The Most Excellent Software from Hell

OR HOW TO FORCE THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY BRAIN TO FIGHT THE LEFT SIDE. Three months ago my company purchased new 3-D modeling software for me. This software, called Form-Z, is a huge leap upward and onward compared to what I had been using, but all this capability comes with a price: a VERY steep learning curve. Form-Z makes Adobe Photoshop seem like a word processor in terms of its complexity. I mean, c'mon–the manual is 2,006 pages! And then there's the tutorial manual, which is hundreds of pages, too. So I'm taking a workshop course of 3 months, which helps a lot, but basically you just have to roll up your sleeves and start using it. And did I mention that sometimes, being a right-brain artist type that this software makes my head explode?

Eventually, the company I work for will produce real finished goods based on the modeling I do in this software, including products that are injection-molded or CNC machined out of metal. But it's difficult to really visualize what these new products will look like until they're actually built. Enter the new Z Printer 3-D printer!

Model printed on a Z Corp 3-D printer.

THE Z CORP 450 3-D PRINTER–This machine takes a file exported from Form-Z and actually prints a real 3-dimensional model, in color, of the object you "built" in the software's 3-D environment. It literally prints one thin layer at a time and builds your model. It's an excellent way to get touchie-feelie with what you're planning to build without having to mold or machine your product first, at great expense. This pleases the LEFT side of my brain very much. The RIGHT side of my brain has no comment.

Train Wreck (the band)

I joined this band about 5 months ago. This has been a fun “gig” for me, and as I mentioned, the band's name is pure coincidence! Train Wreck has an established group of locales where it plays in the Sacramento area up towards El Dorado Hills and Auburn. We play a lot of classic rock, as well as the occasional tune from this century. The Train Wreckers are a good bunch of guys, and I think we're starting to sound pretty tight. Since it's been about 15 years (yikes!) since my last band, I really look forward to playing these gigs.

Playing the drums is pretty physical, and perhaps a little like running a marathon in respect to endurance. I may practice an hour 2-3 times a week, but that hasn't prepared me for playing a 4 hour gig! That's something you have to work up to, just like running distances. I've had cramps in both forearms AND my kick drum leg at various times during gigs--usually in the 3rd set. (Very difficult to play one-armed!) Perhaps this is why you don't see too many overweight drummers: it's a good workout.

Shown here is a poster I put together using an image of a French train that perhaps had an inattentive brakeman (this image is in the public domain, BTW).

Colorado RR Museum Quadtych Poster

IN A PREVIOUS post I showed my 4 Colorado RR Museum engine oils in progress. Now they are completed (though not yet varnished) and plunked down into a poster layout. I'm reasonably happy with the way they turned out, but I'll admit I'm not very keen on painting a quadtych again. There are many issues of design, color and lighting continuity to keep track of on a "piece" such as this. Perhaps next time I could try a single-point perspective viewpoint. Yikes-my brain is exploding!

This 36 X 16 inch poster is available direct from yours truly for only $25 plus shipping. Other sizes are available–please inquire.

My challenge now is to get the museum in Colorado to take some to sell in their store. How can they refuse? (Plus, no roosters were harmed in the production of these paintings!)

Revenge of the Sleepless Man

ANYONE who thinks of the strongly evocative Rural Idyll might include in their rumination a lovely rooster and it's crowing that begins the new day. Picture it- a pretty farm setting where the sun is slowly rising over the pasture, and in the distance a rooster announces the glorious new day with a proud “cock-a-doodle-doo”. Yeah, right. How 'bout an unbelievably loud screechy crowing starting at 4:45 AM and continuing NON-STOP until well after you've left for work? Oh yes, this neighbor with the rooster also placed their coop against the property line as close as possible to our bedroom. During summer with the windows open, the crowing has been loud enough to keep ME awake, and in my sleepless state, insidious courses of action start to form in my groggy brain. How 'bout chemically-altered chicken feed? Nope–don't want to hurt innocent chickens. How 'bout a blow gun with– no, wait, I wouldn't do anything like that. BUT, it has inspired me to obtain a bit of cathartic release by creating some art of a different sort. So, here's my preparatory “sketch” for my next oil, “Revenge of the Sleepless Man”. Thanks go to my daughter, Katie, for her help with the title.

It's MY dream, so I get to have a nice train and a giant bug-eyed rooster. Don't forget the comfy floating bed. The canvas, 48 inches wide, is in the early stages.

I could show this to my neighbors, but I KNOW they wouldn't get it.

de Young and de Restless

TWO weekends ago I attended the "Birth of Impressionism" show at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. I really don't have words (c'mon, use your words, Gary) to describe how excellent it was to see some renowned art "in the flesh" (canvas?). Monet's La Gare Saint-Lazare was certainly a highlight for me–hey, it's a train station for crying out loud!
Discovering some perhaps lesser-known artists is always fun. I loved Tarbell's Blue Veil for his beautiful brushwork and use of complimentary color.
The following day, we saw more Impressionists at the Legion of Honor Museum and it's exhibition, "Impressionist Paris". I'm embarrassed to say I didn't recognize the artist Jean-Francoise Raffaelli, but I was stunned by his large canvas Boulevard des Italiens, Paris! All in all, this was very inspiring stuff to see. Now, back to the old easel. Next up–I begin my new painting inspired by my neighbor's "lovely" rooster, entitled "Revenge of the Sleepless Man." (I'm not kidding...)