07.29.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:41 pm by Fletcher
Considering the amount of positive feedback I’d gotten over my ‘new’ style - Rural Decay, as I call it:
I started my second one - based on a tree I saw in a swampy area in one of the Metroparks. Suffice to say, as I got underway with it, laid down my initial sketch and started painting - I reached a logical breaking point and set it aside to dry and to take stock of where I was.
Ye gods, it looks like a amateur student painting.
Any artist worth his salt will tell you that regressing is one of the hardest things to do. Trying to do a tempera painting in the style of First Grade can daunt even the most seasoned of artists. Even a non-artist will be challenged to ‘draw like a child’. Its something we lose as we get older - something in the way our brains form.
In looking at my latest - I got the distinct impression of ‘High School Art Student’ flavor. I can’t decide if this is a good thing, a happy accident, if you will. Or if I just plain suck at nature scenes and really need to practice.
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07.22.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:03 pm by Fletcher
So, since the announcement of my future nuptials, my bride to be has been scouring the internets looking for banquet halls, church info, honeymoon ideas, other wedding mishaps, dresses, reception favors, shoes, cognitive therapists and a good eye doctor for correcting the nearsightedness brought on by all the searching…
Since she spends a fair amount of time at my apartment, getting fed good meals and taking me to the beach - she naturally spends a goodish amount of time looking up stuff online as I bustle around, paint or cook. I was interrupted one of these times by a loud raucous cackle, one that was part hysterics and the other part sheer horror. Rushing to see what was amiss, she pointed to the screen, hand on mouth - barely able to speak…
On the screen was a ‘virtual wedding party’. It seems she found a site that would allow you to create a 3D wedding scene, modifying the way people looked, skin tones, outfits and whatnot. The user was limited to a handful of choices and the template had a look of early 1992 ‘virtual reality’ - the people looking less realistic than Ken & Barbie dolls, the setting looking like it was designed by Mattel.
What I cannot wait for it a photo of my entire wedding party - as a basis of comparison.
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07.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:09 pm by Fletcher
Got this bit of good news in my inbox:
Hello friends and neighbors,
We hope this email finds you well. We have missed you, so we’re very happy to announce that we are returning to our stoop tomorrow, Thursday, July 17th. You can find us from 7:30 - 9:30 am. We’ll be offering some old favorites (vanilla creme, cinnamon sugar and lavender glaze), as well as something new (rhubarb muffins). We can’t wait to see you once again!
–
D’Lovely Girls
I have sampled their wares and if you find yourself in the vicinity of 7th Ave & Lincoln Pl. in Brooklyn, you’d do well to stop by.
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07.14.08
Posted in Life at 10:54 pm by Fletcher
For those who didn’t get the email; rumor; or panicked phone call - it is true:
I’m getting hitched! The love of my life will truly become my bride in April!
(a little backstory can be found here)
And it turns out, she’s a bit of a blogger herself; once she got onto the Knot and could tell our story… (Read our wedding blog here)
And now to dispel the rumors:
Cheryl had written an email to quell any questions people might have had at work - since we do work in the same office. As she put it: ‘No, that is not a Princess cut diamond engagement ring on my finger. Its an Asscher cut.” (call me biased, I still think its one of the cutest jokes I’ve heard!)
Being part of the progressive couple that we are - I’m not content to just get the ring, rent a tux and show up at the church on the right day and time - I’m helping in what ways I can (since I’m unfamiliar with the region, getting a reception hall is OUT). So, I’m looking into honeymoons and apartments we can both enjoy. Which means that I am investigating the better part of the Caribbean and any place with a hammock, a beach and drinks with paper umbrellas. I won’t mention the life of crime I must adopt in order to pay for said honeymoon. Suffice to say, I think I can get by on one kidney…
So, since the engagement, my time is spent on discussing the merits of which dining hall has the best decor? band or DJ? Can I get my NYC friends to come all the way out to the Midwest for a wedding? Can I sing a song at the reception? What the $#!^ is taffeta?
And reading a lot of ‘How to Make Marriage Work’ articles on the web…
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Posted in Uncategorized at 9:59 am by Fletcher
The girlfriend and I hit the lake this weekend, at sunset. Luckily I brought my camera - and thankfully I have a great photomerging piece of software…
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07.09.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:36 pm by Fletcher
My old 20″ CRT monitor just died on me.
I bought the thing way back in 96 / 97 (can’t remember which) and it served me faithfully all this time. When I bought it, I had just built my first computer - a 300 mhz, dual Pentium 3 rig with a 20 gig SCSI hard drive. I had a Matrox g200 video card that could capture mjpeg video. It was the bomb.
When I bought it, 15 inches was the standard monitor size; 17″ was huge and my 19″ dominated everyone who saw it. Most people living in the city at that time had tv’s that were smaller than my monitor. My first game on it was Quake - and when I got the patch to run it in OpenGL, people’s mouths dropped.
When I bought that monitor, Bill Clinton was president and the defacto large file storage system was the ubiquitous Zip disk. 32 megs of ram were on sale for $125, A low end computer had a 120 mhz processor and sold for $450. OJ Simpson was the big news item, Hale-Bopp beamed up a few wackos, and Deep Blue beat Kasparov.
Since then, I’ve logged many an hour on the beast - editing films, tons of photoshop work, emails and more videogames than I care to think about. I mean, I USED this monitor, to the extreme. When I got my 27″ LCD, I made damn sure to get a dual head video card so I could have 2 monitors at one - and trust me, its the ONLY way to use photoshop properly.
So, when I had problems with the old girl turning off and on at random, I started to worry. The color and picture were fine - she would just shut off for a moment - like it was time for a rest. And then yesterday, she started clicking - a kind of static-y pop and hiss. I turned off the power, thinking that the heat and humidity were a little much and left to go to work. When I got home (around 10:30) it was dark out, cooler and the air was dry from a downpour earlier - I fired her up, only to fill the room with an acrid burnt plastic smell a few moments later. Sadly, I turned her off for the last time, now siting in a corner to go to the recycling center (another thing that didn’t exist when I bought her) and the memories of work and games to fade away…
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07.08.08
Posted in Art at 10:22 am by Fletcher
Now that both are officially open, I can announce that I have works in TWO shows simultaneously.
First up: Mac Worthington Gallery. The curator was particularly excited that I do urban landscapes, particularly my NYC scenes. Which leads me to believe that my new ‘rural decay series‘ might sell well back in NYC…
Secondly: Your Work 2008. Yes, its held at a Utrechts, but hey - here in the midwest one must get art where one can. Besides, even though its an art supply store - they have a real sense of art community, holding product demos, life drawing classes (sadly I can’t go to these as it is during my work week) and the occasional show.
Funny, this is the most exposure I’ve ever had as an artist - and I have to admit, I relish it.
Now if you’ll excuse me: my ancient (12 yr old) CRT monitor has been making sparking noises and shutting off randomly - I wanna deal with it before it blows up on me…
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07.07.08
Posted in Film at 9:47 am by Fletcher
Just got this little gem in the ol inbox:
Great news! For the second time in three years, Heather Dilly will be given the award for Best Actress at the Long Island International Film Expo, this time for her stunning work in the darkly comedic short film, “Sovereignty”. (Last time it was for her work as the down-and-out April in the award-winning short film “The Look Away Life”. Watch it now!)
Come on out and see the award-winning “Sovereignty” THIS THURSDAY July 10th at 9:30pm at the Long Island International Film Expo. Click here for directions.
We are also very proud to announce that our next stop will be the prestigious, Rhode Island International Film Festival in early August which is the only New England Festival that serves as a qualifier for the Short Film Academy Award. Keep an eye out on the website for dates and times and if you are in the area, please come by and support us!
Also check out our website for pics from our great run at the Hoboken Film Festival with stars like Billy D. Williams, Costas Mandylor and more!
Jonathan Sale
www.SovereigntyMovie.com
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