Friday, September 30, 2011

Wall Flower

Another in my hipster series.
Don't you just hate waiting for your date? All dressed up, ready to go, and a no-show.
:-(

Credits
Model
Stock
All other images, stock, textures, brushes, my own.

MCN: CY4MY-1HXMA-F9342

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

memory-bytes

 This is to go with my poem of the same name.

All my own images.
MCN: C96RC-KU3JK-EXEVQ

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Heroine

Another image in my Hipster series. There's magic in books. I always knew that. :-) For those of you who are curious - the open book is Tales by Edgar Allen Poe and the story shown is "The Tell-Tale Heart".

Credits
Model
Stock
Brushes
All other images/textures/brushes my own.

MCN: CS9VN-UK7LP-66J1C

Friday, September 23, 2011

Drawing Day 2011 Book

Guess what I just saw? I found out the Drawing Day book had been published and since I’d submitted an image, I, of course, wanted to know if one of my images had made it into the book….
I checked out the link and read the Q&A and only when I looked at the pictures properly did I realise that, yes, my image HAS made it into the book. LOL I am so pleased. It’s a great cause and I am so proud to be part of it.
Not only is my image in the book, it’s got a whole page to itself as well. :-)
Here it is:

Hope to find lots of friends in the book. :-) xo

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Love's Labour's Lost - I & II


MCN: CDQGH-F86MK-2ERNF

 MCN: C73LR-6TX69-UTYKG

I can spell...honestly! This is the title of the play in my version of it (quite an old edition from 1905). I love old books and I've got three teeny editions of Shakespeare's plays (Love's Labour's Lost, MacBeth and the Taming of the Shrew).

The pictures were taken outside in my garden and edited with my own textures. No stock materials used.

More images with books to come... 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Street Music

Another image in my hipster series. The different rhythms and types of music you hear on the street - and not just with your ears... 

Credits 
All other images/brushes/textures etc my own.  

MCN: C489Y-YNXRG-XE2U9

Monday, September 19, 2011

Hero

Very different from what I normally do, but I loved the feeling I got with this of a hero 'on business' and the stories this image holds. :-)
All my own images.

Model (candid shot) The Sonic Manipulator
Taken at the Cherry Hinton Festival 2011, Cambridge and edited by me with my own textures/images.
MCN: C431H-47HSB-CBBE2


Friday, September 16, 2011

Floating


One moment of peace amongst all the 'busy-ness' of our lives. One moment, when it's just us, when no demands or needs intrude.
Poem to accompany the illustration.
Credits
Model
Stock
All other images/stock/textures my own.
MCN: CDRHE-5X2KB-PSCEE

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Last of the Summer - Hydrangea

I was sorting out my front garden yesterday and found this last Hydrangea hiding under some polygonum (Russian Vine) which I foolishly planted years and years ago and which, despite trying to kill it several times, keeps covering the front of the garden to make my house look like Sleeping Beauty's castle. LOL

All my own resources. No stock used.
MCN: C5G4H-89VW7-G2QK3





Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Love ♥

This was a bit of an experiment with a new brush I created. The brush consists of old fashioned typewriter keys and I wanted to see how it could/would work in an image.

I was going for the feeling of day dreaming and thinking of your love.

All my own resources - typewriter keys brush, textures, background images, bokeh.
MCN: CCCWQ-KMVCV-58184

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

What a week!

I've been so lucky -
I've had another homepage, (the third in 3 weeks)

with my image Renaissance

Here are the other two homepage features:

I also had a link and image on the Redbubble Blog and in the newsletter,
and won a challenge in the Art Universe my image Not a Toy

So to celebrate there are two new brush sets. You can use the brushes in prints on RB or DA.



Saturday, September 10, 2011

All Dressed Up


There's something so magic in getting dressed up - be it for your wedding or a night out. There's ritual and fairy dust, and at the best of times it makes you feel like you, just more so, and at the worst times it makes you feel like a doll... We so often forget that we should always do it for ourselves, to make ourselves feel good, to remember who we are, just more so. A celebration of self... Cinderella is going to the ball. :-)

Credits
Model
Stock
Brush
All other images/textures/brushes my own.
MCN: CP71K-J4JG2-SXLA1

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Love Is ♥


Another of my 'Hipster' images.
Butterflies and a thumping heart. How much better can it get?

Credits
Model
Stock
Brushes
All other images/textures/brushes etc my own.

MCN: CY7RK-PQCUF-QBNS4

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

URGENT - UK Artists - Fight For Your Moral Rights

Please read the following page:

UK Artists - Fight For Your Moral Rights

You have until close of business today (7th September 2011) to send your submission to be viewed by the committee.

Here's what I sent:

Summary

  • Artists should have the right to profit from their own work
  • Artists should have the moral right to their work
  • Copyright should automatically be assigned to the artist
  • Due diligence should be a matter of course for orphan works
  • Art should be protected in the same way and manner as music and writing
  • Instead of curtailing artist's right to their own work, education about copyright and copyright infringements should take place
  • The government should not bow to the pressure of Google or other interested parties that want to steal artists right to their own work.
  • The UK should assimilate its copyright and intellectual property laws with the rest of the EU
  • Considering that the internet is already facilitating a 'take what you want' attitude the government surely should not support and sanction this attitude
  • Loss of revenue due to the fact that artist are not 'allowed' to profit from their own work.

Detailed argument


According to the following laws:
1 Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2 Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Note also that a recent UK court ruling (20thC Fox vs 'Newsbin2') established that -
piracy of copyright work is a breach of the copyright holder's human rights;
the copyright holder is therefore entitled to legal redress;
and, because 'so far as possible, primary legislation and subordinate legislation must be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with human rights', legislation drafted and enacted subsequent to the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 must also be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with human rights.
the attempt to relieve artists of their rights is unlawful and unjust. The moral right of an artist to his/her own work should be unwaivable and copyright automatic as it is in current UK copyright law, EU and UN law.



For any artist who tries to make a living from his/her art, this new law would make it impossible to make a living as it does not take into consideration the needs of the artist as a business. From web portfolios to personal websites, blogs, print on demand art sites etc to licensing and commissioned work, the artist cannot rely on word of mouth alone but has to make use of the internet to promote his/her work. However, inherent in this kind of promotion is the danger of art being stolen and/or plagiarised. This doesn't just take place with the odd person lifting an image for a party invitation, but includes big businesses taking advantage of artists, point in case, Paper Chase. The details of this can be read here

Most artists cannot afford big corporate lawyers to deal with such infringements and are therefore relying on the law to be clear and just so these cases can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.


For artists who license their work additional issues become a problem. For example, if an artist issues an 'exclusive license' this means that the art cannot be used for anything or anywhere else. If the art is used, e.g. because it is stolen, the artist is in breach of contract and can be sued for damages through no fault of his/her own.


Visual artists are separated from performance/music artists and writers and copyright seems to apply to one but not the other. Detailed information about automatic copyright for music artists (creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions ) here
These rights include the artist however, the new law would separate artists from other creators don't and not be applicable to artists in the same way as copyright laws are for musicians and writers. Copyright should not be a matter of lobby but a matter of just laws.


There is no due diligence or 'evidence' expected for anyone wanting to use 'orphan works' commercially. On the internet images can be copied and pasted and then copied and pasted again, cropped, the colour changed, etc until the original source of the image gets lost in translation, which will make it difficult although not impossible to find the creator of any works. However, unless there is logged evidence of a company actually looking for the originator and looking hard, it will mean that any image can be used by anyone claiming they 'thought' it was an orphan work. This is unacceptable for art as a business.


In cases of copyright infringement the law should be clear and just and allow for damages to the artist's business. Currently there is no need to register your copyright as it is automatically granted, although there are companies offering a free registration that logs the time and date of the copyright. See, for example, http://www.cdateit.com/, http://myfreecopyright.com/, http://www.freecopyrightregistration.com/ however, requiring artists to pay for the registration of their work is only viable for those artists who already have a profitable business, for start up artists this would be an impossible expenditure. In which case, with the new law these artists would have no protection against copyright infringements.


Instead of loosening up the IP laws and allowing big companies to profit from artists' work, the law should tighten up the law and make it easier for artists to enforce their copyright and hold on to their moral rights.

The new law would be the equivalent of someone going to a supermarket, taking what they want and leaving the store without paying. When reprimanded the customer could say, but you didn't register your right for me to pay. Theft is theft and stealing someone's art is just as wrong as taking anything else that doesn't belong to you.


There is far too little information about copyright and copyright infringement being made public or taught at school. Pupils are encouraged to copy/print art and photography from the internet and use in their school work. There are more cases than I care to remember where art is stolen from the net and then used to make a profit.

Feel free to use the information I've provided in your letter.

Flower Power

Another of my 'hipster' images. I love creating them as they're so much fun, and not always quite what they seem. 

I loved the strong, confident pose of the model and her individuality and wanted to show it in its 'full bloom'. There's something amazing about someone exuding the feeling that they are exactly who they want to be, where they want to be and how they want to be, without adhering to peer pressure or the latest fashion trends but just your inner self and sense of beauty; just like a flower really, hence the title Flower Power. :-)

The image - as always is available on my various art websites (see the links on the right-hand side) as prints, skins, posters, and greeting cards. :-)

Credits
Model
Brushes
Font

All other images/textures/brushes etc my own.
MCN: CCCGU-SE4WU-6DMHU

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Enigma - New Series - Memories

MCN: C8HK9-26PQW-SAQH7
MCN: C5W7W-UE225-6S52W
 

 MCN: CLABH-4PU38-KFXVK
 
MCN: C2VCM-XC7SQ-5V8X2

This next part of the series is all about the memories people left behind. The museum collects items given to them by members of the public and I loved all the amazing stuff that told a real story of real people.

You can find out more about the comic strip Jane of War here.

All my own photographs and textures taken at Bletchley Park.

Credits:
17 Grunge Border Bars Brush Set
by Shadowhouse

Monday, September 05, 2011

Enigma - New Series - Typewriters


MCN: CBJ6C-V1GNQ-BBB2H

MCN: C8BSY-8EHVK-32E8Y

MCN: CVLQU-A4T5F-NUCSM

MCN: C1E6W-HQX1T-VQWUW


Photographs all taken at Bletchley Park, the home of the enigma machine code breakers. I love old typewriters. :-)
All my own photographs and textures.
Credits:
17 Grunge Border Bars Brush Set by Shadowhouse


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