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Broadening the definition of ‘Art’

20080103 in News | No comments

It’s been a while since I last posted to this blog, mostly because I don’t have access to a scanner anymore. I’ve still been producing images, but getting them uploaded has been challenging.

In addition to drawing and painting, I’ve also been putting together several CSS hacks in order to create accessible image rollovers. Traditionally, image rollovers are created with JavaScript or maybe even Flash, so less capable browsers are crippled when trying to view a page that depends on these technologies for navigation. I’ve also been experimenting with making text links available on the image rollovers for text-only browsers or browsers that have disabled images.

Given the technical nature of the work, I was reluctant to publish them here and mess with the Visual Arts theme of this blog. However, since it has been such a long time since I have been able to scan my day-to-day visual work and upload it, I’m beginning to think that it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Plus, it’s either that or nothing at the moment.

Besides, I think my CSS image rollover hack would a beneficial read to other artists who use rollovers on their site. I’ve seen hundreds of artist portfolio sites that depend on JavaScript to function that are completely crippled when JavaScript is turned off. I bet they would be interested in an alternative that makes their content available to an even broader audience.

Fears: Deep water

20071104 in Sketchbook | No comments

The Sketchbook Project, which I had written about in several previous posts, finally concluded and had its exhibition on October 27. Over 200 notebooks were returned of the 500 that had been sent out and the exhibition was a great success. I was truly amazed at some of the entries; events like these show me how far I have yet to go to achieve true success in illustration or art in general. I feel like I am only at the very surface of my potential at the moment.

The image I chose to close my posts on The Sketchbook Project represents my fear of deep water. I’m not talking about the mere 10 or 12 foot depth of swimming pools, either. I’m afraid of deep water. The kind you can only find in the ocean, where you can feel the cold currents sweep up from below. Who knows what’s lurking down there, so far beneath you?

To view the rest of the images from my sketchbook, visit my Sketchbook Project portfolio.

Fears: Cars

20071008 in Sketchbook | 1 comment

This is not an irrational fear. Automobile accidents are the highest cause of accidental death in the United States.

But what scares me isn’t that I die in an auto accident. My biggest fear is that I kill someone with my car. That’s why I drive such a tiny car. It’s about as safe as a mid-sized car but it’s much less likely that I kill someone with it. Large SUVs and trucks, on the other hand, are safer for the driver but much more deadly for everyone else.

Fears: Solitude

20070927 in Sketchbook | No comments

Continuing with my fears theme, and a direct opposite of my previous post, this image represents a fear of being left alone. This is the kind of fear that sits in the pit of your stomach and can make you weary for days.

I don’t think this is a very personal fear. Humans are social by nature, so a lonely soul is an incomplete one. However, I had severe self-image issues when I was a kid, so I believed that I would grow up alone. Thankfully, I’ve gotten over most of my self-image doubts and am now happily married, so this particular fear has subsided greatly in me.

Fears: Crowds

20070925 in Sketchbook | No comments

This is the second page of my “fears” themed notebook. Contrary to my first post on this theme, this fear is a more personal one. I tend to be very introverted in large crowds. I think this is in response to the fact that I feel very unimportant in overly-large groups; as if no one would notice if I were there at all. I suppose this is a self-image issue.

Large crowds also scare me because the collective mind can often be very stupid, causing violence and hysteria in situations that wouldn’t normally merit it. Plus, people tend to feel more anonymous in large groups, making them act in unusual and often brazen ways.

Fears: The unknown

20070924 in Sketchbook | No comments

This month I’m participating in an artistic effort called The Sketchbook Project, run by Art House Shop in Atlanta, GA. They’ve sent 500 sketchbooks out to artists all over the world and the artists have to fill up the books with the theme of the project: fears. Once the sketchbooks are sent back, there is a gallery planned in October to showcase all of the notebooks on the walls of the Art House Shop gallery.

The notebooks are 3.5″ x 5″ Moleskines, so I carry mine around with me all the time to draw out ideas on the spot.

This image shows the front inside cover of my notebook, where I wrote out the theme, and the first page. The fear I’m trying to represent isn’t so much a personal fear as a collective one: the unknown.