New and Improved...

me, and even some blog updates coming soon.

For those watching www.SupportLocalArt.com, the main webpage has not been updated for a while due to technical issues. It will be back and better than ever shortly.

Take care everyone, and I'll do the same.
Chris..

Which is more likely, and why?

I was just trying to figure out which of the following things would be more likely to happen to me TODAY... and also my reasons why I would believe that.

Would I be more likely today to:

1. See a ghost, or see an alien?
2. Have a cold water shower, or touch a spider?
3. Change a flat tire, or wear a crown?
4. Throw a TV from a balcony, or walk barefoot downtown?
5. Walk exactly 19 kilometres, or Drive exactly 19 km?

hmmmm.... anyway, just a few thoughts running through my head.

:-)

alright...better photos.

After playing around with setting... and lighting... and a number of different adjustments in photoshop, I finally ended up with some images that look close to the original scratchboard drawings. Of course, the fact that the originals are silver & black, it's impossible to truly capture what the original looks like, but I think we can all agree that this image looks better than the one posted yesterday.

Here we go....
1. Watcher of the Eggs
2. The Disappointer
3. The Devil You Know

Scratchboard ACEO #1.

"Watcher of the Eggs"

2.5" x 3.5"
Original Scratchboard (silver) Art Card

Well, here's scratchboard aceo #1.

I think the scratchboard itself looks very cool... but I don't think my photograph does it any justice at all. I'm still trying to figure out the photograph of a black & silver reflective surface. I was rather excited to post the artwork online (it's on Etsy already - $10 for those who may want to own it).

The back of the card is signed and dated, and it some inside a protective plastic sleeve (just like the one used for hockey cards).

It was really fun to create. The idea of starting without any concept of a completed image design or theme was very refreshing and interesting. It think this is even more 'freeing' because the scratchboard is a completely unforgiving medium.... there is not erasing, no going back.... you can only move forward with the artwork. The final scratched board is one-of-a-kind, without any way to duplicate it. In that way the whole process is the exact opposite of the digital artwork that I have been creating.

Now I just need to get this photography of them figures out.

New art & ACEOs (Art Cards)...

Just to try something completely different, and to return to my 'roots' (in a way), I'm going to be experimenting with SCRATCHBOARD art. I used to enjoy creating woodcut prints - I love the look of the solid black with 'cut' positive areas. Scratchboard art can produce a very similar effect, but without the mess (wood shavings, printing ink, etc). I think that small ACEO, art card, sized scratchboards could be very interesting to work on.

I'll be off to the art store tomorrow to see what I can find. Watch for some new artworks soon.

Today is the Day That....

...SUPPORT LOCAL ART.com CHANGED.

A few small changes to the SLA website have happened in the past few weeks. Now, there are bigger (and better) changes happening. The limited for artists is now 50 pieces online for free....

... and now...

I've unlocked the website to all the artists who have previously expressed interest. Obviously they have enough talent and pride in that talent.... they have something to offer.... I want the world (and, I personally want) to see what it is. There were quite a few really talented artists, who after passing the peer jury, simply got 'busy with life'...

Art shouldn't be lost that way.

Calling all Canadian Artists... let work together and share what we have to show.

Create with Passion!
Christopher Bailey

My Top How-Ever-Many Audio Books

Non-Fiction (my personal preference... .can you tell?)

1. God is Not Great- Christopher Hitchens
2. Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
3. A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
4. In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson
5. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
6. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
7. Life's a Stage: Shakespeare - Bill Bryson
7.

Fiction

1. Creepers - David Morrell
2. Harry Potter series - read by Stephen Fry
3.

Today is the Day That....

I removed my first BRAND tag from my life.

My "Swiss-Army" bag became the first casualty in my 'it's mine, I'll make it mine' point of view. The bag was great and good quality, BUT it was simply not made for ME. To make it my bag, the extra (heavy!) handle, extra padding and material, and simply any 'extras'. I'm not saying that well designed extras are not a good thing... but (again) they need to match your personal needs. I don't need a cell phone pocket... so I cut it off. Less weight + appropriate features = better bag for me.

This also includes the removing of the Swiss-Army metal logo tag from the front of the bag. Why should I carry the extra weight (small, I know) simply to advertise their company??

Support Local Art - Big Changes Soon!

SupportLocalArt.com is the online artist/artwork website that I run. My original idea was to have a juried (actually, peer-juried by the artists themselves) website, with artists proud to promote their presence. Artists can post 10 images online for free and can pay a small fee to post more.

Currently there are 21 artists from across Canada (mostly Alberta). The dream of having a large number of artists help promote a common website isn't working as well as I had anticipated. So, changes are required....

Support Local Art is now going to be

FREE for 50 images online
FREE from jury judging

I believe this should help make the website accessible (and easy) for more artists to use, enjoy, and benefit from.

I will updating and revising the SLA website shortly.

If you know ANY Canadian artists looking for a free way to gain some additional exposure and sales of their artworks.... be sure to let them know! (thanks :-)

Christopher

Today is the Day That...

I decided to start using all of my creative talents more than I have been.

Christopher Bailey
ThursAug272009

Coming soon.... "Trundle Talk"....

Every few days, a friend of mine & I go for 'trundles'. Basically walks with no real destination or purpose other than the conversation, scenery, and joy of doing it. I believe the term itself is slang and arises from the, [often] circular nature of the journey (eventually you do need to make it home). There are no official rules for trundling; but generally a predefined route, simply following a known trail, doing it for the exercise, trying to make it a certain distance, etc, should be frowned upon because they take away from the spirit & 'adventure'. Alright, I admit that it is difficult to explain... but you know it when you do it. Trust me :-)

Our latest journey took an unexpected turn into the trails down by the river, just as dusk was arriving, ... the result: Suddenly my friend became Indiana Jones. While trudling, I always have my camera - you just never know - be prepared.

Another set of custom prints

A set of two custom prints is in the mail. These prints are not based on my artwork, but a talent artist in Calgary.

These prints are part of the promotion program that I'm starting up to help other local artists. The prints are all for sale at a standard price of $60, with profits (and exposure) going to the original artists & photographers.

So far I have two locations - a hair salon & a chiropractor's office - that have displays of assorted prints on their walls. They get free, ever changing, displays of art in their offices, and the artists get exposure & potential sales.

I'm currently looking to branch out to new locations and have groups of 11" square canvas prints for sale all over Edmonton. Win-Win :-)

Changes, choices, challenges....

Interesting thoughts processing....

A few challenges and some choices to be made. My artwork.... Support Local Art.... life.... are all at a potential turning point.

Stay tuned.

Here's some art to look at: :-)

Before & After

Here's an example of the adjustment work that I do for custom photo prints.

If you're interested in getting a photo printed onto canvas, I would provide you with the choice of the original photo 'as is', and also show you my version (below).

I use Photoshop CS3 and simply try to bring out the very best from each photo. The choice in the end is up to the client (of course :-)

When the world gives you LEMONS....

sure, we all know that we're supposed to make lemonade.

But what about when the world gives you SPAM?
WRITE HAIKUs!!

Glad You Could Make It
Call for your diploma now
Money save its good

lose weight fast TODAY
loose that unsightly tummy
look hot and skinny


Each line is from an actual spam subject line that I received (today!). It's fun, all you need to do is look for is lines with either 5 or 7 syllables. Sometimes the poems make sense; other times they don't at all (or, they have some really deep meaning... which is just not understood by anyone :-)

Now, I'm thirsty.... mmm, some lemonade would sure hit the spot.

The Runner

My Rule #1. I always have my camera with me.
My Rule #2. I always have my camera close at hand.
My Rule #3. I always take photos of things that attract my interest... even if it's just because it's funny or odd.

Life Rule #5754. Don't get all geared up, "go running", and then sit for half-an-hour playing with your blackberry. Or, at least if you do, don't do it a couple floors below where I am.

I present: "The Runner"

:-)

From my personal collection: not for sale

:-O

It's in the details.... custom photo prints

Are you interested in having your own personal photos printed on canvas? I think that it's better to have them done by an artist, instead of a corporate photo-hut or retail chain store. Here's a few reasons why:

Quality and Care.
As an artist, I take great pride in the prints that I create - whether they are based on my own works, or somebody else's custom photo print. I look at each photo as if it were my own art piece - how would I crop it to maximize the composition? what adjustments would I make to the contrast, highlights, saturation, white balance? I don't just think about how I would adjust each photo, I go ahead and do it. I then show both images (basically before & after), and let the client decide which they prefer. Not only do I get to provide the option for a 'better' quality image/print, I get to practice and delvelop my skills, and also receive instant real-world feedback. It's definitely a win-win.

Supporting the Arts.
Individually printed & stretched canvas prints allow artists (who have invested in the equipment for themselves) the ability to earn additional income by utilizing their skills for your benefit. Technology has provided visual artists with a new opportunity.

Price.
Comparing quality & price vs. quality & price, you are going to receive better value from a small studio based artist with low overheard, than from any type of costly retail store. I use very high quality materials and do not 'maximize my profits' by reducing the quality of my custom prints (I would never do that for my personal art prints, why would I do that for a clients?). As far as I know my price of $60 for a custom photo 11" pigment ink, UV protected, stretched canvas giclée, is quite low - the only way that I can offer this price (while retaining the quality that I demand) is by having few overhead costs.


I will be posting some 'before & after' photos to demonstrate my visions.

"The World of....

... the Spring River Valley" -

Currently available as a limited edition of only 20 prints. Showing Edmonton's River Valley in the springtime, this image has taken on a natural form of it's own.

Displaying and selling my works at the market each week give me great direct feedback from individuals and have they view my photograph and art. "The World of the Spring River Valley" often catches people by surprise.... 'oh, I thought it might have been a flower. It's so natural looking.'. It has been selling very well so far.

Signed & numbered limited edition prints are $80 each - with signed open edition being $60. Both are my standard 11" square ready-to-hang giclée. They are not available for online sale yet, but anyone wanting to make sure they get a limited edition can contact me directly. Thanks.

Maybe it's because I grew up in the 80s (where I'm pretty sure some of the worst and stupidest band names ever come from... 'cats can fly', 'flock of seagulls', 'men without hats', to name a few), I often see or think of odd word combinations and imagine that they would have made great band names.

In most cases it seems to be these strange 3 word combos... off the top of my head -> Destiny of Dirt, Lovers before Trout, Life of Excuses, Desires with Fisticuffs, okay, that's enough of that... but it is fun to think about.

Lynnie must do the same because while flipping though the Lee Valley Tools gardening catalogue, she came across 'Crack Weeder', and mentioned that she thought it would be a good band name. I have to agree.

For those curious....
Our Guitar Hero band name was "Martha's Poncho", followed by our current RockBand2 super-group - "The Bump Muffers". We rock :-)

"Cast off those lines. Weigh anchor and crowd that canvas!"

...to quote Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not chasing down renegade pirates (are there other kinds of pirates?) , but I am rather excited that my CANVAS order has arrived. I order all my giclée canvas from the USA, and my regular 'brand' was back-ordered. Knowing about the delay I decided to try another manufacturer. WOW. The colours weren't as vibrant or true to the original images, and the UV protectant spray didn't look right either. It's amazing what a difference having the right materials makes!

A 'happy to have my canvas' Christopher.

For those that don't know... (part I)

Hello new people to the world of my artwork. It just occurred to me that some of you out there visiting and reading this blog (btw, thanks! :-) may not know much about my life and the artworks that I've created. Rather than write a huge long post, or try to include this info in my 'about me' section, I thought I would write a series of smaller messages talking about a single piece of artwork, part of my history, or a little about how/why I work the way that I do.

Let's get things started with a rather popular digital painting that I created a couple of years ago...

"Unexpected First Move"

Playing with the isometric view of the chess board, I tried to create an image that is both eye catching and fun. I have always enjoyed optical illusions and this is certainly theme/style that I plan to continue in the future.

I thought that putting the chessboard onto a cliff face would help to add to the artwork and give it more depth (further enhancing the illusion). While painting the cliffs below the chessboard suddenly faces began to appear in what I was creating; rather than dismiss this or try to hide it, I decided to keep them, add more, and make them less subtle than they originally were. It always interesting to hear people reactions when they first notice them.

There are two comments that often get passed along to me about this image are: 1. It reminds people of M.C. Escher (something that I always take as a great compliment, being a long time fan of Escher myself - more about this in the future) and 2. That they've seen it before, sent via email, and that I must just be selling a copy of somebody else work. This 2nd one always seems very odd to me.... I created the work, but I've never had it accidentally come across my inbox (but one day, that would be great :-)


Hand signed, 11"x14" stretched canvas giclée prints are available direct from me via my www.digitalartist.etsy.com website. They are $60 each.

Thoughts towards....

Ideas and mental processes are going toward mirrors & photographs and how the two can be combined to create really interesting images. hmmm..... gears are turning.

Welcome to my world....

I hate it when I twist an ice cube tray and [to my horror] the cubes aren't completely frozen yet. Nasty air bubbles rush into each and every one. Damn you bubbles... evil, evil bubbles.

Latest Artwork - New Series...

Introducing the "Worlds of..." photo series. Panorama landscape photos with a difference. We all live in our own little worlds - here's a new way of looking at the areas that we each know well.

#1. "World of... the High Level Bridge"

Full details and more images coming soon.

Market Day

Tomorrow is Market Day! Every Sunday I'm at the Callingwood Farmer's Market displaying and selling my artworks.

There is also fruits, veggies, crafts, jewellery, sausages, pirogies, and much more. Sunday 10am - 3pm, until October.

Welcome

Well here it is, the first official post on my new digital artist blog. Welcome. I'll be updating the blog with information about new artworks, ideas for art, works in progress, and just my random ramblings about whatever comes to mind.

Thanks for stopping by,
Christopher Bailey