This is a daily status update for myself. It's intended purpose is to keep me focused or at least document my day when I am focused.
This is my current work status [ Status ] - [ Paintings ] - [ Contact ]
Finishing up my document for the Analoge-to-Digital Ad naseum. Maybe.
Quickly found out that I’m gonna need a new computer (and graphics card). I’ve had my laptop for about 6 years, so I think I’ve done well. New computer will be dual boot Windows/Linux.
I’m also documenting the Analog-to-Digital Ad Naseum work. There were starting to be so many things I was losing track of them. I’ll post as a blog entry on my website when I’m done.
Gone down a rabbit hole that I didn’t expect. Installed an LLM on my “workstation” and like it. Super slow, but it’s a very old computer. Looking into the world of GPUs which is a spaghetti mess to understand.
I’m in a cycle of building new tools and trying new types of transformations. At some point, these need some cohesion, but right now, I feel like I’m exploring tangents and back roads.
An important aspect of deciding to adopt technology into your life is whether or not it should be a part of your life. There may be parts of your life that you really need to do. Maybe washing your own dishes, helps you to appreciate how much food you eat, for example. I think managing your own budget and finances is one that you need to do for yourself. Money is already abstract enough from reality (see Fiat Money).
Incredible progress with Chatgpt and my new version of image to sound. This may be more Image to Waveform and I’m kind of blown away. The concept is so simple (Implementable) that we used it for television signals and eventually any data that travels over sound. Of course, I could never do that alone. My brain groks logic paths, but also flips variables and numbers. I literally couldn’t do this without this tool (unless I had a dedicated and patient person.)
Reaktor was no good. Supercollider is neat, but not for now. Working with them in collaboration with Claude (or ChatGPT or Gemini) was just terrible. ChatGPT gave me a solid architectural answer, so we’ve been diving down into p5.js and hydra: Vector Oscilloscope inspired. ChatGPT took me literally and decided to start scanning the image, as if we were going to display on a CRT. Not too shabby.
We’re pivoting to supercollider instead of Reaktor. Claude can’t see inside Reaktor well to help and … I don’t know Reaktor.
I’m maxed out my pro session with Claude, refining the Image Synthesizer. Then decided to branch out and have it help me configure Reaktor6 instead of rebuilding a synth interface in a browser. We’re going to connect my Image Music Processor to Reaktor, and then development will focus on the Image processing part. Meanwhile, since I maxed out Claude, I got Gemini to help me write some python scripts for Blender which diced up some models I’ve made in a very quick and automated way. I’m 3d printing each of those now. Meanwhile, also, Gemini helped me troubleshoot my Ubuntu server and figure out why the hard drive is working so hard.We succeeded in identify root cause and removing about 50 GB of bullshit. Yeah, I’m kind of sold on LLMs ATM.
Refining my image synthesizer.
Found out what I’m doing is called “Vibe coding”, working with Claude. Interesting how close it feels to being a Product Owner or BSA and working with a developer. We started working on an Image Synthesizer. The halftones that I used to make 3D relief prints reminded me of a waveform when you look at them sideways. So I wondered what it would be like to try and play them. We’ll see how far I get with this one. Almost finished printing all of the “realistic” 3D model failures. If there are no failures in Art, then Claude gets a pass and we celebrate all creations.
Abandoned the Claude realistic 3D Model. Results were a joke. It did help me practice my manual github and docker build pipeline, which I appreciate. Also have many funny results, which I am printing anyway. Within about 10 minutes of finding and logging into Meshy, I got EXACTLY the results I had hoped for. Now I know. Cleaning up my ASCII art animation program … for now … muhahahahahaha.
I’m working with Claude to build an app that will let me upload a face and create a somewhat realistic 3D model from it. Let’s see how far I get.
Okay, found out that the starting cost for an AM radio station to convert to “HD Radio” is $100k. WTF? Also, using Claude.ai to help build out a few utilities for my self-portrait series.
Doing some research on HD radios. Didn’t know it included the AM spectrum.
Doing a little housekeeping on the IT side of things today. After spending a long time frustrated with organizing my photos using Piwigo, I’m switching to Immich. It is EXACTLY what you’d expect if you’re used to Google photos. The install only took me a few hours (mostly working through permissions). Today, I’m re-organizing a few backup directories to optimize how everything is stored. I have about 42,000 photos that span about 28 years. Once I add my Mom’s pictures, I’ll probably double that. Whew. Side note, it is SO much easier+better to do this kind of stuff with the help of Claude AI. I can pull off much of this without its help, but when it comes to efficiency, and having the confidence that I’m setting things up “the right” way, it’s as good as having a computer science engineer beside me to help me along. It helps to remove barriers that would normally stop me out of fear of really messing things up.
Working on self portraits from childhood photographs. Working through techniques using casein. Finally got the tube of white.
Working on some mosaic pixel portraits in pencil.
Trickster for the day: Elliot Alderson
Back in the saddle. Working on a pencil pixel image based on a picture of myself as a child.
Copying Dore images and experimenting with combinations of ink and paint. Also watching “Burden of Dreams” a documentary about Werner Herzog’s making of Fitzcarraldo.
I have many new art supplies that I picked up at the New River Arts Arts and Fiber shop in Blacksburg. Stella and Jessica rule. I’m working with a few new supplies to see how they work with some of the things I’m fiddlefucking around with. That’s my new term for experimenting with art.
Fine tuning the greenhouse heating system after it dropped to 13ºF last night. It managed to stay above 55ºF inside the greenhouse with only two of the three systems running: small Kerosene heater and a diesel heater. Today, picking up some unsold artwork at Black Dog and continuing my Reuse series of printing from impressions in slabs of plastalina.
Reminder: Write article on Yard sale rules and how it incorporates community and gifting concepts.
Why do a series of pieces? The thing that is interesting about a series is its gestalt. A series is a form of replication (or vice versa?). In a series, there is a common thread between each of the items. Each shares in common both constants and variables. When taken in at a higher level though, they can take on different and unexpected form, the gestalt. This form can take on a separate meaning from the individual pieces. Like chains of proteins molecules, they may form completely different, and yet similar things.
I’ve started organizing artwork on my website as they occur in a series. I think that’s the best way to describe my work. One series may not look like another series, but everything in a series should have some cohesive whole. I think it makes my work more digestible. Wouldn’t want to make people sick.
Working on two series right now. The first is “Discards”, which is a series of cards that are solely using the left-over materials from larger projects. I have Discards from the Tower View oil pastel series, and the Port St. Joe paintings. The second series, “Reuse” is still in progress. It combines prints made with parts from broken electronics and paintings of imagery originating from images that are “owned” by someone else. The objects chosen for the imagery are characters which embody the trickster archetype.
Don’t want to paint anything. Taking lots of pictures of abandoned buildings in Roanoke. It seems to fill the mind. Scanning old slides that my Dad had at the library today.
I started a new project. I’m setting my camera to full B&W, no RAW takebacks, everything is baked in when I shoot it, just like the old days. Manual settings for shutter speed, f-stop, ISO and focus. Its incredibly fun and reminds me so much of taking pictures in the ‘old days’. I’ve started documenting some places around town. Its anonymous now, so no announcement yet, but maybe some day …
Today is an organization day. Cleaning up my mess, helps to remind me of projects that I wanted to do.
I’m starting a project around photography. Not ready to advertise it’s name, but I’m on Instagram now. The project will be focusing on abandoned properties in Roanoke.
Pictures look good. I’m setting my digital camera to take monochrome by default, allow only manual changes to settings, and baking it in by saving in JPG instead of RAW. Adding a new constraint affects how I use the images by creating pictures that don’t fall into my regular process of painting. Constraints breed creativity.
Lately, a Saturday means, there will be more people in parks than normal. It’s a good day to stay away. I’ll do some reading and taking some pictures today. I have a few thoughts of places to go.
Delivered a purchase of the two shrimp boats today. Feels good to make a sale. Took some pictures of Parkway bridges. I have an idea …
No work on my easel. Feels wrong
In rememberance of my trip to Italy last year, I’m going to make a Tuscan beef stew today. Kerosene heater did the trick last night, pushing my greenhouse to 25 degrees over outside temp, which isn’t great, but saved my plants. It was 28 F last night. Making my way through Sally Mann’s new book. I love her writing voice, very comforting with her Appalachian euphemism and idioms. Taubman pastel is closing in to be done. I don’t think I’m going to make it to another 4. This one feels like it’s more tedium and less discovery.
Carl Jung believed art is a dialogue between the conscious ego and the unconscious self. The ego seeks ownership and control of the product while they are also channeling unconscious material into form. This sounds like a bunch of psycho-babble until you experience it. My entire art-making effort is listening to my ego compliment me on various decisions, or bringing faded memories of the past to steer me in a compliment only direction. Meanwhile I’m coming up with ideas on how to resolve visual problems to make the picture work, which is not my ego at all, and could possibly end up as a failure (to my ego). There is a noisy back-and-forth conversation going on throughout the process, until … I reach “flow state”. In this state, I’m just making, creating, solving problems, switching areas of focus, improving them, taking them down when they don’t work. When not in flow state, there is a constant barrage of ego-based criticism and compliments that threaten to stop the entire process completely. Its fascinating to experience it and understand it.
Creating a 4 of 4 sketch for the Tower View. Process is different, but maybe it won’t change drastically.
Do the process. Working on number three oil pastel again today. Greenhouse got down to 49 F, but the kerosene heater also arrived.
I have a good number of Dis-cards now. Still more tape left from the last drawing, but I need to get back to drawing and finish this last (?) view from the tower. Even though I didn’t do a fourth charcoal on site, I may do a fourth from a photo, so that I have a “complete set” of views from all directions.
If I were Dictator, I would make leaf blowers illegal in cities. Everyone would be required to use a rake. Finished pastel of the bank building turned Carilion Building. Working on some Dis-Cards this morning with the remnants of oil pastels. Need to start the final downtown pastel drawing.
If you’re an artist that has trouble getting your head around how to do a landscape, I have this tip: Use a larger brush or stick of something to make your first marks, and start with shapes. Start with the largest shapes that you can see, large enough to be compositional elements. When you first start a landscape, you can often get lost in the details “how do I show all of those leaves”, or “how can I show all those wheels on all of those cars that there are so many of”. That is the last thing that you should be thinking about. When beginning, think in big shapes, simplified colors, or even just simplified values. As you proceed, over time, you can add colors and details, sometimes never including them at all. You’re not a camera, you don’t have to capture everything.
Art supplies are arriving early. Amazon has squeezed waste out of the supply chain again and thus making any sales at a small scale near impossible.
Downtown oil pastel underway.
Watch out for Jason. Finished an oil pastel drawing over one o the charcoal drawings from the tower. This one had the shadow of the tower in it, which I kind of like. I’m working with a 24 colors set which is doesn’t quite have the colors that I prefer, but these work. The final image almost has a polaroid quality to it, with halos of non-related colors. I’m declaring a success and moving on to the next. Running out of white though, so I’ve place an order for some since there is no real art supply store in Roanoke. Grumble, grumble.
The motivations are in the medium, it seems. Do I need to go deeper than that, or is it simply as shallow as the medium that I’m using? Paper thin. Its only a wafer thin. Spending some time with my sketches from the tower today.
Entertaining some tower photos. Here’s your interesting video for the day: Extreme Beachcombing
What’s the difference between a painting and a photograph? While its possible for a photograph to take a lot of time and effort to make, it generally comes across as an image that was caught in an instant. A painting, however, usually shows that someone spent time with the image, possibly a lot of time. Paintings that don’t take time, are sometimes criticized by the public as “well I could do that” or that a child, whether it merits that critic or not.
Does a painting of a photograph convey the best of both, or the worst of both? Or does it slip somewhere in the middle, eluding the faults of both? Most painters can make a painting that references a photograph, and many do. A painting that looks like a photograph is harder, but does it bring in the emotional impact that the image had on an artist, or does it depend on the photograph to get it right first? Which part of the process conveys the emotion, and which part is the most limited?
I gave The Beast a bath this morning, he’s getting more and more comfortable with the process. We have our routine. I am continuing to paint my four boats, wondering if there is any emotion that I am conveying in the image, intentionally or unintentionally.
Tried a different approach on these, painting on a board.
The four boats of the apocalypse is underway. Painting on gessoed board. Trying to pretend like I only have the light for little time.
I got to a few things yesterday but still need to start underpainting and bathe Wolf. I did review frames for paintings and gave them the go-ahead.
Changing headlights on Taco, start underpainting for Apalachicola Harbor, make enamel covered labels for rock collection, clean and fold plastic tarp, bathe wolf (sigh … maybe)
I took a break from painting and worked in the yard the past couple of days. Also spent time installing a few new luxuries in the greenhouse including a thermostat and a pump for water. I’m getting ready to start on my last fishing boat painting from this series of Apalachicola.
The end of a painting is its own feeling, the completion brings a flurry of emotions and thought that can sometimes culminate in a “well fuck it, I’m done” feeling. Often at the end, I keep looking at the painting, leaving, coming back, fix something, find other things, leave, come back and repeat over a period of hours or days. Each time I come back, I look for things that catch my eye first, and for all of the wrong reasons. Eventually, the only things that catch my eye are the lovely parts. When that prevails, I’m done. It’s really no different than any other creation process except the “does it work as expected” part is subjective and ephemeral. Getting close. The amount of paint used gets smaller as well as the brushes.
Visiting Black Dog Salvage to look at potential display locations to sell my art. More final touches on Miss Ella Sue. Install transfer pump in greenhouse to get irrigation minimally functional.
i feel like its safe to say that Liberty could probably offer quite a bit of savings if it just stopped advertising for a little while. maybe its just my algorithm but they prettymuch sponsor my entire internet browsing and watching.
Kind of wore me out a bit to stand all day and draw at the tower. Was planning on doing a second day but after the first, I think I’m good. I took a lot of pictures and got a really good lay-of-the-land. Today, I’ll be studying the picture and the charcoal sketches that I made. Gardened a little, split up a (20lb?) ball of Fern Peonies and replanted.
Miss Ella Sue shrimp boat gets some attention today. Preparing my supplies for tomorrow’s on-site visit.
Cleaned up some garden beds in preparation for winter today. Yep, that’s it. And I’m tired.
Another day to work and observe. I’m starting the day making some labels for my new/old hobby: Rockhounding (aka rock collecting). I’ll write an essay about that at some point. Greenhouse is holding steady at 15 degrees above outside temp, which is good enough for October when it gets down to 45F. It buys me some time. Painting Miss Ella Sue shrimp boat today. I’m also gathering supplies for my visit to the Wells Fargo Tower on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. I’m trying to figure out how to go about painting an extremely complex, highly detailed, and vast landscape. I may have to plan on doing a few of these.
Plastic is up in the greenhouse in places, but the thermostat is busted now. Luckily the temp didn’t get too low last night (47F). One of the challenges with building a greenhouse is the live testing. It’s hard to simulate the various temperature and moisture conditions so you just have to pay attention and respond. I like this, though. I feel like it puts me more in touch with nature. I need to paint today. Really need to paint.
Mowing the grass and putting plastic up in The Greenhouse today. It got down to 50F inside the greenhouse with an outside temp of 40F. Not very insulated.
Buffet table refinish. Remember: wipe tung oil off before it has a chance to dry. use clean rags. Need to paint …
Met with property manager of Well Fargo Tower and will be painting the views from there soon. Very exciting. Amazing view of everything in downtown Roanoke. Dropped off two paintings to be framed with Lindor. Getting ready to cut some foam insulation in the shape of corrugated roofing with my handy new foam cutter. SO excited about that. There may be a sculpture in the future out of foam (as if there isn’t enough plastic residue in this world).
New request in: Finish refinishing the bar. Prioritize. Installed weather trim in greenhouse on 8 windows. Better progress.
humanity has perfected the exploitation of the earths resources. now we are fine tuning the exploitation of humans, by making a profit from our attention. advertising is merely corporate propaganda.
Ripped a bunch of trim strips but only managed to seal up two and a half windows. Also managed to ram my head into an open window giving me a perfect cut right in the middle of my forehead. Old guy scar. Back at it today. Also unvarnished large shrimp boat. Now need to varnish so I can get framed Mon or Tues.
Finished yet another iteration of my coffee cup on Italian bags, adding acrylic transfers of receipts. The greenhouse was able to maintain a temp of about 60 degrees, even though I set it for 70. Time to seal up the cracks around … everything. Need to revarnish large boat painting, I accidentally touched it while still wet and can’t fix, so I have to remove and add again.
After my poor performance on the Read Mountain hike (1000 ft?) I decided that I needed to hike more. So, I walked up Mill Mountain from the Yellowstone side today. Good incline in the beginning. Paintings varnished, but still needs some touchup. Working on refinishing furniture today.
It got down to 50 degrees last night, the time has come to close up the larger holes in the greenhouse. Color started on Miss Ella Sue shrimp boat, might add some more today. Also pasted up a layer of receipts to “Italian Coffee” multi-media collage/drawing. May glue them down today. But first, on to the greenhouse!
Fix some issues with my website and aws access. Finish silhouette of Miss Martha. Start color of Miss Ella Sue. Prepare greenhouse for cold snap.
Hiked up Read Mountain and trying out Gemini AI for DnD Documenting it in Github
Did some yardwork. Yardwork = gardenwork. Gardenwork = gym work. People that pay for gym memberships should buy a shovel and a rake. Skip the leaf blower and get a rake.
Completed underpainting of Miss Ella Sue shrimp boat. Mowed grass and edged. Working on adding lines to silhouette of Miss Martha. Need to give Wolf a bath. Should also probably test generator, or at least unpack it.
Quoted by Karen Armstrong in an interview: “Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting The Banks of the Wye During a Tour - July 13, 1798 - Wordsworth “
Letting Miss Martha dry today so I can apply lines w/o worry of smudging. While drying, I’m going to starting on an underpainting of Miss Ella Sue shrimp boat. Very complex picture, so I’m interested to see how this will turn out. Will I dive into the details, or edit the complexity out? Listening to an audiobook of Karen Armstrong’s “The Battle for God: History of Fundamentalism”. I was trying to find an audiobook of her other book “The History of God”, but this seems close enough.
Color added to Miss Martha silhouette and I may be learning to spell silhouette. Painting is simple enough that this is going quickly. Hope to finish with details today. Have approval from property manager to go paint a vacant floor in the Wells Fargo tower. Schedule TBD.
Today I am working on adding color to the underpainting that I’ve started of the Miss Martha shrimp boat. This is a silhouetted profile view as the boat sits at the dock in the Apalachicola bay.
Awaiting responses on permission to paint the Rockydale quarry in South Roanoke and from inside the Wells Fargo tower in downtown Roanoke. Am reading “The Rock Book” and developing a fascination with the Roanoke Typewriter Sales Company.