Studio MDF | Michael Fletcher | Digitial Art Blog

After a few weeks at this blogging game I have become a bit frustrated with the usability of my current blogging platform, no disrespect to it but it does not fit my long term objectives for my sites and as a result rather than build up a critical mass of effort i've gone looking for pastures greener.
For this reason I have decided to make a few changes first you may notice that the domain name for this site has changed to www.smdfdigitalart.za.net I will not be discontinuing this site but I will be using it for some very specific types of content in the weeks that follow.
I am still commited to putting together a top class content offering geared toward the beginning to intermediate artist filled with insights how-to's walk through's and tutorials however in order to do this right sadly I'll be having to shake things up a bit.

If you'd like to see my sandbox where i'm kicking around ideas for the New Heart of this Art please visit the link and let me know what you think. In the interim my posts will slow down a bit while I focus on getting my blogs moved and up and running.

Being completely self-taught I must say I’ve become very intolerant with the measure of arrogance that comes with success in the arts. Being a regular in the deviantART community I see it very often where talented artists go from unknowns to veritable artistic superstars and forget all the work that went into getting to the point where their work is out there and being appreciated.

For each and every artist in both traditional and digital mediums there is a period where the only person aware of their artistic ability is their mom their imaginary friend and their mangy mutt Waldo. Depending on the level of skill of the artist they’ll get into contact with people who love their work and people who don’t. In amongst this second group will be fellow artists, some of whom who have already arrived. For most every artist this second group is the group that will drive them on to greatness. It is no coincedence that the great artistic movements in history spanned periods, periods where artists pushed each other past the boundaries of the conventions of their time.

The pervading sense in art communities both online and in traditional art tends to get a bit toxic. There’s an all pervading mindset of scarcity. “People don’t buy art so the less competition the better!” seems to be the order of the day. This is one of the driving forces of the artistic ego. The Zero sum fuels the idea that one has to be better than one’s peers. Someone has to lose for me to win. In this way the cycle is perpetuated.

Here follows my interview with Cheryl “Ireful” Roelofsz jewellery designer, painter, poet, photo manipulator, stock photographer and general Descriptor of Scorn (ok I made that last bit up)

Having set up my own blog adding pretty (I think they’re pretty dammit don’t judge me) bits and some (I hope) useful bits, some shameless self promotional bits and a whole lot of strange written bits, I decided it was time to add some ridiculously soppy lovey bits. In order to do that I’m going to try and squeeze some interviews out of those DeviantArt artist I most love and loathe (don’t worry I I only loathe you cos you’re so good!! I'd worry if I don't loathe you) This week I’m looking at Ireful my oldest and dearest good deviant, Yup she’s pretty darned deviant and she’s on DeviantArt too. I’ve featured her art here (with her permission) on the front page of my site and now am able to plug her new blog as well visit Cheryl’s artsy blog here.

For a bit of background Cheryl introduced me DeviantArt 2 years ago before which any thought of art digital or otherwise made me queasy. So in thanks for putting up with my tradtional media ineptitude my digital art naivieness and my general artistic constipation I’ve just concluded an interview so you can get to know one of my favouriter deviant like I know her (hmmm… wel not exactly like I know her *nudge nudge wink wink*)

How Long Have You Been Writing?

in february 2006 i signed up at the mobile chat site, prodigits, and the inspiration i got there... well lets just say i've been writing poetry ever since then. :D


And Visual Art?

the first proper manipulation that i uploaded to da was a piece titled In Love With The Moon which i uploaded in march 2008. http://ireful.deviantart.com/art/in-love-with-the-moon-80494021. i'd like to think i improved since then! the improvement can actually seen from the manip titled Left outside alone. thats my defining point. anything created and uploaded before Left Outside Alone was dull...


What Art Inspires You To Create?

the human experiences connected to pain, depression, sorrow. theres just something about taking those ugly raw emotions and creating beautiful pieces of art out of them...


If You Had Your Way Your Business Card Would Read?

master of the imagined flight... lol just kidding... ("masters of the imagined slight" is a sentence from a benchley book i once read. yeah, thats slight, not flight.)
my current business card reads:

Lun'Acushla
Cheryl
0721888084
lunacushla@gmail.com
handmade ethnic crafts.

ya its a bit outdated. but im not worthy of a visual arts business card yet... lol


Who Is Your Favourite Artist Poet And Writer?

My favourite poet is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (favourite poem would be The Day is Done.)
Favourite writer is a bit more difficult to choose... Im gonna go with Matthew Reilly, Stephen King and David Eddings. Wait... Peter Benchley should also be on that list somewhere...
Favourite artist... well let me see, i like Edgar Degas' nudes. i like I like Frida Kahlo, as a person and artist, not necessarily because of her work. i "understand" how her creative processes worked... i admire her will and determination to survive and endure despite the many physical and emotional obstacles she faced. i envy her strong outlook on life and her "you wont get me down" attitude.

she was... different.


Whats Your Favourite Piece Of Art Regardless Of Medium?

its a jane avril lithograph. just a print actually. My mother gave it to me. She bought it many many moons ago.
Henry Toulouse-Lauret did the original in 1893 to advertise avril's debut in the Jardin de Paris. (movie fanatics might know her from the Moulin Rouge movies, first played by zsa zsa gabor, and more recently my nicole kidman)

I like Jane avril. read more about her here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Avriland see the actual lith here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Avril_by_Toulouse-Lautrec.jpeg

oh you said regardless of medium, right? ;) my friend, Leigh, has this awesome tattoo on her hip. just a swirly thingy, awesome in its simplicity.


How Would You Classify Your Visual Art And Poetry

dark, most of the time. scary some other times. sad more than likely. sometimes with a touch of humour :D


Does It Fit Into A Genre?

I would hope not...


211 Deviations, Which One Is Your Favourite?

sjoe, thats really really hard to choose. but if i had to decide real quick, i'd be a toss between Waiting http://ireful.deviantart.com/art/waiting-98509183and Viviene http://ireful.deviantart.com/art/Vivienne-93350952but feel free to also go check Not The Reason and Oh So Vulnerable! hehe



Why?

Waiting. theres just something about it. its the right "shade of dark..." not too dull, not too vibrant. a sense of longing to it too.
as for viviene, i think it her dress... lol. the original stock photo's dress was white, not red... its also a very personal piece and poem to me.



5 Gajillion Favourites, Which Fave Is Your Favourite Favourite?

i can think of many many many, but instead of going for something that i can relate too, im gonna choose the image which grabbed my attention way back when and inspired me to dabble in photomanipulation. its titled Cry For The Moon, by dA artist 870. http://870.deviantart.com/art/Cry-For-The-Moon-49702450. My favourite literature piece -
1. Yellow dress http://lyrica-lee.deviantart.com/art/Yellow-Dress-53828497by lyrica lee
2. Im not myself right now http://cassinova500.deviantart.com/art/I-m-Not-Myself-Right-Now-52687862now by cassinova500.
eish... i also really like Ms. LL's House in the distance... (why do you keep asking me to choose favourites? lol. its hard!)


When People Look At Your Work, What Word Do You Hope They Use Most Often?
No words, only silence...
I dont want them to say anything, i want them to look twice...

Related links:

Cheryl’s DeviantArt Home

Cheryl's Stock Photography Home(I so need a decent camera)

Cheryl’s Blog Kahla’sBeat

What is Stock Photography?

What is photo manipulation?

Ok as everyone can see i've been quite the busy bee this week.

• I felt I needed a bit of a content break so I spent some time working on the design and layout of my sites.
• I also have a new Digital Painting project underway I've asked the owner of the stock image for permission to display the image on my site and am still waiting. I have actually prepared a project page for this image but won't be publishing it publicly until i get permission.
•  Over and above that I've Uploaded a new Photo manipulation entitled Edge in my DeviantArt gallery - Edge is an old image that i never completed which I found some time to finish up on the weekend.Yeah i'm not 100% happy with it but it's done so i'm not gonna over think it, it just feels good to have gotten  one done.
  
• On the front page of my site you'll see I've included a new feature, Deviant Love I'll be using it to showcase work of Artists I follow and I will with permission be following this up with an Interview blog post (coming soon) I'm just waiting for the current Deviant (how apt) to commit to an interview.
• I've also removed alot of the advertising that was creating clutter and have gonna for a more stripped down site trying to keep the content front and centre.
• I have also put up comments section on pretty much every page on the site so you can let me know what you think about my work.
• I have also spent alot of time on social networking sites looking at ways of promoting this site and my others. I am on twitter and will be looking at setting up a facebook group. I set up two Squidoo lenses, one Photomanipulation lense and my Personal development site lens - Monetize
• I've also started doing some extra curricular blogging on My Digital Life, My digital life is a South African tech news aggregating site, which also hosts user blogs. One of my articles on the new Kindle E-book reader was even featured as one of the top blogs this week past as it stands I will still be doing my blogging on my own sites but i'll still use my digital life to blow off some steam when the inner techie in me is feeling cranky.
  
  Ok so now that I've proven I'm not a lazy bugger let me get back to work :-)
  
  Live long and Prosper,
  
  Michael

I’ve often worked on a piece of art for ages. From the time I start piecing together an idea and looking for stock for a photo manipulation until when I’m done with the last tweak weeks may have passed. I set fairly high standards with my manips there’s no real excuse for being sloppy when everything is fixable.

As it happens when I’m done with a photo manipulation or digital painting I tend to have invested so much time in it that I’m pretty much blind to any flaws. I’ve invested so much into worrying away the details it’s quite easy to miss something glaringly obvious. This is a trap I still fall into, thankfully a lot less often now though.

A lesson from my old friend Stephen King (well I consider him a friend considering how much time I’ve spent reading his books, if you asked him he might pretend never to have heard of me, Stephen you kidder you!) He writes every day for about six months. He then takes the large pile of paper puts in a file and puts it in his desk drawer. He then starts writing every day again normally short stories and such. Six weeks later he’ll take the large manuscript out and start revising.

This is not an ideal method for visual arts especially if it’s commissioned work 6 weeks may seem a bit excessive to a prospective client. The principle of the advice is sound though. Create! Create without censorship let your imagination run wild get caught up in the process and let it take you. When it’s done throw a cloth over it or switch your pc off grab your sketch pad and take a walk and sketch some ideas for your next project or just take a walk. Take as much time as you possibly can. Then when you return to your work be ruthless. The Devil’s in the details and you’re much more likely to see the detail when you have some time away so that you can try and look at your work with fresh eyes.