IdeaJones

Tag: October

  • Happy H-OWL-oween!

    Celebrating the bird of Halloween, the Owl, with owl trivia:

    Did you know that a group of owls is called a “parliament of owls?” Probably because they

    This is "Harvest Moon," a digital painting based on my acrylic painting, "The Night Watch."
    This is “Harvest Moon,” a digital painting based on my acrylic painting, “The Night Watch.”

    seem so dignified most of the time (not that most parliaments, or congresses, are all that dignified, but we can hope).

    There are over 150 species of owls in the world and some say there are over 200 (depends on how you classify them).

    There are owls on every continent except Antarctica.

    And owl’s eye is not a sphere. It’s more of a tube, which helps give them better depth perception. They al

    My second owl painting, The Night Watch. The first, Did Someone Say Lunch?, is on a market umbrella sold at a charity auction.
    My second owl painting, The Night Watch. The first, Did Someone Say Lunch?, is on a market umbrella sold at a charity auction.

    so have binocular vision, like humans.

    Some owls have “ear tufts” of feathers on their heads — but they aren’t ears. They may be used to communicate (to signal mood, for example). They also help with camouflage.

    That flattened facial shape that owls have? It helps funnel sound to their ears.

    Owls have three eyelids — one for blinking, one that closes for sleep, and another that cleans the eye.

    Owl feet have two toes facing forward and two back (with some rotation). This is called having “zygodactyl” feet.

    The largest recorded owl fossil, Orinmegalonyx oteroi, stood about three feet tall (so how big were mice back then?).

    A painting and poem from our Redbubble.com shop.
    A painting and poem from our Redbubble.com shop.
    The moment just before takeoff. Ready to fly, but not yet in the air.
    The moment just before takeoff. Ready to fly, but not yet in the air.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Neon Owl bright against the night sky.
    Neon Owl bright against the night sky.

    If you’re looking for something “owly,” check out our shop at Redbubble.com

     

     

    At our Redbubble shop, you can find tees, purses and tote bags, all sorts of stuff to keep you flying.

  • Working Dark

    Working Dark

    Working with old photos is an art in itself.
    Working with old photos is an art in itself.

    I don’t usually create dark, moody artwork. Perhaps there are elements of “Simran: Altar of Memory” which are bittersweet, even sad (it’s about dementia, after all), but it’s not spooky. Recently, however, I decided to work with old tintypes and photos my grandmother gave me, and one in particular just seemed to pick up on the fact that it’ll be Halloween soon.

    This started with a scan of that old tintype. I work with old photos from time to time, healing scratches, brightening faded images. Working with this photo, I tried to heal some of the damage of time while only brightening it enough to reveal details. Once I did, I discovered details I wanted to emphasize, like the skull in the lower left. This might not have been a skull at the time the photo was taken, but when the image emerged in working with it, that became the theme of the picture, so I repeated it.

    That led to other repetitions. Ordinarily, I would smooth out the background, eliminating visual “stutter.” In this case, I cause the stutter. Patterns repeat in the background, in the setting, giving the photo a cluttered, neurotic feeling.

    When it felt like I’d reached that point, I turned it into a digital watercolor and continued painting, sometimes pixel by pixel. As I worked, I gave him a backstory. A brave boy, the son of parents who hunt the things that go bump in the night, he is comfortable in the graveyard, knowing his parents have banished evil and confident that one day, he will take his place beside them.

    His image is available in our IdeaJones Redbubble shop.