Jan
30
2009
"Love Triangle" Post #4
Here's the fourth version of "Love Triangle."
Remember, you have until 12:00 PM, February 13th, to enter the give away contest.
Just remember to tell me which of the four versions you prefer and why (and feel free to mention anything about other versions you especially would like to see incorporated into the final piece.)
Happy Trails!
Jan
28
2009
"Love Triangle" Post #3
Jan
26
2009
"Love Triangle" Post #2
Here's my second interpretation of "Love Triangle."
The mood is certainly different this time.
It fascinates me how just a few minor changes can alter the whole mood of a piece. I don't want to influence your reaction, so I won't mention how I feel about #2.
I will say that the clouds are utterly "Wyoming" to the core. We get these incredible, eerie clouds that sometimes remind me of spaceships. I had never experienced these shapes in North Carolina. I have learned that their long, stretched outlines are created by the powerful force of the wild wind we get out here. I so, SO love how Wyoming has such stark contrasts in the sky and the landscape.
Compare this artwork with that of Post #1.
How do they affect you? How do they make you feel?
Stay tuned for Posts # 3 and 4, soon to come.
Happy Trails!
Jan
22
2009
"Love Triangle"
Jan
18
2009
Hold your horses, pardner!
I didn't necessarily create this silly little piece to protect the pictures … I did it to make a point.
If you have a nice collection of artwork, it would behoove you to get it copyrighted.
In the past I have sent in a few individual pieces to the US Copyright Department that I wanted legally protected, but I had never registered a large number of pieces as a body of work. I just did it, and I have to tell you that I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Before I tell you how I did this, and how you can do it too, let me just add one bit of information you should consider… Yes, it's true that once you have created a piece of art, you ARE the owner of the piece. But what is ALSO true is that if some scumbag decides he/she wants to "steal" that piece and claim it as her own, you will have to go through hell and high water if that piece is not officially copyright protected. You'll have to hire a lawyer and pay an enormous legal fee in order to stop said scumbag from "using" that piece of artwork. However, if you have that same piece of artwork officially registered with the US Copyright office, all you'll really need is a "cease and desist" notice because you have "proof" in your hot little hand that the work is YOURS. If the scumbag still refuses to stop using your piece as his/hers, you now have the power to take immediate legal action without going through a huge amount of time and expense. No major legal fees, no documentation, no wringing of hands and cursing under your breath. Zippo headache. Nada problemo.
I'll admit I was dreading the process of registering so many pieces. Most artists hate the administrative side of the business, and I am no exception. But it's 2009 already, and it was time to get the rest of my "Cowgirls in a row" (as opposed to the usual "ducks.")
I spent the last three days compiling a folder of all the work I wanted to copyright. Gave the whole collection a name. Copied it all to a CD. Then I "zipped" the file and copied it to another CD. Call me paranoid, but I like having one "zipped" file and one regular file.
Next, I went here, to the US Copyright Office online… This is the official web address that allows you to register everything online, including photos of your work. Yes, it takes some major time out of your schedule, but it surely does beat printing off all of your art and sending it by snail mail. Plus, it's cheaper. $35 if you register online – $45 if you register by mail.
You'll have to create a user name and password (they'll want a really SECURE password (the first several I tried were "rejected"), so be prepared to write yours down so you don't forget it), and then you just follow the instructions. When you register ALL of your art as ONE BODY of work, all you have to do it give one title for the whole batch, and you're on your way. Then you pay, either by bank account or a charge card, and in the last step you'll upload the photos of your artwork. There is a 30 minute time out for the upload, so don't send huge pictures. I had 78 pieces, each sized to 3 or 4 inches and saved on "high" in photoshop, all of which I had loaded into a Zip file. All that left for me to do was to click on one file to upload. The upload took about 6 minutes. Not bad at all.
When you're done with the process you'll receive an email from the US Copyright office telling you they have received your application. Then, you wait for your copyright notification to arrive by US mail.
From now on, after I create a new piece of artwork, I'll save a copy of it to a new "Copyright 2009" file. When I'm ready to register more work I'll have it all compiled an ready to go.
And that's it, pardner. Take the time, and just DO it.
You'll be so, so glad you did. I promise.
Happy Trails!
Jan
13
2009
That's my son … MONSTER MAN.
And that's ME … DISTORTED ARTIST.
And our photo is the product of "Photo Booth," which comes installed on my new …
IMAC!
Yep, Pardner. You heard me right. I finally got a MAC!
I felt just as loony as I appear in this crazy photo, which by the way is just one of may silly ones my son and I made with the invisible ICam that comes installed on the iMac. What fun we had.
I am simply WILD and CRAZY – out of my mind with glee.
When the screen first popped up and this 3D show zoomed up in front of us on my 24" screen it was like watching a movie. The size. The colors. The clarity. The depth.
Lord. This cowgirl has been blown clear out of her boots by the sheer genius of the iMac!
The worm and malware that ate up my 5 year old PC were blessings in disguise.
Why did I wait so long? What was I afraid of?
The Mac is so EASY. Install a program and it automatically does everything for you. No guessing. No prompting. No hunting for the right place to put it. No questions like, "Are you SURE you want to add this program?"
No siree, bob. Mr. Mac is the king of the universe. The all knowing great and powerful Oz. I don't have to do a thing except put the CD into the side of the screen and He does everything for me. I LOVE this guy!
I finally got all of my photos off the old hard drive and either put them on CD's or added them to Mr. Mac. (Did I happen to mention that I had over 693 photos on my PC? I had no idea!) I didn't move any files over – but I have everything I need right here. Is this COOL or what?
I could kick myself that I was even considering another PC. No more of those. And no more viruses, worms, spam, pop ups, malware, or "warnings" from all those darned virus/anti spam programs I was running on the old system.
Best of all, creating digital artwork on this baby is DA BOMB! Now that I have this great huge screen – now that I REALLY see the detail – I am amazed at the little things my art was missing. I can't wait to share all of my discoveries with you.
And for all my kindred spirits out there who wrote that I would LOVE my Mac – you were RIGHT.
Life is good.
Happy Trails!
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