You go to the photo page and you see the same name under almost every image, is this really their best work, if they can turn out 100 images in a day, I think not.
I'm ready to go head to head with anyone who says it is! Give me a break, STOP THE POSTING MADNESS... It tends to cause people to loose interest in the site, and it will happen here...
It is my opinion that collecting DATA from a group such as ours has Orwellian implications, We Artists take pride in our independence. History, tells that we do not react kindly to those whom would infringe upon it. We (Artists) were not asked to contribute the input of our opinions and questions to this nefarious exercise. Forethought in this regard would have been considered a courteous act. You demean us (Newbies & Hobbyist) the very people who make this site a success. If you fear ' "Artists Flight" you should cease and desist with hast. Thank you.
When did hobbyists start calling themselves Artists? How did the distinction get so very blurred??...between those that paint or sculpt to relieve stress and/or to entertain themselves and those who have dedicated their lives to using a medium to communicate a truth , those who have put in the 90% sweat equity to learn their medium in order through much stress and pain to best be able to commmunicate that truth....
When did Art become merely entertainment? Why can't people have a hobby without calling that hobby, Art? Why can't they be satisfied with the reality of having a hobby... why must they claim the illusion that they're Artists... and illusion it is... I for one feel that my chosen profession/calling is insulted everytime I witness hobbyist calling what they do Art... its like a blasphamey to use a very old term...
When did Art loose its sacredness??? Maybe Artists need a whole new word for what they do because the hobbyists have blasphemed the word to death... they have trampled it to drivle... and "I'm mad as Hell and not going to take it anymore".... or as soaringpickle would say ARTWAR
I think that it is time to vent and utilize some of our disappointment over the "Points System". We should do what ARTISTS have done over the centuries,use our raw emotions and turn them to our advantage. Let us harness that elevated energy as well as our creativity, combine those powerful forces and put them to good use.
I propose that we create "Points Art". I profess this is not my idea, as it has already begun. Collectively we shall create grand works of ART inspired not by turmoil, but our most sincere intentions. A quest to heal this bruised community of ours, "Ovation TV My ART". Thank You.
As added incentive for being a member on this community, we are taking advantage of KickApps' new points and levels system.
Here is the break down of actions and their point values.
Join the Community
100
Log In
5
Update Profile
5
Add a Friend
5
Accept a Friend Request
5
Join a Group
5
Add a Video
10
Add a Photo
10
Add a Profile Photo
5
Add an Audio Track
10
Add a Blog Post
10
Start a Discussion
10
Respond to a Discussion
10
Comment on Media
5
Comment on a Profile
5
Comment on a Group
5
Rate a Media Item
10
Add Tags
5
Favorite a Media Item
10
Member's Media Item is Rated: 1 Star
10
Member's Media Item is Rated: 2 Stars
20
Member's Media Item is Rated: 3 Stars
30
Member's Media Item is Rated: 4 Stars
40
Member's Media Item is Rated: 5 Stars
50
As you gain more points, you will move up the ranks in levels. Here are the levels and the points you need to enter each level.
Level 1: Newbie 100 Level 2: Hobbyist 1,000 Level 3: Master 10,000 Level 4: World Class 20,000
There are no prizes or values placed on these levels. This system is more for us than for you. It allows us to know who is interacting and using the site most often.
war is over if you want it. great words. it can come true but only if we want it. it's time we wake up to the idea that there are better ways. you can't have a war if no one will fight. there's a great line in "all's quiet on the western front" a private is asking the sargent what the war was about. the sargent told him that their country insulted ours and the private wanted to know how. did one of their mountians come over and slap one of ours.one of the sad facts is that modern economy is built on war. war is good for business. instead of turning out warplanes, turn out farm equipment to feed the starving. if the straving are fed they won't be looking at what their neighbors have and finding a reason to invade them to get it. rarely is it really necassary to beat the plowshares into swords. hitler had to be removed. but like in the middle east, our policies made enemies out of former friends. their policies in response made ours more hardline and through tit for tat we have the mess we have today. all of which could have been avoided. i'm not blameing us or them. things could have handled better. we voted for change in the last election, our commitment shouldn't stop at the voting booth. the power to bring change lies in us, the power to bring peace to the world lies with us as well. it's up to us.
John Essmaker asked a question about eyes tonight, and it inspired me to create a few photos that I hope will help you create "emotion" in the human eye!
When I first did my portrait of Audrey Hepburn for my daughter (btw... daughter asked me to do this for her which explains why it has a "pink" color theme!), I was able to complete the majority of the piece in about 10 hours. I thought, well... this is going SPLENDID and I should have it done shortly!
And then it came time to render the eyes. I must have spent a MINIMUM of another 10 hours on the eyes alone. You may have heard people say that the human hand is the most difficult thing to render? I disagree... I believe that capturing and rendering emotion in the human eye is FAR more difficult!
Also, I'm always blown away by how extremely subtle changes affects emotion radically!
Basically, the eyes are a watery, semi-transluscent, glassy orb... surrounded by muscle and fatty tissue.
Okay so what?!?!? What am I getting at?
I'm glad you asked Scooter... 'cause here we go!
Here is a photo of the origianal painting, followed by a close-up of the eyes;
Close up (unretouched, but I had to rephotograph the painting to capture the detail);
Notice the wetness which causes reflections in the eye? This is commonly known as the "sparkle". In addition, the iris of the eye allows light in but is reflected back, which gives this portion of the eye a deepness, yet not complete depth as in the pupil. The pupil is where the clear lens is and light rarely is reflected back out of the eye at this point, so this is where the "deepness" of an eye is noticed.
Now, if we show just a LITTLE more white around the eyes... notice how the eyes suddenly look surprized, or anxious, or fearful (in the next few examples, I have used photoshop to alter the original and in this next photo I have not changed the size of the eyes at all... just added more white!);
Okay, now it starts getting REALLY interesting. In contrast to the eyes above, I will close up the eyelids a bit, and Audrey becomes tired, or melancholy (I will update this one soon, because adding bags under the eyes also indicates tiredness (stay tuned!!);
And if I turn the corners down a bit and add highlights where the water of tears is gathering on the bottom eyelid, we get a tearful eye. Of course the eye is much more wet... right? So I have added even more highlights on the surface of the eye in general;
Ain't that FUN?!?!
Oils make this EXTREMELY easy. You can push the paint around until you get it EXACTLY where you want it (but I'll warn you... IT IS EXTREMELY TIME CONSUMING!).
Now, if you are working with watercolor, you don't have the option to add highlights, unless you add an opaque white paint... which will make your painting appear "fake". If you want to create realistic eyes, you must "scrub out" where you want the highlights. It is MUCH harder to gain control, so it's not for the faint of heart. You can only "scrub" just so far... or you'll drive RIGHT THROUGH the paper (which I've done by the way!!).
Here is my portrait of Georgia O'Keffee followed by a close up of the eyes;
Now the close up;
There are still highlights, but it's much more difficult to make them work. If you notice the eye on the right... there's a highlight just to the right of the iris along the bottom of the eyelid, and on the white of the eye as well. I did this with an Exacto knife! After the paint was put on... scratch out the white paper underneath!. Also, you might notice that I really focused on creating the "Semi-Transluscent" aspect of the Iris in this painting. This gave a warmth and thoughful gaze to her eyes.
So... it's really all about light, the absence of light, and how the muscles function with different emotions. Here's the weird thing... once you start to notice this stuff? Well... you'll NEVER view the world the same way again. You'll start seeing the world in a completely different "light" (forgive the pun).
One last thing, the human face has an incredible amount of muscles behind it and is capable of MANY contortions. Isn't it amazing though that the eyes alone can tell us SO much about how a person is feeling?
Here's a short example and one last pic of Audrey's lips;
If Eyes are the hardest thing to render... lips are a VERY close second. Notice the VERY subtle lighting around the bottom corners of her lips? This is the ONLY thing that will indicate a slight smile (think Mona Lisa here). During the painting process of this painting I had a REAL problem with her expression as it was very "cold" and I couldn't figure out why. I finally figured out that there was just a hint of light at each corner of the mouth.
Also, do you want to paint juicy, luscious lips? It's all about the highlights baby!
So there ya have it. I hope this has been helpful, and if you should have any questions... ya know where to find me!!
sometimes it upsets me that one of us artist has something important to say either trying to help others or pouring our hearts out over something only to have 20 views or maybe 50 big deal, we have thousands of members and here goes one of those blogs that could really help someone.
i went through a period in my life when i was shy, really shy. i couldn't speak in public ,i couldn't ask in Kmart for an item i couldn't find, in a discussion i was the only one to have the answer and couldn't say a word. without saying this really held me back. i was afraid to even see the doctor but i did. i started taking PAXIL he said i had a SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER
all of the problems i had just went away and more i wanted to speak first i wanted to be heard. just 20 mg. PAXIL per day changed my life. i have since change to LEXAPRO a antidepressant with the same results. if your shy to shy to function take this note to a doctor and change your life forever. your friend john
Funny events have people all pissy over the points race and such. I have been observing and really thinking how funny it all is. Even before the points system started there was the profile views race. im sure you all have seen the wallmart greeters we have on the site, the phony insincer commenters all just to get profile hit or points. Look at me look at me attitudes. People, this is just a web site made to share your art and maybe learn form one another. Its not a site for selling your art or promoting other personal interest as Ive seen others do.
Im here to have fun and share my work and maybe get better or get some new ideas. Im not here to run an underground gang and undermine anyone else. I dont have any connections with the web master as someone has accused me of. Im just a poster like the rest of you. I will like some art and some I wont. I wont kiss your ass just to get you to view my work and I promise you if I comment on your work I truly like it.
Please take a look at my stuff and give me some honest opinions. I appreciate that aspect of this site the most....
All you greeters and insincer commenters take a look inside then laugh at your self, and keep posting and having fun. After all Ovation is the best place to share art on the web.
When you enter a new business or start a new venture, its wise to compare and contrast what similar companies, organizations or even communities are doing.
Since KickApps added the points and levels system function recently, we decided to try the function here. There are many successful social networking sites using this system or a similar version and many good reasons to use one in a community. Most of which are outlined in this blog:
Because the community site is just about a year old now, we thought it was as good a time as any to try it out. This site like any other, is and always will be a work in progress, things will change and certain functions may come and go. Our only goal is to create a thriving community of happy members.
We are listening to your feedback as always and we'd like to answer some of your questions:
No prizes or rewards are given for accumulating points.
We are not trying to use this system to monitor or track any members' interaction.
Because we just turned this function on Friday, May 1, the point system does not count backwards and everyone has started at "newbie" status going forward.
Newbie simply means new to interaction on the site. We understand we have been lucky enough to interact with many of you for the past year but as we said, this new function doesn't count backwards and even Ovation started as a newbie.
Rating an item higher or lower does not give you, as the rater, more or less points. There's no incentive to lie in your rating.
We hope this helps clear some things up. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
There is no artist in everyone , anymore than there is a mathematician, or engineer, or doctor in everyone...It waters down the whole meaning... the old" if everyone is an artist ...then no one is an artist." What if just any old wannnabee that had once put a band aid on someone started hanging up their shingle calling themselves DOCTORE!! Oh the uproar! What if anyone who had ever used an erector set or lego blocks, demanded to be allowed to build the next Brooklyn Bridge?! Oh the uproar, oh the pure danger of it! What if your bank decided that 2 and 2 only makes 3? Oh the uproar. How come that's obviously not wise, yet when it comes to art , which I believe is just as vital as engineering or doctoring or math, well ,"We're all artist dontya know?????" ... and oh the uproar if you suggest otherwise....!!! After all its all subjective don't you know... ???? But tell that to the classical Greeks... who thankfully, busily, and qualitatively went about defining "the beautiful" and the world is better for it... How did the ARTISTES pull off this coup against Art? I'll be hopping some distance away now before anyone suggests making rabbit stew...
A short story by a boy named Craigo (aka, Craig Sibley)
Copyright 2009
.
There once was a man who made bitter pills. He ate the bitter pills everyday and it made him very, very bitter.
.
He didn’t like taking the bitter pills because they made him feel bitter. But he couldn’t stop taking them. No matter how he tried, he could not stop taking those darn bitter pills. “What am I to do?” said the Bitter Man. “If I keep taking these bitter pills, my friends and family won’t like me anymore” he shouted. But the years went by and he made more and more bitter pills and took more and more bitter pills and he became more and more bitter. All his friends and family went away and all he had left were his bitter pills.
He was very, very lonely. What a sad, sad bitter man.
Then one day, he had an idea!
“Ah ha”, said the Bitter Man! “If I give some of my bitter pills to my friends and family they will be just like me!”
So the Bitter Man made extra bitter pills and made them look really, really yummy. He gave them to his friends and family. They did not know they were bitter pills because they looked so yummy. So they ate them all up.
.
After they ate the bitter pills, they found out that they were not yummy at all but were very, very bitter indeed. This made them get bitter and they wanted to stop taking the bitter pills but could not.
The Bitter Man now had many bitter friends and family with him, but that did not make him happy like he thought it would. The bitter people with him were very, very sad.
This made him very, very sad too. He found out that all of the sadness made him even more bitter.
Now all of the Bitter Man’s friends and family started feeling lonely also. So they bought more yummy looking bitter pills from the Bitter Man and started giving them to their friends and family.
Pretty soon the whole world was a very, very bitter, bitter place.
.
Then one day, a Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit came hopping along. He was at least 17 feet tall and sported quite a beer belly.
.
He was a fairly happy slappy chappy and saw that all the people were bitter and sad. “Why are all you people so bitter and sad?” he chuckled playfully with a twitch of his green cigar.
.
The people told him that the Bitter Man tricked them to eat bitter pills by making them look yummy!
.
“Hoopy doopy poopy!” said the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit! “Why would that naughty boy do such a naughty thing? I think we need to make some changes around here right away!!”
.
So the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit flipped open his Motorola cell phone and called Chuck Norris (you see, Chuck was the bunny’s buddy because they went to high school together).
“Chucky?” said Bunny, “I need you to come over here right away to kick Bitter Man’s butt!!”
So, Chuck Norris flew over his cool flat black Apache Attack Helicopter to lay some whoop-ass on the Bitter Man.
.
Chuck had some leftover sidewinder missiles from his last movie and shot them at the Bitter Man’s house and blew the crap out of it. It was really quite super-duper!! A great big round orange ball of fire flashed very, very bright in the dark night sky. It looked sort of like a giant Easter egg billowing hot gasses, broken wood and sharp pieces of glass!
“Bwahahaha!” said the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit as he laughed with glee!! After that he was heard singing “death to Bitter Man, death to Bitter Man!!!!”
Oh what a funny slappy happy chappy bunny was he!
After that, Chucky round-house kicked the Bitter Man so hard in the mouth that his back molars popped out! “Ouch” said Bitter Man! I hope Bitter Man has good dental insurance, because he sure is going to need it!!
.
All the bitter people were suddenly not so bitter anymore, they were very, very afraid and very, very mad too.
You see, the Bitter Man was their friend. Even though he tricked them and made them bitter by eating yummy looking bitter pills and he was the ugliest man they had ever seen, they still loved him.
So they formed a lynch mob, got a bunch pitchforks and torches and ran the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit out of town. Lucky for Bunny he could run faster than them or the people would be having din-din of Roast Garlic Rabbit that night! Oh yes, this is very, very important. I forgot to tell you that the town people really, really loved garlic!
When Chuck Norris saw the people chasing the Bunny out of town, he turned his terrified little yellow chicken butt and ran for the hills. The next day, Chuck was seen at Wal-Mart buying several pairs of new underwear. What a Silly Nilly Chuckie Norris is!
After a few days, the people had no more bitter pills because Chuck Norris had blown the crap out of the Bitter Man’s house.
It hurt for a while because they could not take bitter pills, but soon the people were not bitter anymore.
And best of all, the Bitter Man was no longer bitter anymore either! Even though he was still as ugly as a dog's rear end, he was very, very happy. He was so glad that his friends and family loved him. But it was too bad that the now Happy Man could no longer eat Rib Eye Steak (even with garlic), because Chuck Norris knocked his back molars out.
But even without his back molars, he lived happily ever after!
So my friends, the moral of this story is that bitterness is NOT a pill; it’s a very, very icky sickness. It can be passed just as easily as cold in the nose. This icky sickness only has one cure… love. The sad thing is that love is also not a pill. If it were, it would be very, very easy to give to people and make them all better.
So I need to ask all of my little friends a very, very simple question. Do I need to call Chuck Norris and have him come over to lay some whoop-ass on your bitter little butt, or will you throw your bitter pills down the toilet, suffer a little itty bit of pain… and be a part of the cure by sharing your love?
Thank you Ovation TV ! I do appreciate your quick response to our collective opinion. You have not only done we Artist's a service, but yourself as well. You have proven to this community that our voices do count and you do listen. It is a refreshing occasion when the corporate giant responds to mere mortals. Collect your data if you must. But please, next time knock on our door before you rush in and rearrange the furniture. Thank You!
Thanks to everyone for all your helpful feedback. We have changed the level names and re-configured the system slightly to hopefully be more useful to us all.
The level names:
1. New Member
2. Artist
3. Artist, Community Officer
4. Artist, Official Moderator
Therefore, the members who are the most active from this time going forward, will become the officers and moderators of the community.
This should help new members identify those who have been the most active and who can help them out and show them the ropes of the site. We know many of you already do this and always will - but this will help make it more apparent to new members.
And we will work with those members who reach Official Moderator status to help us lead chat room discussions, become homepage curators and other online collaborations.
So we have addressed the names and the value and 'point' behind the point system. This should be a huge help to us now and in the future as this site is growing more and more popular.
Blog Posts With the Most Comments
limit number of posting...
You go to the photo page and you see the same name under almost every image, is this really their best work, if they can turn out 100 images in a day, I think not.
I'm ready to go head to head with anyone who says it is! Give me a break, STOP THE POSTING MADNESS... It tends to cause people to loose interest in the site, and it will happen here...
Will Ovation Hear Our Collect
It is my opinion that collecting DATA from a group such as ours has Orwellian implications, We Artists take pride in our independence. History, tells that we do not react kindly to those whom would infringe upon it. We (Artists) were not asked to contribute the input of our opinions and questions to this nefarious exercise. Forethought in this regard would have been considered a courteous act. You demean us (Newbies & Hobbyist) the very people who make this site a success. If you fear ' "Artists Flight" you should cease and desist with hast. Thank you.
"Ovation TV My Art Member"
Stuart Harrison
When Did Hobbyists Become 'art
When did hobbyists start calling themselves Artists? How did the distinction get so very blurred??...between those that paint or sculpt to relieve stress and/or to entertain themselves and those who have dedicated their lives to using a medium to communicate a truth , those who have put in the 90% sweat equity to learn their medium in order through much stress and pain to best be able to commmunicate that truth....
When did Art become merely entertainment? Why can't people have a hobby without calling that hobby, Art? Why can't they be satisfied with the reality of having a hobby... why must they claim the illusion that they're Artists... and illusion it is... I for one feel that my chosen profession/calling is insulted everytime I witness hobbyist calling what they do Art... its like a blasphamey to use a very old term...
When did Art loose its sacredness??? Maybe Artists need a whole new word for what they do because the hobbyists have blasphemed the word to death... they have trampled it to drivle... and "I'm mad as Hell and not going to take it anymore".... or as soaringpickle would say ARTWAR
"Points" ART
I think that it is time to vent and utilize some of our disappointment over the "Points System". We should do what ARTISTS have done over the centuries,use our raw emotions and turn them to our advantage. Let us harness that elevated energy as well as our creativity, combine those powerful forces and put them to good use.
I propose that we create "Points Art". I profess this is not my idea, as it has already begun. Collectively we shall create grand works of ART inspired not by turmoil, but our most sincere intentions. A quest to heal this bruised community of ours, "Ovation TV My ART". Thank You.
Stuart Harrison
New Site Development - Points
As added incentive for being a member on this community, we are taking advantage of KickApps' new points and levels system.
Here is the break down of actions and their point values.
As you gain more points, you will move up the ranks in levels. Here are the levels and the points you need to enter each level.
Level 1: Newbie 100
Level 2: Hobbyist 1,000
Level 3: Master 10,000
Level 4: World Class 20,000
There are no prizes or values placed on these levels. This system is more for us than for you. It allows us to know who is interacting and using the site most often.
Let us know your thoughts.
© by ???????
images:
goya.jpg; vincent-van-gogh-night-cafe.jpg; basquiat.jpg
by by ??????? Who? by ??????? - by alastor
I'm missing something here. New Competition, or maybe it is just free market.
And I see the stars, comments on the images?
why I'm a artist
I've always been a artist, you just know. i just never had time to enjoy creating.
four years ago late at night on a dark lonely stretch of road in Michigan i was alone.
driving a small escort i saw two headlights approaching directly at me .
they were so dead on i didn't know to turn left or right. a large truck hit me.
i was doing 55 he may have be doing 55, 110 mph, crash . i was totally conscious during this whole ordeal
my air bag went off, i saw it collapse, two bright lights in my face , my head was near the carburetor a small fire there
passersby stopping to help ,i tried to open my door, stupid, the people were saying get him out it's gonna burn
hands a lot of hands, pulling me through the rear window, it's burning, they say
now dragging me down the street , that hurt, it's burning, further, a gigantic fire, rain , bones sticking through my skin
no pain just shock and now i have time for my art, john
Vaginas
I went on ovation and seen a vagina
Im getting up in years and it brought on angina
I wonder what my wife would say
I decided it should go away
So I made such a fuss
They must remove this pic of puss
So I raised some hell and they cave right in
To look upon the human form to me is such a sin
The visions of womanhood just spoiled my fun
Vaginas vaginas I must run
The vigina police must be called
Im sure glad they didnt draw a pic of some balls
Censorship sucks!
a new day dawning
war is over if you want it. great words. it can come true but only if we want it. it's time we wake up to the idea that there are better ways. you can't have a war if no one will fight. there's a great line in "all's quiet on the western front" a private is asking the sargent what the war was about. the sargent told him that their country insulted ours and the private wanted to know how. did one of their mountians come over and slap one of ours.one of the sad facts is that modern economy is built on war. war is good for business. instead of turning out warplanes, turn out farm equipment to feed the starving. if the straving are fed they won't be looking at what their neighbors have and finding a reason to invade them to get it. rarely is it really necassary to beat the plowshares into swords. hitler had to be removed. but like in the middle east, our policies made enemies out of former friends. their policies in response made ours more hardline and through tit for tat we have the mess we have today. all of which could have been avoided. i'm not blameing us or them. things could have handled better. we voted for change in the last election, our commitment shouldn't stop at the voting booth. the power to bring change lies in us, the power to bring peace to the world lies with us as well. it's up to us.
How to create emotion in eyes
Hey there!
John Essmaker asked a question about eyes tonight, and it inspired me to create a few photos that I hope will help you create "emotion" in the human eye!
When I first did my portrait of Audrey Hepburn for my daughter (btw... daughter asked me to do this for her which explains why it has a "pink" color theme!), I was able to complete the majority of the piece in about 10 hours. I thought, well... this is going SPLENDID and I should have it done shortly!
And then it came time to render the eyes. I must have spent a MINIMUM of another 10 hours on the eyes alone. You may have heard people say that the human hand is the most difficult thing to render? I disagree... I believe that capturing and rendering emotion in the human eye is FAR more difficult!
Also, I'm always blown away by how extremely subtle changes affects emotion radically!
Basically, the eyes are a watery, semi-transluscent, glassy orb... surrounded by muscle and fatty tissue.
Okay so what?!?!? What am I getting at?
I'm glad you asked Scooter... 'cause here we go!
Here is a photo of the origianal painting, followed by a close-up of the eyes;
Close up (unretouched, but I had to rephotograph the painting to capture the detail);
Notice the wetness which causes reflections in the eye? This is commonly known as the "sparkle". In addition, the iris of the eye allows light in but is reflected back, which gives this portion of the eye a deepness, yet not complete depth as in the pupil. The pupil is where the clear lens is and light rarely is reflected back out of the eye at this point, so this is where the "deepness" of an eye is noticed.
Now, if we show just a LITTLE more white around the eyes... notice how the eyes suddenly look surprized, or anxious, or fearful (in the next few examples, I have used photoshop to alter the original and in this next photo I have not changed the size of the eyes at all... just added more white!);
Okay, now it starts getting REALLY interesting. In contrast to the eyes above, I will close up the eyelids a bit, and Audrey becomes tired, or melancholy (I will update this one soon, because adding bags under the eyes also indicates tiredness (stay tuned!!);
And if I turn the corners down a bit and add highlights where the water of tears is gathering on the bottom eyelid, we get a tearful eye. Of course the eye is much more wet... right? So I have added even more highlights on the surface of the eye in general;
Ain't that FUN?!?!
Oils make this EXTREMELY easy. You can push the paint around until you get it EXACTLY where you want it (but I'll warn you... IT IS EXTREMELY TIME CONSUMING!).
Now, if you are working with watercolor, you don't have the option to add highlights, unless you add an opaque white paint... which will make your painting appear "fake". If you want to create realistic eyes, you must "scrub out" where you want the highlights. It is MUCH harder to gain control, so it's not for the faint of heart. You can only "scrub" just so far... or you'll drive RIGHT THROUGH the paper (which I've done by the way!!).
Here is my portrait of Georgia O'Keffee followed by a close up of the eyes;
Now the close up;
There are still highlights, but it's much more difficult to make them work. If you notice the eye on the right... there's a highlight just to the right of the iris along the bottom of the eyelid, and on the white of the eye as well. I did this with an Exacto knife! After the paint was put on... scratch out the white paper underneath!. Also, you might notice that I really focused on creating the "Semi-Transluscent" aspect of the Iris in this painting. This gave a warmth and thoughful gaze to her eyes.
So... it's really all about light, the absence of light, and how the muscles function with different emotions. Here's the weird thing... once you start to notice this stuff? Well... you'll NEVER view the world the same way again. You'll start seeing the world in a completely different "light" (forgive the pun).
One last thing, the human face has an incredible amount of muscles behind it and is capable of MANY contortions. Isn't it amazing though that the eyes alone can tell us SO much about how a person is feeling?
Here's a short example and one last pic of Audrey's lips;
If Eyes are the hardest thing to render... lips are a VERY close second. Notice the VERY subtle lighting around the bottom corners of her lips? This is the ONLY thing that will indicate a slight smile (think Mona Lisa here). During the painting process of this painting I had a REAL problem with her expression as it was very "cold" and I couldn't figure out why. I finally figured out that there was just a hint of light at each corner of the mouth.
Also, do you want to paint juicy, luscious lips? It's all about the highlights baby!
So there ya have it. I hope this has been helpful, and if you should have any questions... ya know where to find me!!
All the best
Your cyberbud...
Craigo
shyness
sometimes it upsets me that one of us artist has something important to say either trying to help others or pouring our hearts out over something only to have 20 views or maybe 50 big deal, we have thousands of members and here goes one of those blogs that could really help someone.
i went through a period in my life when i was shy, really shy. i couldn't speak in public ,i couldn't ask in Kmart for an item i couldn't find, in a discussion i was the only one to have the answer and couldn't say a word. without saying this really held me back. i was afraid to even see the doctor but i did. i started taking PAXIL he said i had a SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER
all of the problems i had just went away and more i wanted to speak first i wanted to be heard. just 20 mg. PAXIL per day changed my life. i have since change to LEXAPRO a antidepressant with the same results. if your shy to shy to function take this note to a doctor and change your life forever. your friend john
Dont get yout panties in a bun
Funny events have people all pissy over the points race and such. I have been observing and really thinking how funny it all is. Even before the points system started there was the profile views race. im sure you all have seen the wallmart greeters we have on the site, the phony insincer commenters all just to get profile hit or points. Look at me look at me attitudes. People, this is just a web site made to share your art and maybe learn form one another. Its not a site for selling your art or promoting other personal interest as Ive seen others do.
Im here to have fun and share my work and maybe get better or get some new ideas. Im not here to run an underground gang and undermine anyone else. I dont have any connections with the web master as someone has accused me of. Im just a poster like the rest of you. I will like some art and some I wont. I wont kiss your ass just to get you to view my work and I promise you if I comment on your work I truly like it.
Please take a look at my stuff and give me some honest opinions. I appreciate that aspect of this site the most....
All you greeters and insincer commenters take a look inside then laugh at your self, and keep posting and having fun. After all Ovation is the best place to share art on the web.
I love my Ovation TV!
Did you see this last year? http://community.ovationtv.com/_My-Art-Series-2008-Set-10/video/248751/16878.html It was a wonderful experience and I thank Ovation for the opportunity. Hmmmm maybe one day I will be in another one LOL
P.S.
Psssssssssssssst... The secret gang meeting is in the chat room at 10 EST
Points & Levels Explained, Par
When you enter a new business or start a new venture, its wise to compare and contrast what similar companies, organizations or even communities are doing.
Since KickApps added the points and levels system function recently, we decided to try the function here. There are many successful social networking sites using this system or a similar version and many good reasons to use one in a community. Most of which are outlined in this blog:
Community Design: Points as Motivation
Because the community site is just about a year old now, we thought it was as good a time as any to try it out. This site like any other, is and always will be a work in progress, things will change and certain functions may come and go. Our only goal is to create a thriving community of happy members.
We are listening to your feedback as always and we'd like to answer some of your questions:
No prizes or rewards are given for accumulating points.
We are not trying to use this system to monitor or track any members' interaction.
Because we just turned this function on Friday, May 1, the point system does not count backwards and everyone has started at "newbie" status going forward.
Newbie simply means new to interaction on the site. We understand we have been lucky enough to interact with many of you for the past year but as we said, this new function doesn't count backwards and even Ovation started as a newbie.
Rating an item higher or lower does not give you, as the rater, more or less points. There's no incentive to lie in your rating.
We hope this helps clear some things up. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Ovation TV Online Team
The Artist in EVERYone???
There is no artist in everyone , anymore than there is a mathematician, or engineer, or doctor in everyone...It waters down the whole meaning... the old" if everyone is an artist ...then no one is an artist." What if just any old wannnabee that had once put a band aid on someone started hanging up their shingle calling themselves DOCTORE!! Oh the uproar! What if anyone who had ever used an erector set or lego blocks, demanded to be allowed to build the next Brooklyn Bridge?! Oh the uproar, oh the pure danger of it! What if your bank decided that 2 and 2 only makes 3? Oh the uproar. How come that's obviously not wise, yet when it comes to art , which I believe is just as vital as engineering or doctoring or math, well ,"We're all artist dontya know?????" ... and oh the uproar if you suggest otherwise....!!! After all its all subjective don't you know... ???? But tell that to the classical Greeks... who thankfully, busily, and qualitatively went about defining "the beautiful" and the world is better for it... How did the ARTISTES pull off this coup against Art? I'll be hopping some distance away now before anyone suggests making rabbit stew...
The Bitter Man
The Bitter Man
A short story by a boy named Craigo (aka, Craig Sibley)
Copyright 2009
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There once was a man who made bitter pills. He ate the bitter pills everyday and it made him very, very bitter.
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He didn’t like taking the bitter pills because they made him feel bitter. But he couldn’t stop taking them. No matter how he tried, he could not stop taking those darn bitter pills. “What am I to do?” said the Bitter Man. “If I keep taking these bitter pills, my friends and family won’t like me anymore” he shouted. But the years went by and he made more and more bitter pills and took more and more bitter pills and he became more and more bitter. All his friends and family went away and all he had left were his bitter pills.
He was very, very lonely. What a sad, sad bitter man.
Then one day, he had an idea!
“Ah ha”, said the Bitter Man! “If I give some of my bitter pills to my friends and family they will be just like me!”
So the Bitter Man made extra bitter pills and made them look really, really yummy. He gave them to his friends and family. They did not know they were bitter pills because they looked so yummy. So they ate them all up.
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After they ate the bitter pills, they found out that they were not yummy at all but were very, very bitter indeed. This made them get bitter and they wanted to stop taking the bitter pills but could not.
The Bitter Man now had many bitter friends and family with him, but that did not make him happy like he thought it would. The bitter people with him were very, very sad.
This made him very, very sad too. He found out that all of the sadness made him even more bitter.
Now all of the Bitter Man’s friends and family started feeling lonely also. So they bought more yummy looking bitter pills from the Bitter Man and started giving them to their friends and family.
Pretty soon the whole world was a very, very bitter, bitter place.
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Then one day, a Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit came hopping along. He was at least 17 feet tall and sported quite a beer belly.
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He was a fairly happy slappy chappy and saw that all the people were bitter and sad. “Why are all you people so bitter and sad?” he chuckled playfully with a twitch of his green cigar.
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The people told him that the Bitter Man tricked them to eat bitter pills by making them look yummy!
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“Hoopy doopy poopy!” said the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit! “Why would that naughty boy do such a naughty thing? I think we need to make some changes around here right away!!”
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So the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit flipped open his Motorola cell phone and called Chuck Norris (you see, Chuck was the bunny’s buddy because they went to high school together).
“Chucky?” said Bunny, “I need you to come over here right away to kick Bitter Man’s butt!!”
So, Chuck Norris flew over his cool flat black Apache Attack Helicopter to lay some whoop-ass on the Bitter Man.
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Chuck had some leftover sidewinder missiles from his last movie and shot them at the Bitter Man’s house and blew the crap out of it. It was really quite super-duper!! A great big round orange ball of fire flashed very, very bright in the dark night sky. It looked sort of like a giant Easter egg billowing hot gasses, broken wood and sharp pieces of glass!
“Bwahahaha!” said the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit as he laughed with glee!! After that he was heard singing “death to Bitter Man, death to Bitter Man!!!!”
Oh what a funny slappy happy chappy bunny was he!
After that, Chucky round-house kicked the Bitter Man so hard in the mouth that his back molars popped out! “Ouch” said Bitter Man! I hope Bitter Man has good dental insurance, because he sure is going to need it!!
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All the bitter people were suddenly not so bitter anymore, they were very, very afraid and very, very mad too.
You see, the Bitter Man was their friend. Even though he tricked them and made them bitter by eating yummy looking bitter pills and he was the ugliest man they had ever seen, they still loved him.
So they formed a lynch mob, got a bunch pitchforks and torches and ran the Giant Mauve Bunny Rabbit out of town. Lucky for Bunny he could run faster than them or the people would be having din-din of Roast Garlic Rabbit that night! Oh yes, this is very, very important. I forgot to tell you that the town people really, really loved garlic!
When Chuck Norris saw the people chasing the Bunny out of town, he turned his terrified little yellow chicken butt and ran for the hills. The next day, Chuck was seen at Wal-Mart buying several pairs of new underwear. What a Silly Nilly Chuckie Norris is!
After a few days, the people had no more bitter pills because Chuck Norris had blown the crap out of the Bitter Man’s house.
It hurt for a while because they could not take bitter pills, but soon the people were not bitter anymore.
And best of all, the Bitter Man was no longer bitter anymore either! Even though he was still as ugly as a dog's rear end, he was very, very happy. He was so glad that his friends and family loved him. But it was too bad that the now Happy Man could no longer eat Rib Eye Steak (even with garlic), because Chuck Norris knocked his back molars out.
But even without his back molars, he lived happily ever after!
So my friends, the moral of this story is that bitterness is NOT a pill; it’s a very, very icky sickness. It can be passed just as easily as cold in the nose. This icky sickness only has one cure… love. The sad thing is that love is also not a pill. If it were, it would be very, very easy to give to people and make them all better.
So I need to ask all of my little friends a very, very simple question. Do I need to call Chuck Norris and have him come over to lay some whoop-ass on your bitter little butt, or will you throw your bitter pills down the toilet, suffer a little itty bit of pain… and be a part of the cure by sharing your love?
Then, we can ALL live happily ever after!
THE END
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Happy B-day to me - -July 16
Happy b-day 2 me...Happy b-day 2 me...Happy b-day 2 meee...mmmmmeeeeee.....Happy b-day 2 me!!!
Happy b-day 2 me on July the 16...
Ovation Heard Our Collective V
Thank you Ovation TV ! I do appreciate your quick response to our collective opinion. You have not only done we Artist's a service, but yourself as well. You have proven to this community that our voices do count and you do listen. It is a refreshing occasion when the corporate giant responds to mere mortals. Collect your data if you must. But please, next time knock on our door before you rush in and rearrange the furniture. Thank You!
"Ovation TV My Art" member,
Stuart Harrison
Points System Revised
Thanks to everyone for all your helpful feedback. We have changed the level names and re-configured the system slightly to hopefully be more useful to us all.
The level names:
1. New Member
2. Artist
3. Artist, Community Officer
4. Artist, Official Moderator
Therefore, the members who are the most active from this time going forward, will become the officers and moderators of the community.
This should help new members identify those who have been the most active and who can help them out and show them the ropes of the site. We know many of you already do this and always will - but this will help make it more apparent to new members.
And we will work with those members who reach Official Moderator status to help us lead chat room discussions, become homepage curators and other online collaborations.
So we have addressed the names and the value and 'point' behind the point system. This should be a huge help to us now and in the future as this site is growing more and more popular.
Ovation TV Online Team
Create a GiGi Contest ! Win a
This is where we have some fun at the expense of GiGi ....
Have fun with it and dont hold back,show off or not ....
Create GiGi anyway you like,photo,draw,paint,clay,wood,sticks & stones or words...
I will award a small drawing to the winner, who will pick one from three drawings so good luck, a very small DRAWING !!!
Ends Thankgiving Day ....
B
Angry Old Artist
I'm so very sorry to say that Angry Old Artist passed on June 28th. My love to you Jeania and your family.