January 2023

Posted on January 19, 2023 by SusanG

Oh wow. It’s a new year. Holy cow. Did the holidays run up on anyone else like a runaway train. They were on me so fast that any of my plans for things to do for them were completely up ended because of it. And now they are over, and we have already started another trip around the sun. I’m going to take the opportunity to start a new project. I’ll also continue working on some projects that I started before the holidays.

My before the holidays projects are courtesy my sister. My sister finally got to take her trip to France that she has been trying to take for several years. She very generously shared photos of the sights along the way. Great pictures. About half way through her trip she sent me a text telling me that she had ‘so many projects for me’ from the pictures she was taking. I know some would consider this presumptuous of her, I did not. I found it a little bit funny. A few weeks after she got back, I was wanting to start on a new piece of art but didn’t have any real pull of something to paint. So I asked about her “projects” and she sent me several of the photos that she took that she had in mind. I chose a different one that she had sent me. And then printed the others so I would have them as reference for the next painting.

New art supplies that needed testing.

I painted the one I chose and had mixed results. The subject came out ok but the background didn’t work out the way I expected. I’m using watercolor paints and pencils. I purchased a full set of half-pan Sennelier watercolors and a 60 piece set of Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolour pencils and this was my painting to test them out. The paints and pencils worked out really nice, better than the background of my painting. I’m really pleased with them and excited to get to use them more. The tools were not the problem. It was me. One of the things I noticed was that if I mixed a color, I didn’t mix enough of it for what I’m was doing so I ran out. I’ve done that the times I’ve tried using acrylic paints and oil paints so I’m going to have to work on that.

Many of the pictures that my sister sent are buildings. A few are of some lavender flowers and many of buildings, or and a flag. Buildings are not my usual subject matter for creating art so these are definitely outside my comfort zone. And that seems to be my sister’s challenge to me. ‘Here, step out of your comfort zone and make something of these.’ Ok. I confess, the first one I started on has me stuck. I like the basic composition of it but I’m having trouble, particularly with the colors and the contrast. Though, as I think about it, it may be because of how I’ve approached it. I may need to step back and reconsider how I want to depict that. Hmm…

Painting from one of my sister’s photos

The new project has come about through my Taekwondo. We used to have these posters in the studio that showed the steps of our poomsae. Some time ago they were taken down when the place was given a fresh coat of paint and they didn’t get put back up. I was speaking with my Master who runs the studio about them and shared how useful I found them. He indicated that he can’t get them anymore and that he hasn’t found any new ones he really likes. That sparked an idea.

Several years ago I had an idea to do a series of Taekwondo animations around my experience learning it. I didn’t get far because I got wrapped up in trying to create the scene and props and never got to creating the character and the animations. So, I got to thinking that I could sort of revive that project. Instead of a series of stories I could do all the poomsae in animation and use that to create a poster like what we had in class. And maybe even revisit some of the story ideas.

It has been a long time since I animated a character in the computer. And the last time I did that it was in 3DS Max and now I’m using Blender. Which means, I get to learn how to do this all over again, in a different application. That’s the first step. I need to learn how to model a character for animating and learn to rig it and then animate it.

Sketch for painting from another of my sister’s photos

I’m starting with a course through Udemy. I’m expecting that at the very least it will get me back into working in Blender. It takes you through modeling a few characters and animating them. The first one is a really simple character with no need for a rig. I’ve just finished it. And I learned two new things. I learned how to create a walk cycle and how to create and use shape keys.

The walk cycle was really cool to learn. It turned out to be adding an item to the animation graph for each of the legs and then checking a box. And then the little character just walks and walks and walks. I have always understood that there had to be a simple way to make a walk cycle but I didn’t know how to do it. I only knew to animate step by step. This is a big deal for me. It opens up a lot of options for things. And has me thinking about revisiting some things I did in the past and trying them again. Though apparently, the method used for cycling the walk in Blender doesn’t take kindly to being interrupted and breaks if you try to do something different in the middle of it, or just after it is meant to stop.

The shape keys are really important for several things. The uses that come to mind at the moment are the squash and stretch deformations that are used for say bouncing balls and soft or semi-soft objects impacting other objects as well as for talking. Shape keys have been used for making the mouth shapes for the different sounds. So think about how your face and lips change shape when you say something like “oh” versus when you say something like “see” or “fine”. The shape keys we setup were fairly basic, just the squash stretch type for the ball. Still, it’s a start at understanding how to create them and how to use them.

Animation for the first character of the Blender Character & Animation course

I’m excited about the Blender course and about the Taekwondo project. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the project. I am expecting this to be my primary focus for a couple of months, maybe longer. I’ve got a long way to go just to finish the course so you’re likely to be reading more about it and the characters for it. I’ll share some of the animations along the way.

Of course, there will be traditional art to share. I do have my sister’s projects to work on. They should be a good periodic break from the computer. And for those who like to follow the music stuff, there will be more of that to come. Though for the moment I have lightened my practice schedule. With the Taekwondo animation project, the painting project, and so many other things that I need to do fitting in in depth music practice on a regular basis is going to be challenging. I do still have the day job. At least, as my grandfather used to say, it will “keep me out of meanness”. With so much to work on I expect to have more to write about and post about. See you soon.

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November Update

Posted on November 29, 2022 by SusanG

I’m wondering if I should start titling these posts ‘weekly update’ again. Maybe that would help me get back to posting regular updates. And then the posts wouldn’t need a specific topic. Hmm. I will be giving that some thought. Of course, doing that does make the title so generic that it might not excite you to read the post. Again. Needs thought.

Something I was looking at recently reminded me that last year at this time I was working on filling the pages of a sketchbook with a daily/nightly drawing. I haven’t done that this year. Though I have worked on some art. I have thought about doing that project again or mor accurately, a variation of that project.

Watercolor & colored pencil in progress

I’ve done a couple of mixed media pieces recently that I like. I’d like to explore this a little more because I think I can do some good stuff with it. I like the stippling with the watercolor. And the piece I’ve recently which is watercolor and colored pencil. That one is turned out to be a little bit of a surprise.

When I started the flower piece that is the watercolor with colored pencil my intention was to use the set of Caran D’Ache watercolor pencils that I have. Unfortunately, when I got ready to use them, I found the set I have lacks the colors I wanted and in some cases needed. So, I used the large set of Prismacolor Premier pencils that I have. I’m a little disappointed to have had to do that as I really wanted to use the other. However, results can’t be denied. And the piece turned out really nice.

I have a few pieces that I’ve shared pictures of the work in progress shots and not the final product. It’s because I want to post them places where you can order a print of them. The challenge is that to do that I need to be able to get a really good quality scan of them and that has not been so easy. Believe it or not. On top of that is deciding where I want to post those items. Right now, I’m leaning towards an Artstation site for the fine art things that might make better prints than just cards or t-shirts. Stay tuned. As I get that setup, I’ll be making announcement posts for those things. And I’ll add a link.

There are a few things that I haven’t posted final products of because they will be going up in the Zazzle store. While I’m excited for you to see them, I’m not excited to do the work to get them out. I’d offer a good excuse or explanation, except I’m not sure there is one. Well, aside from not wanting to do some of the “clean-up” work I need to do there and feeling like if I’m going to log in to add things, I “should” clean things up while I’m there. *sigh

Watercolor & colored pencil finished.

I have some music news. I bought a new guitar. This is a nylon string acoustic guitar. It’s from Cordoba. I have another guitar made by them that I love. And that guitar is how I came to find Savarez guitar strings which I am also a big fan of. The new guitar is called The Stage. It’s got a slightly smaller width neck from a regular classical style guitar, but it is the same scale length. Which is a bit long for my fingers, however, with the smaller width and the difference in the body, it’s not as big an issue. Which surprised me. And that brings me to the body. This is a thin body acoustic. It isn’t nearly as deep as most acoustic guitars, and yes, it is intended to be played plugged into an amplifier. It doesn’t sound as thin as a regular solid body electric guitar does when it isn’t plugged in. However, it is quieter. Maybe not a bad thing.

I confess, when I first saw the Fender thin body acoustics, I wasn’t a fan. I wasn’t even a little excited. I certainly had some unjustified bias. I’m not even sure I tried one to be honest. So, when I got a chance to play a Stage I was really surprised at how comfortable it was, and is, and that things I was struggling to do on my regular nylon string guitar weren’t an issue. Though I am not in the market for another steel string acoustic guitar, were that to change, I would reconsider a thin body. Now, I would like a nice acoustic amplifier to go with my Stage. Which, like my first Cordoba guitar, it came with Savarez strings. Yay.

Cordoba – The Stage

I recently had the opportunity to have my opinion of 6 string bass guitars challenged and changed. I watched an Instagram post of and by Sebastián Tozzola playing a 6 string electric bass guitar and he played a really beautiful melody on it. Previously, I didn’t really understand what the point was to have those extra strings. I had a very narrow opinion of the bass guitar. That has definitely changed. If you want to check him out your can find him as @sebasstozzola on Instagram. He always looks like he is so happy and having so much fun when he plays. It’s great to watch.

I’m sure there are a lot of things that I’m not including here that as soon as I click the post button I’ll think of. And then think that I meant to or should have included that in this post. Oh well. I guess if that happens, I can just start writing another post and maybe that will get me back on track of regular postings. There’s a thought. For now, I think it is time to retrieve the coffee that I left in the other room and is now cold and close this out.

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Old And New Again

Posted on November 10, 2022 by SusanG

A little while ago Elon Musk took over Twitter. If you were paying attention, you knew it was coming. Though I don’t doubt he did try to get out of it. His mouth got ahead of him and when he finally woke up, he realized maybe it wasn’t a good idea. But then he was going to be forced to do it or pay a big penalty. At this point I don’t have anything good to say about the person. However, the doom that it has spread is having some interesting side effects.

I am still, for now, on Twitter and I have seen the notices of the people that are leaving and where they are moving to. I have also setup an account where some are moving to and I’ll post a connection so you can follow me there. What I find as I read the posts on the alternate social site I’m participating in is a feeling of ‘the old internet’. The internet of two decades ago, maybe a little more. Yes, folks it’s been around long enough to use the word decades in conversation about it. I know stop a moment. Catch your breath.

“Back then”. Lots of things were more experimental. Not everything was all gloss and shiny and the big companies were the browser developers. Yes, I did buy books online to be delivered from both Amazon and Barnes & Nobel back then, but I didn’t do a lot of online shopping. It wasn’t the norm. We were still leery of putting our credit card numbers in online. Or at least I was.

But there was also the sense of the possibilities. I studied VR for my college degree. Yes, it was around even back then. And there was always this sense of the cool and the possible and what would come next. I think more of us wanted a Jarvis and a KITT than wanted the dystopian world of rampant capitalism and data mining that are Amazon and Google. And though Apple is one of the big names in the FAAMG group of companies, back then they were still counterculture. Google said, ‘don’t be evil’. We were all for it.

With the exodus of people from Twitter or at least the sudden interest in finding other options, it feels a little like the internet of old. When you found out about something from someone you were chatting with in a chat room or on a bulletin board. Or you came across something on a webpage that was about some niche something you happen to be into. There weren’t influencers out there telling you that if you want the shiniest hair to do this or if you want perfect abs do that. Yeah, they had ads and affiliate links but the pressure to monetize your onlineness wasn’t there. You could just be there and share the cool stuff you learned. Or find the cool stuff other people learned. And you could usually tell the fake/troll sites from the genuine ones because, well, they weren’t into making them look legit to fool everyone. They were there trying to look like they were sharing real secrets, and the sites looked like it.

All of this was brought to mind recently as I was scrolling through the posts on the new social site I’m starting to participate in and a conversation with a friend whose daughter wants to build a robot that she can program in python because she wants to learn python and doesn’t like block coding. Ok. She’s in fifth grade.

As I was trying to help my friend understand and navigate what she was looking for and might need for the various robot kits, and then explaining the Raspberry Pi and the Arduino to her and why one wasn’t the same as the other and that there are different models, I also realized this is much like having a computer or wanting to upgrade a computer two or three decades ago. You had to know more about what you had then in order to get the right parts.

Much like going online then, you kind of had to have an idea of where you wanted to go, what you wanted to do or see and sometimes finding it wasn’t easy. But we did have a plethora of search engines. Yeah, some were better than others and some more specialized. But you had choices. And their ads were along the side of the page, not boosted in the results.

I’m not a luddite and I’m not saying that was the best of times for the internet and I want to go back. I do think that the shakeup has been a good thing. I don’t know that that many of your average internet denizen will be searching out the alternative services because many of the people I’m seeing there are already proponents of open source and FOSS software, which in the world of capitalism is revolutionary and to some scandalous. But maybe. Maybe a few more of the average person will give an open source, option a try, and find a new way of participating in our ever expanding, encompassing, and devouring digital world.

So, while I am still on Twitter, I have never been very active there, I am also participating on Mastodon which is part of the Fediverse? Anyway, at the moment you can find me at: @susangasong@mastodon.social. I’ll add a link to the sidebar soon so you can use that. I think it will work. I guess I’ll find out. It’s new, and old again.

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It’s A Mix

Posted on October 6, 2022 by SusanG

I was going to write an update post on the art projects that I’ve been working on. I started it and realized I don’t have that much of an update, so you get a mixed bag for this update.

Just starting the Giraffe

On the art front. I finished a piece that was supposed to be two experiments and turned out to be just one. I wanted to do a piece that uses stippling and watercolor and chose a giraffe as my subject matter. Because I was going to add watercolor to the stippling I did it on watercolor paper. I will say, I like the watercolor paper for stippling. I like the way it handles the ink without dulling it. Anyway, I got most all the stippling done and decided not to add the watercolor to it. It looked really striking as it was, and I didn’t want to lose that. So, I didn’t add the watercolor, instead I filled out the stippling more to make it more intense.

That giraffe piece really turned out to be just one experiment, which was how the watercolor paper would work for the stippling instead of the two experiments that were supposed to be the paper and how things would turn out using watercolor paint with the stippling. I still wanted to see what happens when I add some watercolor to a stippled piece. So, a new subject was chosen. A butterfly from a picture taken by my sister. This time, instead of waiting to finish the whole thing, I decided to add watercolor when I finished the first section where I wanted the watercolor. I might have gone a little heavy with the color. I am thinking about trying to tone down what I’ve got when I do the color in the next section. I’m still not sure how I feel about the whole idea. I may need some background color or something like that for this one.

Beginning of the Butterfly

I solved my self-inflicted conundrum with regards to which application to use for digital painting. At first, I was thinking that the application didn’t really matter as long as I can use it on my iPad. The reasoning for that was because I hadn’t figured out how to rotate my canvas in Photoshop or Fresco if I use my desktop. Then I decided I might want to see what I could do with regards to using my Cintiq. I’ve had it for years and haven’t used it enough to remember what the shortcut buttons do. It turns out, they give me a fairly easy way to rotate my canvas. So, there is no longer a conundrum. I will just use whichever program I happen to have access to based on what device I am using. At some point I will likely gravitate towards one or the other, for now I have options.

New music to learn to play

Now for the music related news. I was perusing music books online (sheet music books) and found a book for solo “jazz” guitar of the music from ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’. This is one of my favorite collections of Christmas music. And while I aspire to play jazz guitar, I’m not there yet. However, this is written in standard notation as well as tablature, so I have a chance at being able to learn to play something from it. Which, of course means, I decided to purchase it. I was all excited at the idea. Maybe I could learn ‘Linus and Lucy’.

The book arrived and I eagerly opened the package and the book and got out the Gretsch that had been tucked in because I wasn’t expecting to be playing it for a while and I started trying to play some of the songs. I did attempt to play at least part of every song. Of the ten songs in the book there are three from which I could choose and learn maybe one by this Christmas. Of the seven left I think it would take me until next Christmas to learn just one of them. It’s going to be a while before I get through ‘Linus and Lucy’.  It is a little beyond what I’ve been playing up until now. I think that is a good thing.

The right guitar for jazzy music

I have a few songs that are within my reach even though they are a little bit of a stretch. And I have songs that are goal worthy. They are just enough of a stretch beyond me that I have to get better to play them. That keeps it interesting and helps to keep me motivated.

And yes, I had tucked the Gretsch into its case since I was really just playing the Les Paul and the Martin. I got it out because it is a semi-hollow body guitar which just sounds awesome with jazz chords. And it just made sense. Now I have to rearrange the music room for it since I had made adjustments when I tucked everybody in for the time being.

I’ve learned a whole bunch of great stuff that I’ll fill you in on in another post. Stuff that you would think I would know, or stuff that I thought I knew but hadn’t completely grasp the importance of, or something.

I’ve also come across some great new to me music. Like Barry Gibb’s Greenfields. Yes, Barry Gibb as in the oldest of the BeeGees. He released a CD in January of 2021 called Greenfields where he re-recorded some of the BeeGees or Brothers Gibb’s songs. He partnered up with mostly country stars to record the songs as duets. I say mostly because one of the songs is a song, they wrote for Andy Gibb that Andy originally recorded with Olivia Newton-John who, Barry Gibb joins on the song for this CD. Anyway, as much as I love their duet on ‘Rest Your Love on Me’ I think the jewel of the CD is the duet with Alison Krauss on ‘Too Much Heaven’. Oh wow. Alison Krauss’ voice on that song is just beautiful. I also like ‘Run to Me’ with Brandi Carlile.  And then there is ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ with Little Big Town and Tommy Emmanuel which sent me down the internet rabbit hole. I went looking for information about Tommy Emmanuel because the name was familiar. It should have been. That cool CD shop my friend took me to in Melbourne had several of his CD’s and I’m pretty sure my friend pointed them out to me. Sorry Dean. I was apparently a bit dense that day. I should have caught on to him being someone I really needed to look into. Ears are now open. That’s another one where learning to play his music is goal worthy.

The Butterfly with some color

Hopefully that updates you a bit. There is art stuff happening just not a lot to share or write about at the moment. There is music stuff happening and plenty to share, in another post. And after I get more of it sorted in my head so that it makes sense. I hope to have a little more art news soon. I do still have pieces I want to post as cards that I will share once I get them ready. So. Let’s see which I get done first, the cards posted or the music news in my head sorted.

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A Musical Interlude

Posted on September 5, 2022 by SusanG

I wanted to write a post about music because it has been a while since I last posted about music and some things have come up recently that have spurred me to play more. Now that I can reach the strings again.

At first, I was thinking that I haven’t been playing much during the pandemic, that I had kind of, not abandoned playing but really took and intense break. Then I remembered that I did finish a couple of online guitar courses, that I learned some good stuff from, not all of which has stuck. And I’ve played a bit here and there. Just nothing as intense as the two to three years before the pandemic hit. Oh, and then there was the wrist injury this year that made playing not an option. I couldn’t reach the strings to strum them when I was in the brace. So as much as I want to take myself to task about not playing, it’s not as bad as I first thought.

Cordoba

However, I do feel like the enthusiasm went south on a vacation for a while. That’s because, though I was playing, it wasn’t to near the extent I had been the couple years before the pandemic. Adding to that, my intense interest in listening to music had even waned. That made me feel like I wasn’t really playing much and that I had sort of “given up music”. But recent events have started to turn things around. So, I thought I’d share.

As you likely heard by now Olivia Newton-John passed away in early August. As a result of that there have been loads of media tributes to her and her career. Some of the tributes are fabulous. There are a couple from Australia that, if watching other people break down in tears makes you do the same thing, well you might need a tissue or four. She was beloved there. The state of Victoria has even offered a state funeral/tribute. (No date yet). I was watching one of the tributes and listening to whichever song, they were highlighting, and I thought about how good some of her songs are, and how much I like them. It turned out to be a great reminder.

I had been playing guitar a little bit because I finally could. But I’d mostly been trying to play some classical pieces, or simple arrangement of them. Just to start playing again and because my sister took up cello and if she’s going to be playing music and getting better, well, I need to keep up or better. We’re not at all competitive. Really.

That reminder wasn’t so much about Olivia Newton-John’s music. Not totally anyway. I do love many of her songs and her voice. It wasn’t even a reminder that I needed to play more. It was a reminder of how much I really love to play and listen to music. It was also a reminder to play the things I love. And listen to the things I love. The songs that make me smile, or want to move, or want to sing along. (Queue first verse of ‘Yesterday Once More’ by the Carpenters.) Now that I can play again, and importantly, I really want to play, things could get complicated. Playing music is one of the things that can make me completely lose track of time. I can get so lost and involved in it that hours go by, and I’ve forgotten to eat and I’m two hours past when I needed to be in bed sleeping.

C.F. Martin

This renewed interest in playing and actual playing has not been without its challenges. Since I haven’t been playing for so long, particularly because I was in a brace the first half of this year, I’ve lost some of the strength needed for fretting. I thought that if I played my classical guitar for a while, it would let me build up that strength before I tried to tackle the steel string. But when I found I still had trouble fingering a set of notes for this one song I decided to see if I could do it on the steel string. In the event you are unaware, the neck of a classical guitar is wider than most steel string acoustic guitars as well as most, six string electric guitars. So just that will make a difference in how easy things are to finger depending on your hands. As it turns out the notes are easier to finger on the steel string and sound much clearer. They sound like music notes and not some dull thunk. It also turns out that the scale of the neck of the steel string is just a little shorter than the classical. And a little bit can make a big difference. So. I’ve started playing the steel string much sooner than I thought I would. And much more in general which means, the fingertips are feeling it so much worse than they might have otherwise.

One of the interesting things I’ve realized about the steel string guitar is that the neck has a V shape and much of what I play is either more of a U or C shape. So, I’m having to work to get many of the barre chords to sound good. I’m also going to have to be more precise in my fingering. I’m finding the lazy fingering that I have been doing doesn’t sound near as good as if I take the time and make sure I get my fingers on the strings properly. Yep. I’m going to have to work on my technique not just my strength. Oh no.

That’s not a bad thing. In fact, I’m finding myself working on a lot more technique and fundamentals. Which I’m glad of. When I was playing with the Blues Jam, I had the opportunity to learn a lot. And as much as I learned and improved in my playing, I was very aware of how much more I needed to learn if I was going to be able to play the things I want to and at the level I want to. Of course, I don’t just work on the fundamentals and technique. I spend plenty of time just playing what I can for the joy of playing and the love of the sound of it. I mean that’s some of what that reminder was about.

Gibson

I am very much enjoying playing again. I would and sometimes do play much longer than I plan on and longer than my fingers have tolerance for. And it is not at all unusual for me to have stopped playing for the night and have something come up that I want to look up or try and then I find myself right down the rabbit hole and lost playing something again. And yes, now it’s past my bedtime. Oh well. I can and often do the same thing with a piece of art I’m working on.

Which reminds me, even with my renewed interest in playing guitar, I will still be doing art. I’ve got a digital piece in the works as well as a piece that is part of some stylistic experimenting I’m doing. Oh, and another piece that is a media experiment. I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out. I’ve even solved my dilemma regarding the digital painting software. I’ll tell you all about it next time.

And in case you are wondering what guitars I’m playing these days; my steel string acoustic is the C.F. Martin 00-28 that I bought last year. It’s strictly acoustic. It has no electronics in it at all. A shock I know. I’m also playing my Gibson Les Paul Studio with a 60’s neck that I’ve had for a little over 11 years. I bought it the day after I moved here. I really like the feel of the neck. I find it very comfortable to play. My classical is getting a break, it’s a Cordoba C5-CE. I do love the sound of it and as I get back in shape, I will likely get back to it. I’ve got at least one arrangement I want to do that I think it will be better for than the Martin. As you can see, what I’m playing right now is mostly based on comfort or ease of play, steel strings notwithstanding.

I have more art stuff to share next time, and I could even have more music stuff to share. Though, I try not to mix the two in one post very often. Join me again to see what I’ve gotten myself into and if I’ve completely given up on sleep because of obsessive hobbies.

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