Storming blogs across the web is light graffiti

..and I find it to be pretty damn baby-kicking amazing.

Straight out of Norway, Lightmark is a truly remarkable collection of stunning scenery, time lapse photography and a couple of insanely talented lads running around in the dark with light sources (torches doesn't sound technical enough!) Their "light drawings" are absolutely magical at a glance, but upon closer inspection many of the concentric loops, glittery sparkles and simple strokes are actually mimicking and responding to the landscape. Utter perfection!

http://www.lightmark.de/

Next up is Lichtfaktor - Graffiti durch Licht! These guys are ill. sick. dope. BOSS! (When's the last time you heard that one?) It puts the trend of tagging with LEDS to shame. TO SHAME!

German lads Lichtfaktor have been using similar techniques in their "light writing" experiments. Their aesthetic has a distinct graffiti edge, and although the stills of their work are impressive enough, their work is best experienced through their extended exposure/stop motion films.

How is it done? to get the best results a tripod is needed. The exposure should be around 10-30 sec. or longer if needed. Stay in front of the camera and do your writing with the different light sources. To not overexpose, the camera should be set to about iso100, and the aperture closed as much as possible. If there is still too much light, a nd-filter (neutral density) might be needed. And a useful tip: it is always nice to integrate the surroundings into the picture.

The toolkit consists of a collection of flashlights, biking-lights, flashing LED lights, fireworks & torches and even more sophisticated equipment. (Fireworks?! Oh now we're talking. Roman candles? The little tanks that shoot out sparks? Razzle dazzle snazzle. I like it.)

Lichtfaktor uses three different types: xenon, which creates a warm golden light; LED, which produces a thin precise line; and cold cathode, which gives a thick line. The best results are achieved by experimenting, including using filters and objects that reflect light.

http://www.lichtfaktor.eu/

A little behind the scenes peek:

Leave it up to the Europeans and the Norwegian to pull these stunts.

Some of the best work I've seen lately has either come from Germany, France, Scotland or Norway. A trend is coming...

New Mini Paintings in Shop!

With many more to come. All four newly listed!
All handcrafted from start to finish including frames.


Live. Get out there and LIVE.
Sinner. Are you a sinner or a saint?
Thrive. Thrive, regardless of season or circumstance.
Saint. Are you a saint or a sinner?


Next up?

Throb.
Love.
Lust.
Sprout.
Poison.

Medium Rectangle Filigree Frames measure 4" X 3" each.

And a photograph I took not five minutes ago. Two bees, complete mirrors of one another in flowers that mirrored each other. It was so beautiful! Unfortunately by the time I grabbed my camera, I got one shaded shot and spooked them. Even in this picture you can slightly see the right as he minics the left. Wouldn't these have been badass shots?

When temporary becomes permanent.

So I decided to put tonight aside for completing all the technical projects that were placed on temporary hold status. I mean what is the definition of temporary? One day? Two? ... In my case a whole year? Yikes.

I really would like to create a deviantart page as some suggested (such as the absolutely lovely lady from sugarcoffin.etsy.com) as well as a myspace and re-do some key features such as flyers, the layout of this page, business cards and more. If I had my way they would look much different.. and so watch out because tonight is the night.

As soon as I finish cleaning I think I will put on a new pot of coffee and sit down and get to it.

Here's to hoping!

I'll close with a picture of another little fella I found the other day, yes yet another dollface baby.

Spring has Sprung

.. and there are babies everywhere. It seems our house as become the chipmunk, ground squirrel, praire dog, dove and now quail sanctuary. There's not three yards you can walk without running into another nest or a momma carrying her babies around. The teenagers seem to be more interested in learning the ropes then rebeling and tattoos. In fact one only has to sit for a few minutes peeking out behind the blinds to see another pair of doves bring their offspring around to the small fountain to show them how to drink.

Next to our front door is the SECOND set of babies hatched in a row. About two days after the first left, word must have gotten around as we found ourselves with a new momma bird in nest.(Although I have to tell you she is a hundred times more pschitzo than the last which makes for much less wonderment.)

In the driveway is a wheelbarrow long left neglected which has found itself home to a 16-egg Gambel Quail nest. I have never seen anything like this and am still in awe that it was even able to be spotted. Apparently quail DO lay on their eggs contrary to what I thought which was the more cold hearted sceanario of lay and flee. On reading up, apparently they are also life-long monogomous birds to an extreme. The male is never far from her and is always keeping watch for predators while she is nesting.

Mid-script ps -> The plume on their head IS a bundle of feathers and not just one. A question I always needed answers to.

We tried to justify snatching just a few to hatch and form our own covey but that wouldn't be very animal-sanctuary of us. You better believe as soon as they leave the nest I will be snatching up the abandoned eggshells. At a minimum I will have about 45 so maybe I can make use out of them in specimen boxes or de-stashing.

Not a few days after stumbling upon this nest, did I find two others! (All 16 eggs, some sort of pact?) With such an unusual amount of babies abounding I have to wonder what circumstances provided for this? We recently built a coop to house chickens and discovered flocks of birds have regularly been eating their feed... which is specifically designed to promote and assist egg laying. If that's the case I just stumbled on to a well worth expense to feed the wildlife in the future.

As far as shop news, a new St. Francis set has hit the store front! I tried to calculate a fantastic price since the economy is so severely injuring us all. I settled on one that was not much more than the material cost yet drastically less than those I see around shops in town.

He's of good size, about 9" and comes with a print of a traditional Cuzco style painting with hood and skull. Right now he's only available in an aged finish but soon I hope to list more that are "skull-a-fied".

I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious. -Diego Rivera