The Next Fashion Star, lessons in peek-a-boo

SHOW 'EM WHATCHA GOT! Or in the immortal words of EMINEM-- You get one shot so don't miss your chance to blow cuz opportunity comes once in a lifetime. Last night I watched The Next Fashion Star. And I kept asking myself over and over what are you guys thinking??? It was with some suspicion I watched The Next Fashion Star on NBC last night. I tuned in because I'm a HUGE Project Runway fan and hoped this might be interesting. Talk about life lessons, oh my. Imagine you are an aspiring fashion designer and Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and H&M are all there--in the room holding tens of thousands of dollars to spend-- to look at your stuff. Do you show them your best work or do you tease them and make them work just a little too hard for it? I swear it's the ultimate in arrogance to take the spot light and show anything less than your A game! There were three memorable contestants who really didn't get the fundamental idea of the WOW factor necessary for capturing the attention of someone you want to get into the game with. You gotta WOW 'em! These people don't want a tease, they want the goods. One of the contestants sent ONLY neckwear made from the collars and pieces from men's shirts. The dresses the runway models wore were some other unnamed designer. Really? A neckwear accessory. That's it, that's all she sent the buyers with promises-- Oh yes, I have so much more, she promised with a breathy growl. But what she showed did not make me even slightly interested in the 'so much more'. The second one on the chopping block was a colorful sweetly silly prone to crying cherub of a man who's workroom we saw in B roll. Imaginative, colorful and just deliciously fun work! Did he send deliciously fun onto the runway? NO. He sent pretty things but nothing unconventional and exciting like what we'd seen in his workroom. Luckily the mentors saved him from being eliminated because it looked like he might be the first to be kicked off. But then there was the guy who told the two women mentors and the two women buyers that he doesn't think women know anything about men's wear and what's trending so he wasn't interested in their opinion. UH WHAT? Buh Bye. Even when he tried repeatedly to correct himself he kept making the same ridiculous point. He's the one who got kicked off the show first. The point of all this? Your assignment is to show your BEST work to your potential clients. Don't tease anyone-- not unless it's the Holy Cow of teases. Even the tease should be amazing. Got that? Now, go make art!

Fun with animation, a line drawing I did on this lazy and sweet Sunday. The best way to learn anything is to do it again and again! This is one of those things I've wanted to learn for so long-- simple gif animations. It is simple but definitely a little confusing at first. Nothing like making it work using 58 layers!

Heres the latest version of Toby, my plush kitty portrait, as it stands. I think I could go a bit further but still germinating on that...

Go ahead, fall in love!

“Go ahead, Fall in Love! If only to reach for that perfect moment... You see it, that intangible thing, that fleeting moment. Do it, click the shutter, capture the breathless preciousness of your subject and all that beauty. It’s a wonderful thing, a singular sight, a landscape, an object, or perhaps a human soul trusting you to express their perfection in this place, in this moment, in this time..."

Wow, this quote really made me think... “Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” -Steve Jobs (from Laura Moncur's Motivational Quotations) Right? It's just so important to do something everyday that brings you joy. Don't wait! Appreciate the beauty of your own smile and the feeling of happiness. It may be as simple as putting on a song you like and dancing around your living room. Or taking a bath by candle light instead of a shower. Doodling. Or even as simple as petting your cat and enjoying the sound of pleasure in a lush purr. I get great pleasure while playing artistically so I try to do a little each day if I can. Last night I needed a solid break from a very busy day and had seen some amazing pet photos on a website that inspired me. I began this art piece of my cat Toby. I'm trying out a new technique in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Let's see where it goes... I'll post this image again as it progresses.

Found this interesting quote today... "You don't know how much artists go through to make it look so easy. It's all in the practice." Lauryn Hill . . It IS in the practice! How many times have you tried something one time and it didn't go brilliantly that first time so you said no to it. But trying it again, and again, and yet again can makes all the difference in not only your own skill level but your understanding of something, the depth of it. Nothing is small. There is a complete and enormous universe in everything and everyone. No matter the thing or the topic or the life there are volumes that can be spoken or understood if only we took the time to see and search beyond the surface. . So when it comes to art, when it comes to using Adobe Photoshop, KNOW that there is a brilliant universe yet undiscovered if only you would take the time to explore it. Practice a little relentlessness in your approach to learning something new so little by little you can master something you are passionate about and have at your fingertips a world of deep exploration and expression. . TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT: Take a look at something ordinary and find a way to visually express it anew... Here's mine... Ode to Breakfast March 1st, 2012

Skull of Frivolity!

Just a little bit of fun using countless stuff from my collection of imagery... The following animation is the basic flow of putting this finished piece together. Of course I did many things along the way in Photoshop CS5 but you get to see the various layers this piece is made from. I used my own created fractals, brushes, textures and more. This is an animation showing all the various layers that went into creating the final image. Start to finish...