Back to the drawing board

I stopped posting on this site about a year ago when we got First Inning Artworks up and running, but I have found that this web log is still drawing some traffic, so I thought I would start putting things here again. I hope those who show up will enjoy what's here -- and, of course, I appreciate the attention.

Much of the art efforts this fall -- what there have been -- have been devoted to some pen and ink drawings of some 19th century guys.

• William Tecumseh Sherman
  
  
• Nathan Bedford Forrest
  
  
• John Singleton Mosby
  
  
• Abraham Lincoln
  
  
• Charles Dickens

You will see a few of these guys floating around this post.

These were completed to support some posts that I did for another web log: the Writing Wright. And, of course, I will be using them elsewhere.

A good friend and artist of considerable note told me one time that pen and ink is the most honest medium. He's right. Even line is visible. Nothing is hidden.

I find it extremely satisfying as a medium, and when I am away from it for a while and then return, I always think, "What took me so long to come back to it?"

Heads and Faces: An Animoto video

I recently found this service, Animoto, that creates slick slideshows while-u-wait on the web. The 30-second shows are free. Something longer than 30 seconds will cost $3 , and there's a subscription rate that is not very steep.

It is very easy to create these things, but you don't have too much control over the outcome. All you have to do is upload the pictures. You can upload your own music or select from several things they have on the site.

If you don't like what you get, you can remix at the click of a button. What you see below is the second take on this thing.

Heads and faces

A couple of months ago I posted a link to some heads and faces that I had put onto Google photos, just to see how things worked.

I have taken some of those drawings (and some others that I have scanned since then) and have put together a video with some music. Then I uploaded the video to BrightCove, YouTube and Motionbox, just to see how things works.

Here are links to the BrightCove and YouTube videos.

The Motionbox video is shown above. I like it because because it was the fastest upload and quickest to get optimized, and the tagging feature -- which you can use right on the site -- is very cool. I continue to be less than impressed with the quality of the YouTube video. I like the other two much better. Still, the YouTube will probably get the most hits. We'll see in a few days.

Meanwhile, enjoy!

(By the way, the music on the video is licensed by Magnatune.com, a great site for a variety of music from folks you didn't know about. The group playing is Heavy Mellow.)

Opening Day

Finally, it's here.

Opening Day of the baseball season.

Time Begins on Opening Day. That is the title of Tom Boswell's book and a saying that has been around for a long time. Baseball and its Opening Day used to be a much bigger deal for Americans than it is now. Opening Day occurred long before there was a Final Four or a Super Bowl.

But that's neither here nor there. Tonight the St. Louis Cardinals -- World Champion St. Louis Cardinals -- host the New York Mets to open this year's Major League season. The Cards and the Mets have their two aces starting on the mound.

The first two or three weeks of the season can be tentative and are usually not indicative of how things are going to go. Practically nothing can be discerned from the first game. Still, it will be good to have baseball back.

And, thus, the painting above.


About the painting

Opening Day 2007

A runner tries to elude the catcher and the tag at home.

10 x 14 watercolor on 140 lb. cp

(This is an original, not a print.)

Price: $100

One week away

The long winter is almost over. Opening Day is one week away.

Watch for more.

The watercolors above have been seen previously here at First Inning Artworks:

Old Time Slide

Old Time Hitter

Old Time Pitcher

Old Time Fielder

Tennessee Tobacco Barn

Seems like it has been a while since I posted any recently completed landscapes. That's because it's been a while since I have completed anything I could post. So here's something, inspired by a striking photo in this month's Tennessee Home and Farm magazine. (The featured photos in this publication are eye-catching and usually give me something to think about -- if not to paint.)

Tobacco barns different from storage or cattle barns in that they are taller and thinner and their sides open up at different levels to help the tobacco dry or "cure." These "flaps" give the barns an unusual visual flavor.

About the painting

15 x 22 inches, Watercolor on Arches 140 CP paper.

This painting is not offered for sale since it is a derivative work from someone else's original work. It is available for a contribution to a charitable organization, however.

University of Alabama paintings and drawings

Spend 25 years in a place and you get to know it fairly well. That was my privilege in being at the University of Alabama for a quarter of a century. That time produced lots of sketches, drawings, paintings and the like. Below is an album on PicasaWeb of a sample of what I did:

University of Alabama campus - paintings and drawings

Even though we no longer live in Tuscaloosa, I like to remember it particularly at this time of year when I know that it is full flower. The town, and especially the campus, can be spectacularly beautiful and a joy for the next month or so before the oppressive heat and humidity set in.

Note: None of the paintings and drawings in this album is for sale. They're here simply for your viewing pleasure (I hope). Enjoy.