I'd share them. I was just thinking that I haven't been taking any self portraits lately and liked a lot of the ones from last year, so it's time to get back to them again...

Phillyscape
Center city Philadelphia looking west from the 12th floor of Wills Eye Hospital


Walnut Street Theatre


Black Tower

Morning Light: Queen Street

On my way to work one day last week, I was struck by the light of the rising sun and how it affected how the streets looked and what they felt like. There was something about that particular time of morning, especially the strong light that seemed to push the shadows to the side. It was that point in the morning when these residential streets were pretty empty, but not very far away, expressways were still clogged...

( Morning Light )

I'm back in the studio regularly again and have been having a pretty fruitful time. A good thing, since the fall/winter is shaping up to be a busy one. At the same time, I've been becoming even more of a shutterbug. The camera is increasinly becoming like another appendage.

I arrived early on Friday morning to prepare for a 10am meeting with Bridgette so she could see some new work. These were taken before the visit...

(click on images to see larger sizes)

The view from my front windows this morning. As per usual for the past few weeks or so, I was awakened by rain beating down outside and on my skylight. Rain is good and needed but it's been soggy for a while. I don't mind that much since it's warm out; there's nothing more dispiriting than waking up to rain and cold.


( understanding is an unrehearsed openess )

Seriously, what happened?

( more visual stimuli )

Some random pics from today:




7th and Christian. An apartment building that used to be a bank years ago that's just up the street from where I live.





These two buildings are part of a trio that make up Society Hill Towers, designed by I.M. Pei. They are Philly's most well-known condo towers.




I was almost a block from my place when I decided to take some random self portraits while walking. If my expression makes it seem like I'm angry or something, it's because the wind picked up just as I took the photo...

Came home from having lunch and hanging out with with a friend in Chinatown this afternoon. We ate at
Penang, a good Malaysian restaurant right on 10th Street, just past the 'Chinatown Gate'. It was my first time there, and I loved the food, but they definitely don't want you hanging around too long after you finish. They do a good business and have a lot of seats, and there was always a line of people waiting to get in, a good thing. Then again, it was Saturday in Chinatown, which is always bustling on the weekends.

I really wished I'd have paid some attention to the weather reports last night because I had way too many layers on. I enjoyed the warm weather and when I returned home, the sun was just about to go down. There was a nice light in the sky as the sun receded past the horizon. I jumped at the chance to take advantage of it and got a couple of shots of the church in my neighborhood. I took them from the roof of my place:


Church At Twilight


Steeple At Twilight



......


now, this is one laid-back cat

I battled a cold this weekend...well, it was really more like I let it hang around until it was done with me. The end result is that I'm better and I don't feel like a snot incubator any more.

I've been taking a bunch of photos lately and started something of a series this week. At my job, there's a bathroom in the employee break room that's pretty much all white and gets some nice light. So, I've been taking advantage of this resource to try out some shots.





White Room 7