fell off face of earth temporarily. back on April24

[bfly]

Okay, first of all... I AM SO STOKED THAT THIS IS HERE!!!
I'm gonna post some of my work for now, but I also will be posting tutorials on how I did some of this stuff too.. but for now, briefly, I combine and layer the main photo plus photos of textures that I've taken plus digital painting, tweaking color, saturation, curves, levels, contrast, etc..
First up, my grandma's freaky dolls (well, I kinda made them freakiER):
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/dolls.jpg

Next, my kitty, Sadie:
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/stormysadie.jpg

...and the following are a few shots from Austin:
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/austinpics1.jpg

and one of the Watts Atelier crew in Austin (they tell me that dumpster was pretty rancid, but it made for a nice shot):
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/austin_wattscrew.jpg

Okay, that's it for now.. I will be posting here more, and I intend to post tutorials on the digital stuff, if anyone's interested.. and I'd love feedback.

[rambhat]

These are some great photos! Some of those Austin shots are amazing! Were they shot digitally or with a regular camera? I will be waiting for tutorials on those first few (doll face) photos.

Great work, let's see more!!

[rambhat]

Oh, wow, you're Vanessa Lemen. No wonder these are so damn good.

Again, can't wait to see more.

[PhilHolland]

Seriously! When Vanessa showed me her portfolio I was shocked! I really had no idea.
Awesome stuff. Wait till she explains how she did all of the texture and manip work.

Phil

[bear]

The clown doll is awesome.

[Twisted Nail]

those dolls are amazing!! i also like the group pic a lot.

[krispee]

yeah....cool work on the dolls....scary...
cool work all round actually......

krispee

[Scotty]

Awesome! I wish I new how to do photo manips like that. :clapping1

[bfly]

thanks all! ..for visiting, posting, commenting... It's so cool to see all of your work too. Awesome stuff.. and all the websites rock too.. I could get very carried away and get lost just checkin out all the kick ass art that everyone does here - blows me away.. anyway, I hope more people will come to see the photography thread! We gotta get the word out.

I also will be posting a tutorial in a couple minutes.. of the clown pic.. in a different thread - tutorials.. I'll try to keep them broken down like that so it's easier to explain with the visuals.. go check it out when you get a chance and let me know if it's not too vague, or doesn't make sense, or whatever..

[pandawhipped]

Hey Vanessa could you do me a favor and post a full rez pic of the one of us in the alley? (you could just email it to me if you want, or if you have the time, no hurry) That shot is freakin awesome, and would make a rad desktop background. Dude, too bad you aren't in it. You didn't get to experience the stinkiness. It was invigorating.

I love all your Austin shots, expecially Fran's hamburgers. It looks like such a cold day...if only it really was. And post those a little higer rez too. They're great small like that as a collage, but i'd love to see bigger versions of them.

go shoot some more, show everyone our beautiful city! :)

[bfly]

here are some images..

these were with a manual camera..
http://img26.exs.cx/img26/6073/cathedralclones.jpg
http://img24.exs.cx/img24/9288/towerlondon2.jpg
http://img50.exs.cx/img50/8740/salisburycathedral1.jpg
http://img24.exs.cx/img24/1174/salisburycathedral6.jpg
http://img49.exs.cx/img49/3929/harlequin.jpg

and here are a couple more digital ones..
http://img43.exs.cx/img43/2690/ronface.jpg
http://img23.exs.cx/img23/9369/mugshot1.jpg

and larger images to boot! yikes.. maybe a bit too big..
Ryan..er, I mean, pandawhipped.. I will get that image up here bigger too..

[Mateem]

Gawd I hate dolls like that... *twitchspasm* Even without all the creepyness you added. NEways, the cathedral shots you took are really interesting. Was that an existing installation, or was that your handiwork, too? Loved the shot of the crew.

[bfly]

mateem - you mean the little clay guys? those were there.. it looked so crazy.. and made for a nice photo op, eh?

ryan (PW) - here's the watts crew image bigger..
http://img50.exs.cx/img50/6349/austinwattscrew2.jpg

[bfly]

...and a few more...

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/5794/aveburychurch1.jpg
http://img42.exs.cx/img42/4670/aveburychurch2.jpg
http://img24.exs.cx/img24/4474/aveburychurch3.jpg
http://img25.exs.cx/img25/4153/marbleangel.jpg

[Mateem]

Love the third one with all of the pupits. The more I look at all of the shots of 'em, the more I see them as people lined up, or in a crowd. Very eerie and effective use of black and white photography.

Wow, I dunno if I'd be takin pictures of those lil guys or backing away, slowly. XD LOL

[krispee]

hi
hey, nice bw`s there......i like the shot of those guys under the street lighting as well...got an even bigger version up your sleeve?...make a great painting....

and i love the high ceiling shots.....

krispee

[bfly]

I've got more creepy dolls... bwahahahahaaaaa... :eek:

Krispee - did you mean you want a bigger version of the guys in the alley for you to paint? I can do that.. let me know if I got that right and I'll post it again if you want.

Mateem - yeah, that church was pretty eerie..so I had to go in. Everything was all askew in there, and dark. I've got some great shots of the outside too - a graveyard in front of the church. So cool.. eerie and cool.

Well, anyway, here are a few more dolls that I just did this week.

http://img44.exs.cx/img44/6427/dollhouse.jpg

http://img39.exs.cx/img39/7962/filthyhead.jpg

http://img26.exs.cx/img26/5551/scabchin.jpg

[krispee]

hi
Krispee - did you mean you want a bigger version of the guys in the alley for you to paint? I can do that.. let me know if I got that right and I'll post it again if you want.

yeah, if it`s not too much trouble, a bigger version would be very cool....i`d love to have a go at that......thankyou

love the last doll, those big eyes....

krispee

[Denart]

woa, your shots have so much atmosphere and mood in them! Really great work! REALLY!

i love the interior church shots and those dolls have great texture and emotions!

[brkofdon]

woa, your shots have so much atmosphere and mood in them! Really great work! REALLY!

i love the interior church shots and those dolls have great texture and emotions!

really really really fantastic shots! you really know your photography and how to manipulate it...thats definetly inspiring! these would be great as paintings...i need more money....really want to get a digicam so badly, its hurting inside

MORE PLEASE!!!!!

[bfly]

Denart and brkofdon: cool, glad you like this stuff.. thanks for the nice words!! Oh and to brkofdon: if you've got an SLR and a good scanner, then you're good to go for now.. don't worry too much about the digi cam vs. the manual camera.. just mess around with stuff and you'll find a method that works while you're saving up for that digital camera. I always take my camera with me wherever I go - it's just more convenient now with my digital.

krispee: here's a bigger version of that alley shot... I know it's jittery a bit, so I hope this works for you. oh, and can you send me an image when you finish your painting?.. that would be cool. I'd love to see it.

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/4549/austinwattscrew3.jpg

...and here are a few more that I did this week...

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/1395/treebythecreek.jpg

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/2622/dollinwindow.jpg

http://img41.exs.cx/img41/7633/frill.jpg

[krispee]

thanks for that, vanessa, really appreciate your time on this, and of course i`ll post an image for ya.....don`t worry about the pixelation, and i`m looking forward to the challenge

and those others are just great.....fantastic work
not that that`s unusual
:bow:

krispee

[amateurateverything]

these...are....amazing....!
we are so lucky to be honoured with the presence of geniuses at the kiddie table
so,you;re a proff...no one will answer,maybe you will....did cheap digi cams work for you as a jumping off point?
post more....

[Red_Rook]

hah wow amazing stuff vanessa, I swear I gotta paint the watts pic next to the dumsters, even if krispee is doing it, such an amazing pic, i just love the colours. The dolls are great but they scare the shit outa me.. woah.

[bfly]

hey krispee, I look forward to seeing your painting. very cool.

and red-rook too - do one too and we'll have another interpretation to admire. that would be cool to see what you would do with it as well. I look forward to that too.

and to amateurateverything - well, I suggest reading through the "What digital camera should I get?" thread.. there's a lot of great info there, and different photographers' opinions on cameras etc. The first and only digital camera I've owned is the Nikon coolpix 4500. I really like it. I literally take it with me wherever I go, and I shoot everything. Some key features about this camera are: 4.0 megapixels with a maximum resolution of 2,272 x 1,704 pixels for really great photo quality prints. A 4x optical zoom lens for a focal length range of 38-155mm and sharp, clear images. Also has audio/video of up to 30 seconds at a time (I'm pretty sure). I also still take pics with my manual 35mm camera (Canon) as well. With my digi cam, I miss the immediacy of the shutter speed that you get from the SLRs. My next purchase will probably be a digital SLR, but I'd need to save up, and I'm not sure exactly what to get, still need to shop around. I don't know what your price range is, but look for 3.0 megapixel or higher, especially if you plan on combining your pics with your digital work. The Nikon coolpix 995 is the model just below this one, and it's a good one as well, but truthfully I can really see the difference in the two as far as quality (3.0 vs. 4.0 megapixels), color, and it doesn't have audio with the video mode, but it's a great camera as well, and you can interchange the lenses between the two. As far as my being a professional.. I'm not really - I mean not a professional photographer, but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity if it was presented to me. I've had my photography in gallery shows once in a while, but I work as an illustrator and art instructor professionally. Either way, it's all just a constant learning process, where the love for it all FAR exceeds the pay or whatever else it takes to make a living with it. Anyway, I hope that answered your question. But do check out that other thread too.

[dem0n]

I aint gonna sleep well after seeing them dolls :D

[krispee]

red rook: it would be cool to see another version.....go for it, i`m working on mine right now in oils so will post in the not-to-distant future.......he sais, lying optimistically...lol
i was going to start a WIP thread for it but not sure there`s any point, so many others are doing it......

anyway, happy painting

krispee

[Ripshaw]

You have an eye for the right angle, the right space in your photo's. I wish to know how you manipulated those dolls faces, that tree and that person so well. I have done a few myself, and have no skill in keeping the detail of the original image as you have done with the dolls, or changing the color scheme without it looking outlandish, unlike your tree.

Are those textures on the first set of dolls dolls made by you?

[culfinglin]

hey, vanessa! i ran across your post when i was searching for anyone from watts so i'd know someone on these forums. :) i am so blown away by the work you posted to the thread -- i haven't seen any of your work apart from that postcard for the show you had back in dec. i like the layers in photoshop in the dolls; they're subtle and have a lot of depth. very intricate, and a great use of color, too. dude! you rock!

can i please see more of your work when i come by this week? :)

--val

[I.was.ink]

tHese are very nice.

I like the tree pic the most :D

iwasink

[JAUrrutia9]

man, dolls creep me out...

[bfly]

well, since my birthday just passed this week, I thought I'd throw some happy stuff in here. These are some shots I took at an antique mall last week. A great place for finding creepy doll images, and so much other random crap all thrown together in one place.. It's great. Anyway...

http://img46.exs.cx/img46/1980/drinkshaker.jpg

http://img41.exs.cx/img41/1985/odie.jpg

http://img10.exs.cx/img10/6062/sevendwarves.jpg

http://img45.exs.cx/img45/778/smileypiggy.jpg


Oh, and...
JAUrrutia9: hope that's creeped out in a good way.
demOn: sorry about the lack of sleep
I.was.ink: thanks. the tree pic is one of my new fav's too.
culfinglin: hey val! thanks for visiting! see you, well, probably really really soon.. glad you dig the stuff here.
Ripshaw: the textures are mine too, yes. otherwise, regarding manipulating color and detail etc.. I just mess around most of all. It's fun for me, so I'm just playing really. And I just keep building things up and finding a new way to take it. Each image is different.

Anyway, as for these last images.. no manipulation really.. just oddities, color schemes, compositions that called to be photographed. Happy stuff..


:party:

[krispee]

nice work vanessa.......you do see the creepy side of things it`s true lol......that first doll is definitely weird......i think i see 'drink shaker' on her.....and i`m saying nothing more....... ;)
and my friend would just love that last piggy.....she loves pigs....

austin watts pic is coming along btw

krispee

[bfly]

some new stuff... a couple more trees...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/treeinsantee.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/treeinptloma.jpg

and a spider in my back yard that I've been keeping my eye on over the course of the last couple weeks. I found this huge spider and became obsessed. As I kept track of her, taking photos of her periodically, I noticed her body was getting very big (hence, why I'm calling this spider "her").. I'll post the progression on the TOPICS:Macro Creatures - Post 'em! thread, but here is one image I liked...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/spider7.jpg

and these were yesterday's clouds I thought were really cool. We've been getting some really cool clouds in the past month or so.. anyway, here's a shot..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/cloudssept9.jpg

Otherwise, look for a few other posts in some other threads, like:
TOPICS:Macro Creatures - Post 'em!
TOPICS:Patterns and Shapes - Shadows and Light
Topics: Landscapes and Nature
TOPICS: Hands and Feet
TOPICS: Self Portraits

Hey, krispee.. is the austin watts pic done?

Cheers!

[krispee]

hi vanessa
great work as usual.....also checked out your other posts.....nice, what can one say lol

um, the austin pic.....well, it`s coming along, put it that way, but nowhere near finished and will be a while to be honest....i have a full time job as well as several other paintings to do as well and my new website to finish off, i know, excuses...
the other problem is that you were right, it is a little 'jittery'....and when it comes to painting the faces...well you can imagine....but i can give you a w.i.p if you want....
let me know and i`ll take a snap, maybe it`ll be what i need to get cracking on it again....may not be what you`re expecting is all...

krispee

[bfly]

I have no expectations.. I was flattered and honored that what I've done was an inspiration to you. if you want, take a snap and send it. if not, and you want to finish, wait and send a photo later. if you want a kick in the butt, then by all means, get cracking! Also, it is true about the jittery-ness - sorry.. so.. try looking at the big shapes, not the facial expressions and details. More, the body expressions, and the lighting and atmosphere throughout. Think about what struck you first about the photo and capture that.. I'm almost certain it probably wasn't the details in the faces..

[krispee]

you`re right of course, it was the picture as a whole, and the light....so, see the shapes, the basic forms, get them nailed......that would be all i see at that distance anyway.....
i`ve started a wip thread, wasn`t sure if i should or shouldn`t, but hey, people will give me some honest opinions which is always good, even if it`s not what i wanted to hear.....so..

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29958

and here`s the latest pic to save you some time....

http://www.fluidimage.co.uk/images/austinwattscrew_wip2.jpg

kris

[Yazun]

scary images. Scary in a good way!

I love the piggy bank/jar. Very unique and refreshing ;)

[bfly]

Thanks a lot, Yazun. :}
btw, where are you in SoCal?

[bfly]

it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been taking a lot of pics in the meantime.. I've got a bunch, so for now here are some from a trip to the east coast. A few of us from Watts Atelier went out east to visit a lot of different museums and see some pretty damn inspirational artworks. Norman Rockwell, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Frazetta.. to name a few. There were so many.. And the group of friends that went really inspired me too. It was a great trip. Truly memorable. I came back so inspired and ready to paint again. Now I just need to slow the time down somehow to enjoy the one thing I want to do most - paint.. Anyway, here are some shots from the trip that I really liked.. and some to show the places we went..
First, a few from the plane..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/leavingsandiego.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/cloudsfromplane.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/landingindallas.jpg

some from Philly..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/windowsinphilly.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/wallinphilly.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/oldguyphilly.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/balconyinphilly.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/closedstoreinphilly.jpg

chinatown in Philly...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/chinatownparty.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/chinatownalley.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/chinatownducks.jpg

some from the Rockwell museum..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/rockwellhouselawn.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/rockwellhouseinterior.jpg

a shot of the Frazetta gallery...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/frazettamuseum.jpg

and some from the Brandywine and the Wyeth house and studio..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/brandywinewall.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/billtheweaver.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/wyethhousefrontyard.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/pathtowyethstudio.jpg

this studio was so awesome, but no pics inside.. here's a shot of the north light windows. Not one of my greatest photographs I guess, but..*sigh* ..I could've stayed in there forever..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/northlightwyethstudio.jpg

oh, and these were kinda cool from Dover..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/courthousestairsdover.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/courthousedesksdover.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/courthousedover.jpg

whew!.. that's it for now.. hope anyone who views this enjoys the journey. I definitely recommend going to these places.. to get inspired, most of all.

[PhilHolland]

Nice! That second picture of the clouds is stunning.

Phil

[Roderick]

dang, u got alot of real good pics, where do you find all the crazy spots? those dolls creep me out, but are really good pictures, i think my favorites are the spiral stairs, and the yesterdays sky, those ones are real dope!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=32236

[krispee]

lovely shots as usual vanessa.....stairway is cool and the clouds......but i like the old guy and the crumbly exteriors the best......

that shot of the street looks quite like the austin shot, same lighting conditions i guess....

and dare i ask what those animals were hanging up?......they weren`t chickens were they.....

kris

[bfly]

...back from the dead.. again.. well, sorta.. anyway...
phil - thanks about the clouds pic. It was funny because I decided not to sleep before the trip because we had a super early flight (and I'd miss it if I slept).. I thought I'd just sleep on the plane, but then there were all these awesome clouds! I didn't sleep, but got a lot of great photos!
Roderick - thanks for the comments. These spots aren't really so crazy - pretty much your everyday type places, but it's what I pick out and what I find interesting.. glad you do too! we've gotten a lot of really great sky scapes lately.. I'll have to post some of those soon too.. there's really great sky scapes in san diego all the time really.. heheh..
krispee - I love the the old and crumbly stuff, myself... thanks for the nice comments.. I also thought the alley photo reminded me of the austin watts crew pic.. how's that painting going anyway? I'll have to check out your thread here in a sec.. oh, and those animals are ducks..

well, anyway, here are a few new ones..

http://img109.exs.cx/img109/3595/theunknownartistx.jpg

http://img72.exs.cx/img72/5978/silvergirlx.jpg

http://img132.exs.cx/img132/5029/silvergirl2.jpg

[Groover McNab]

Wow. Great stuff here. Are you using scanned paint strokes as an overlay on the last batch? Whatever it is, the texture it makes is wonderful. This might sound like kind of a stupid and obvious name to throw out, but are you familiar with Dave McKean's work? Your stuff reminds me a little bit of stuff he's done.

[bfly]

Groover McNab - ...um.. the Dave McKean comparision is a huge compliment to me! I love his stuff, and am very influenced by it.. so .. thanks! :bashful:
Anyway, yes, I take photos of paintings I've done, and use the textures to paint with digitally. I combine traditional and digital a lot actually - the combination of the two is what I've been utilizing the most lately. Thanks so much for the comments..

[andres_pad]

i love you!
i hate you!
I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU
I HATE YOU TOO THO :P hehe

dude, this stuff is in all honesty, pretty f#!king amazing. this shits truly inspirational man. thanks heaps for sharing it with us. i was telling my girlfriend yesterday that i need some more inspiration for work, because my mental pallete has run dry or something.

i think i just got what i needed, thanks man. :wink:

<edit> also, can you post a link to your tutorial please? its kinda hard to find :^^;:

[bfly]

andres_pad - ugh!, damn mental palette dry spells. I hate those. I get em a lot. I do have a lot of inspiring friends and family around me to really keep me motivated, which is awesome.. but even still, I get those funks.. and they can be so frustrating, but so rewarding when you break out of em too.. that's a huge thing to me that you're inspired after looking at my work. Don't worry too much about the dry spells. If everything always went perfectly smoothly, life would be pretty boring, eh.. And then there would be nothing to surpass, no sense of accomplishment..
About the tutorial.. I posted one a while back.. don't know how to get to it once it's disappeared into the internet abyss.. I'll try to dig it up and post it here again.
Anyway, thanks again.

[quietadrian]

these are great! i love the dark mood that's prevalent in most of these. plus i'm a sucker for old, broken down, weathered things. i also like the fact that you show a lot of restraint with the digital manipulation and use it to work for the image rather than against it.

my favorites are the most recent portraits with the mask and the church photos (especially the black & white shots). look forward to seeing more!

also i dug up the tutorial link for andres_pad. hope you don't mind: bfly's tutorials (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26314)

[bfly]

quietadrian - I too am a sucker for old broken down weathered things.. and everything rusty, dirty, and crusty.. I have a ton of photos of just that. Glad you like the mask and church photos.. the mask ones are a new series I am inspired to do recently.. started a while back when I had done some paintings with a mask theme.. turns out the show I was doing them for was canceled, but I had a few cool paintings from it, and had shot some cool reference. Seems people aren't so shy when they put a mask on. I like the idea of the face being hidden but there still being so much expression with the mask. I also am playing with the idea of the unknown artists as the overall theme.. If you're at Watts Atelier, then you might know who those people are behind the masks, or maybe not... but in my experience in the art field, I have noticed that there is a ton of talented artists that society might call "no names"... These people could spend a lifetime creating incredible things that only are seen by a select few in the whole scheme of things, yet the big names get bigger because, quite simply, they are known. It's what drives us, I suppose, even if being a big name isn't genuinely what we are after.. we still will struggle to keep getting better. I'd choose it over the other any day, but it's still friggin frustrating sometimes...
I digress..
Thanks for diggin up the tutorial.
Oh, and introduce yourself when we're both at the school sometime. I see you're in Erik's class.. kick his butt for me.. heheh.. and your thread looks great, by the way..

[PhilHolland]

Very nice work Vanessa.
Great texture work on theunknownartistx.jpg.

See you at the workshop!

[quietadrian]

nice concept for those mask photos. i can think of a few insanely talented people at the school who most people have probably never heard of. makes you wonder how many others are out there.

hmm... if i had to guess, those people under the mask are... you and ron (or maybe ben? i can't think of too many people at the school with hair like that). or maybe it should just stay a secret.

i think i've seen you wander into classes sometimes, so i'll try to introduce myself next time.

[bfly]

Hey Phil! Thanks! yep, we'll be at SF.. look forward to seeing you and all the rest again.. Good times! ..and a ton of inspiration!!.. can't wait!

quietadrian - thanks about the concept.. still in progress.. totally true about the insane talent at the school and probably a ton of others out there for sure! that's funny about the look of the unknown artist - you weren't at watts when ron, ben, AND erik and jeff all had super long hair, huh.. well, you got me wanting to post some pics I took of some of the guys at the school.. so here they are...

just a few of my insanely talented artist friends at watts atelier...

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/1180/wade.jpg

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/3539/ben9.jpg

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/6741/doug1.jpg

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/2609/joe1.jpg

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/4698/ronsnakeeyes.jpg

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/1264/dzu.jpg

[bRyaN]

Sup Nessa...
lovely stuff...

so talented it's sick...

hope to hang again with you and Ron...

[andres_pad]

awesome, thanks man. i knew it existed somewhere. :D
oh, and i really like the last lot of stuff u posted. the guy with the paint hair is cool

[dozer]

Hey bfly

I rarely reply, but I enjoyed your work so much I felt I had to. Very, very nice... both in the capture and the manipulation. You've really got a developed eye, and a vision that's unique enough to stand out. I wasn't too surprised (but maybe a bit delighted) to read that you're an illustrator and teacher. It shows –?I think sometimes illustrators try to get more out of their images, and teachers enjoy communicating. Both of those things are evident in your work. The combination of all your talents really is a delight to take in!

But most of all, I love the fact that you're doing this for fun – I imagine it's probably a great release after teaching and illustrating for others. I've always felt the love (and fun) for something shows through in the final work.


Thanks so much

btw, my favorites were the church shots, ronface, mugshot, chinatownalley, doug1, and, of course, your opening dollshots.

[bfly]

hey bRyan.. Thanks. ..you gonna be at the SF workshop? I'm looking forward to it.. the inspiration I took back with me from Austin left a tremendous mark. I'm needing a fix again, and I'm thinkin SF just might do the trick. It'll be nice to hang out with everyone again too..

andres_pad - thanks about the new stuff too.. these guys were nice enough to pose for me at a recent sketch night at our house. I definitely consider myself the lucky one to have these guys in my life and to be able to include them in my work. I have lots more...

dozer - thanks so much... can't say it enough. Let's see...here is a quote from someone whose work and view on life/work(art) is very inspiring to me.. His name was Richard Avedon, a famous fashion photographer, and also famous as well for his own depiction and viewpoint of people, capturing the true beauty of the people he photographed, the essence of them, not necessarily fashion-related. He recently passed away, but has left a wonderful impression.. this quote sums it up nicely..

...And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible...


here's a new one...

http://img106.exs.cx/img106/7191/silvergirl2frame.jpg

[Scotty]

Creepy, yet beautiful at the same time....you have a unique eye. Great stuff!:)

[SailorBoons]

This may sound cheesy, but I want to thank you for being such an incredible photographer! I do alot of darkroom work, but have been away from it for awhile. A good friend recommended I check out this site, and happened to scope out your stuff first. My jaw dropped at what a good eye you have, and how perfectly you can capture what you see on to film. Your lines, and colors, and the effects you add are amazing. I get so easily discouraged with my own work, but after seeing what you have posted here, I'm ready to go out and use up all the film that's been sitting in my fridge. I was wondering, do you use a digital camera, or a regular manual camera? If you use film, what kind do you use to take pictures with such intense colors?
Also, where did you get all those little clay figures for the shot in what looks like a church?
Keep up the good work! Do you use photoshop? How do you layer things, such as those pics with the trees?

Forever Impressed,
Kari Elaine

[Banshax]

good stuffs!1 still wondering how u did the dolls at the start. not to mention a lot of the other stuff. Im a sucker for Black and whites but your color stuff is seriously good as well.

[dorian]

spooky things are going on in this thread :$


scroll up and down and watch the windows at the upper border of your browser..... freaky, the windows and the whole room seem to get smaller and bigger as you scroll :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/courthousedesksdover.jpg


great work in here! :)
.
.

[fredflickstone]

and you said you have been working late. Now I see what you have been doing. Starting your own thread eh? heh

This is all beautiful work as you already know, (from me) and I am glad to see you are posting it for others to appreciate as well.

There is soooo much more than just this for you guys all to see, too bad she doesnt have enough time to post it all, working and all that.

Wonderful thread and wonderful images from a wonderful person.

R <3 <3 <3

[bfly]

Ugh! I wanna post these real quick from yesterday's walk to the workshop venue...
thanks everyone for the super nice posts.. I will reply soon.. but wanted to try to post some pics from the workshop each day and it's day 1 already!!

some shots of the city bldgs..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFwindows2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFreflections.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFsculpture.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFwindows1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFfireescape.jpg

...more to come...
Hope to see you guys there!

[krispee]

oh wow, the reflections....awesome.........that is just superb photo!
and the rest aren`t bad either lol.......just kidding......

great work as usual......

krispee

[tinyhands]

Really cool shots of sf so far vanessa. Hope u guys have fun over there. See ya guys soon.

-tiny

[bfly]

hey krispee! thanks! ..you gonna head out to a workshop one of these times?

thanks mark/tinyhands!.. wish you got to go too. it's been awesome so far.. we'll see you soon and fill you in!

anyway, well, I guess posting each day is out the window.. but here are a couple from the past 2 days...

a shot from china town before the workshop yesterday morning..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFchinatown1.jpg

and this one's from the first day of the workshop...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFworkshophuddle.jpg

[Banshax]

Ive been hugely enjoing your pictures. Be sure to keep posting.
Love the last one.

[bfly]

hi Banshax. so glad you like em... thanks!

here are some more from the workshop...

hussar's paintings
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFhussarsptgs.jpg

shawn barber's still life and paintings in background
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFbarberdollheads.jpg

justin sweet painting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFjustinsweetptg.jpg

jp targete painting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFjptargeteptg.jpg

misty posing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFmodel2.jpg

jon foster painting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFjonfosterptg.jpg

ron lemen drawing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFrondrwg.jpg

petey sculpting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFpetesculpting2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFpetesculpting3.jpg

steven assael painting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFstevenassael.jpg

and andrew jones posing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFandrewjones.jpg

[tinyhands]

Thats another good batch of photos vanessa! Those paintings look really cool. How about posting yours and ron's demos eh? I wanna see what you guys did. Oh, and tell big mike I said hi! off to class now.....yay....

-tiny

[Scotty]

Beautiful...well-captured photos! As a sculptor...I especially like the last ones.:)

[Dirty C]

Well, I had the pleasure of looking through Vanessa's folio at SF, and it fucking rocks. It's really nice to see someone about the boards who isn't afraid to incorporate photography and obviously is a fan of the great one Dave Mckean. Having said that, two of the biggest standout pieces for me were both oils. I don't see those posted here - gonna treat us all?

Aside from that, Madame Lemen is also well nice and super complimentary. As if Ron hasn't got enough going for him, the lucky sod.

Now where are the photos from the party? I'm still piecing it together.

[lordarka]

I love your work Vanessa. I need to get in to the Atelier and take some classes. Have the Winter/Spring schedules been released yet? I did not get any in the mail.

I would be interested to learn more about some of your post processing. I've been doing mostly straight photography for the last couple of years, but I'm yearning to get back into traditional and digital painting, maybe using some of my studio and other photos as a springboard.

Thanks for sharing your work on a regular basis. :)

Arka C.

[PhilHolland]

I'm just waiting for all those funny face photos you took of me to show up. I totally lost my mind.
I like the shot of Andrew, Jon, and the 2nd Petey the bestest!

[bfly]

Okay, so I've got some more here and I will also post a lot more in the.. um.. I think it's called the Ultra Official SF workshop photo thread or something like that.. Anyway, just real quick..
tinyhands - look for a shot of the demo ptg I did in the following batch here.. I was happy with the start most..my nervous hand kept the ptg pretty loose..
Scotty - glad you like em.. means a lot coming from an awesome photographer such as yourself!
dirty_c - aww shucks! it was a pleasure meeting you and hangin out with you.. I intend to post my oils as well, but not in this thread in Photography, but I will post the demo here for now. You were a lot of fun to hang with, and don't worry, you still seemed to have your wits about you as far as I could tell!
lordarka - the new semester at Watts started up while we were still in SF about a week ago now. Did you get the brochure eventually? Re: your photography.. I think it's a great idea to incorporate it all.. that's what I'm all about too. Keeps me well-rounded while at the same time keeps my ADD in check..heheh.. Anyway, thanks for diggin the work..
Icey - glad you like the shots here. thanks! ..and yep, the workshop was awesome!
Mr. Phil Holland - glad you like the shots.. don't know what you're talking about re: your funny face photos.. but you got a good one of me I see.. yikes! that's a scary one, eh.. looks like I got stuck on the big wave in a funhouse mirror or something.. ha!
here's a shot of you...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFphilHolland.jpg

Okay, so here goes with some more from SF.. and do check out the workshop thread as well.. I plan on posting there too..

first, here's the demo tinyhands was asking about..
the initial lay-in with sarah next to it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFsarahWithptg.jpg
and the finished painting (well, finished enough)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFworkshopVptg.jpg

some more of the models misty and sarah
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFmistySarah.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFmistymodel.jpg

insane visions drawing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFrich2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFrich1.jpg

shawn barber painting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFshawnbrbrJP.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFshawnBarber1.jpg

marko d#@vd*c!? drawing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFMarkodrwg1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFMarkodrwg2.jpg

wes drawing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFwes.jpg

coro finishing a shawn barber painting
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFcoroptg.jpg
coro drawing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFcorodrwg.jpg

andrew drawing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFandrewdrwg.jpg

dj relm
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFdjRelm.jpg

dj newmark
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFdjNewmark.jpg

and a few from the last day.. it was a truly beautiful day..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFoceanbeach1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFoceanbeach2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFoceanbeach3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFoceanbeach4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFgoldengate1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFgoldengate2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFgoldengate3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFwharfpier39.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFwharfdocks.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFcoittower.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SFwharfposer.jpg

[krispee]

wow, the art on show here looks fantastic, love your work, i actually liked the unfinished piece as much as the finished.....
all in all some super talented people there.....
hey, and more crispy ducks lol....
ah, what am i saying, i don`t like duck.....but the shot looks great.....and it sure looked a busy place at the workshop......not sure if i`ll be able to come to that in the near future, not much holiday and too much work :(
one day maybe......i think i`ll have to practice some though :D

krispee

[bfly]

hey krispee! thanks so much! you're always dishin out the props.. cheers! I just finished posting a bunch more on 'the ULTRA OFFICIAL workshop pics thread'.. you should check em out for a good laugh.. and more inspiration too of course. The workshops are an amazing gathering of talent..and most of all..good people. you should try to make it out to one sometime if you can. Anyway, I think I might make a go of hitting up every ChinaTown in all the cities I visit to get at least one snap of those crispy ducks.. ha! I don't like duck either, or at least, I don't know if I do cuz I don't eat duck, but they do sit very still for the photo op.. heheh.. well, thanks again krispee. you're good people.. :hatsoff:

[krispee]

thats a go for the crispy ducks then lol......look forward to the next batch from.....
but they do sit very still for the photo op
yeah, funny that isn`t it :D
mind you, be a heck of a shock if the darn duck just got up from your tin foil container and walked off....leave a pretty big dent in your meal..... :rolleyes:
oh my, don`t even want to go there......

props? sorry, you got me there.....

krispee

[dadamafia]

these are wonderful pics. thank you very much for sharing.

[pandawhipped]

Vanessa! These are BEAUTIFUL pictures! Man I really wish I could have gone :( I haven't seen you all in so long. I'm missing another semester, but i want to hang out, are you guys still having sketch group on Fridays?

[twoheaded]

every photo is very balanced compositionally. Beautiful work vanessa.

[bfly]

I have a few here from the past few months, pics from around home in san diego CA...

I do want to reply to a couple posts from a little while back also though...

Pandawhipped - hey Ryan! you're always welcome... the sketch night is more of a work night for several of us right now, but like I said you're always welcome to come by and say hi! We'd all love to see you!

dadamafia and twoheaded - thanks!

SailorBoons/Kari Elaine - thank you so much for such an incredibly nice post. Good to hear you've gotten inspired to shoot again. very cool. to answer a couple of your questions.. I use a digital camera for the most part - a Nikon coolpix4500 mostly, although I do have a good little snapshot digital that takes quicker pics, a Canon elph SD200.. but I also do shoot with a manual camera, a Canon and I have a Minolta as well. But either way, I bring the shots into Photoshop for manipulation from as little as color/contrast/curves/levels etc. to painting digitally on them and adding textures, etc. so.. some of the intense colors you're refering to might've been bumped up in Photoshop, and a lot of the intense colors were already there and what were drew me to it to take the photo.. it all depends.. I take my camera with me wherever I go.
well, anyway, speaking of color, and taking a bit of a tangent, but it reminded me..
...you know how you can go somewhere one day, and it has a totally different feel to it the next time you go there, maybe... say for example, because the weather is completely different.. and then there are places you can always return to knowing that you will get that same feeling it gave you each time before.. hmmm.. I have some photos in the next batch that might be able to show what I mean in more of a visual sense.. anyway, let's see..

this one's a great example of what I was just mentioning above.. this is the view from the nearest stoplight by my house, facing east while waiting at the light. The clouds were great on the day I took this shot, and lucky for me, the light stayed red and I was able to get my camera out in time to take it.. because usually it doesn't look like this, but on this day - good stuff..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/olivenhainclouds.jpg

here's another good example of good timing (or luck.. plus the photoshoping out of the onlookers in the foreground)..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/airshowfire.jpg

timing on this next one as well.. on a clear sunny day, this bronze sculpture of the virgin mary might not have seemed to be crying..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/cryingvirgin1.jpg

this was our neighbor's house across the street in December.. a nice stormy night made for a nice pic..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/neighborshouse.jpg

..this next image is a compilation of photos taken in Julian CA a year after the fires here..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/fireskytree.jpg

here are a few more I liked from the past few months..

another airshow pic..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/planesatsunset.jpg

a crazy tree - looked like a cool scifi environment up close..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/pricklytree.jpg

a field in cuayamaca a year after the fires..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/cuyamacafieldinfall.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/leanintree.jpg

a puddle on a beautiful clear chilly morning after a stormy night..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/pathwaypuddle.jpg

and a tiny little eye peeking from behind a leaf in a place here in SD called Elfin Forest..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/elfinforestpeeper.jpg

[Icey]

wow... imressive! Love the macro ones! and the statue's eyes!

cheers! Hope to see more soon!

Icey

[PhilHolland]

I really like that tree from Julian. Really neat.

[twoheaded]

I love that tree with the fire background. Intense photography.
The angle you captured those sunset Jets are beautiful.
Keep posting.

[bfly]

Thanks for the nice words.. Icey, Phil, twoheaded.. my personal fave out of that bunch is the firey tree. Here are a few more ..of some casts and a clown.. don't know which is my favorite here, but anyway...
I'll start with this one.. it's the odd one out in this batch I guess because it's not a cast like the rest:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/wickedclown.jpg

I just liked how this one turned out.. no manip, just neat how the two sides - musculature and skull - make it look manip'd a bit, and I liked the glow, would make for a nice drawing or painting study if anyone felt like takin that on..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/halfhead.jpg

these next two started out as shots of casts at school, I liked the way they were lit, and then I was just messin around with some texture and environment shots and manip on the rest..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/ecorchet.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/spacebetween.jpg

[KOURYANGELO]

vanessa, i love your work...its some of the best original photos ive seen in a while. i would like to know more about your art bkgrd, did you study at college and where? the dolls and masks are great. how did you do the clown (lighting and texture)? i took some of my friend in a mask...check it out on my thread if you get a chance. your feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks and best of luck.

[bRyaN]

What's up Nessa...

That clown pic bothers me sooo much..lo. (Stephen Kings "IT" had such a profound affect :nohope: )

ANd the explosion by the jets, are just badass...

Love it...

[culfinglin]

hey, vanessa!

i like them all (and could go on and on about them), but i especially love the ecorchet.jpg one. i like how the wooden planks look like wings, but it's subtle. the earthy, rough wood and the smooth, almost ethereal cast make a nice combination. :) there's something about it that just speaks to me. i'm going to print it out and put it up in my office. really, really excellent. :)

--val

[dorian]

whee the 1st one there is freaky! nice pieces, can't wait to see more of this kinda work!

[Scotty]

Vanessa, I don't get in here much, but when I do find the time...I always love seeing your stuff. You have just the best eye, and know how to use it. Great GREAT photos! :wink:

[PhilHolland]

Oi! You're making me feel lazy.

Lovely texture work on the two cast pieces.

[krispee]

hey, nice work again....really liked the comp`d one with the fires and the tree, really kind of intense feel to that....and the christmas lights....we had lots like that over here, some were a little over the top tbh...lol
those landscape pics are pretty inspirational as well...

krispee

[krytical_error]

BFLY -- Awesome art.

I exesspecially like that clown picture with the shadow over it's face.... :-)

keep flooding the internet with good art. for every post of yours ofsets something worthless with something radical. ;-p

&.

[bfly]

...been a while...where do I begin?.. I'm at a loss for words at the moment but do have more to say.. and some new work. Here's a new self portrait for now...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/CoiSelf.jpg

[Lauren Short]

pretty cool, i always like your photo manipulations. your self portrait is pretty cool. i like the abstarct-ness of it

[PhilHolland]

I like the texture work as always and the composition is central. You never lose with that.

However, I wisht there was more of "you" in it.

Best,

Phil

[dozer]

Hi Vanessa

Just checked in again, saw this new work, and fell in love with your eye all over again. You truly have a gift for this. The Elfin Forest shot blows me away - is that manipulated at all? Not only is there an eye, but a hand holding a trident (or some sort of staff) as well. The colors and values are pristine.

The virgins tears are interesting, but the colors are what I love - perfectly balanced and subtle. The cast figure with the wooden wings... nice.

Even your more mundane shots show a mind that is attentive and alive - there's a power in your work that makes me hope you keep it growing.

As always, thanks for the inspiration!

[bfly]

Hi again. Here’s a very lengthy response. If you don’t like words, no worries.. just scroll down to the end to see some pictures…

Injection223 – thanks for checkin out my stuff. Glad you like it. I noticed that you have a quote by M. Lentz on your tag. (always spouting quotable material, that guy).. Are you down here in SoCal?

Phil – thanks for the feedback. More of ‘me’…hmmmm... I’ve posted some before, but never really ‘me’ I guess either. ..well, this could be a good opportunity to explain where that piece came from I guess. And the way I look at a self portrait. Pull up a seat, get comfy… Just about a month ago, I got laid off from work. This was an illustration job I’d worked at for nearly 8 years. Mind you, I had wanted to find some way to get out of there far before that, but this was still a very weird thing for me. I have friends there that were like family and that I’d seen nearly every day for 8 years. That was the biggest reason it was (if at all) difficult as far as leaving there was concerned. Otherwise, the immediate week after I was laid off, besides doing some sidework, I spent a good amount of time reading and writing more than painting or taking photos. And I did a lot of thinking. Maybe it was because I realized that it was a little more difficult emotionally (not in a sad or depressed way though) for me than I had thought it would be. Maybe it was because of all these other reasons not really having to do with work but with life, me, direction, creativity, skill, intimidation, ambition, drive, spirituality, emotions, timing.. the list could go on and on. I decided that I’d like to take this opportunity (of being laid off) to kick myself in the butt and do things I truly want to do now that I have more time to do them. To paint, to draw, to take photos, etc. Here I am with an opportunity to finally get back to really saying something in my work, but what? What do I want to say? I want to come up with or try all these totally new, exciting, different things.. and most of all, do something that best represents me and who I am and what I’m all about. I have that chance now, but I have to conjure up the me again, unstifle myself. So now, when my mundane habitual work ethic is gone from my every day, I realize that I’ve become almost mute from fear of taking a chance or not succeeding or ..gulp.. failing.. I could still go on and on.. but that’s where this self portrait comes from. I’ll try another and see what I come up with on a different day in a different frame of mind, but that’s what space I was in when I did that one. Sorry to explain your ear off and thanks again for your comments.

Dozer – I can’t thank you enough for your very nice words and comments. Right now (read my response to Phil for the full explanation) my mind is on full tilt as far as being attentive and alive. I definitely hope I keep it growing, but it sure does get overwhelming too sometimes! I don’t mean that in a bad way necessarily either, it’s a good thing. Whether or not I have a gift for this as you say, I’m ready to jump in after much contemplation over the past month. I just need to get a grasp on it all. Anyway, thanks again.

Krytical error – Thanks, Andrew. I know your love for that clown. It’s truly one of my very own favorites. You’re the best. Back at ya, my friend. Keep up your great work!

Krispee – props = proper recognition, respect. It’s what you give me all the time (answering an old post, sorry).. Thanks for checkin in and looking at my work like you do. Btw, go to urbandictionary.com for other definitions similar to this. Some can be pretty funny too sometimes. Anyway, thanks so much.

Scotty – Thank you!! I love seeing your stuff too, and your eye is awesome!! Keep up your great work!

Dorian – thanks! Glad you like the freakiness. I can’t wait to do more of this stuff too!

Val – that ecorchet was at watts. A bit different here though. Glad you like it so much. But imagine if those sculptures at school could literally speak.. hmmm…

Bryan – thanks for the comments.. and what’s up, yourself.. Hope all is well with you. Hey, whatever happened to those images you said you’d send?

KOURYANGELO – thank you for your compliments about my work. My art background is less in photography and more in drawing and painting. I did take a few photography classes as electives and felt at one point early on in my college years that I might want to take that route, but I took a different path more towards painting and drawing. I didn’t attend a fancy art school or anything and I moved around and didn’t stay at one school throughout my years in college, but I did ‘finish’ with a BA in studio art. I am now taking classes and teaching at Watts Atelier in Encinitas CA, which is by far the best school for art that I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. The amount of talent there is incredible. And the people – teachers and students – are so awesome. It’s truly my home away from home and a huge source of inspiration and motivation for me. But before going there, most of what I learned about art was through life and not so much through my college education. Regarding the clown image.. there’s a tutorial for that one somewhere in the abyss of this photography part of the ConceptArt forum called bfly’s tutorials. I went to your thread and gave a response. I hope it came across okay. I really love your work, your eye. Thanks again for your comments.

Here are a couple of new images.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/bluerockingchair.jpg

And this next one is inspired by concept drawings done by my extremely talented artist friends :bashful: Patrick and Ben.. Their drawings inspired me to do this photo comp as my concept.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/TreeDngnCncpt.jpg

[PhilHolland]

Van - I'm so sorry to hear that about work. That job sounded like such a cool one. Sounds like you have the right attitude and state of mind though. Work on your stuff. Good things will come from it.

[Lauren Short]

wow cool update :teeth:

the painted border gives the chair pic a nice old time, chpped away effect, much like the door in the photo.
yea i live in the pasadena area, i met mike at the austin workshop, very funny guy :P

as always cool stuff :D

[Sems]

all beautiful, especially the cat and I love the twisted dollies :)

[Bill Noble]

I really loved the doll pics. Look forward to learning in detail how they were created.

[andres_pad]

dude. i dunno what to say but i love it.
looks like im getting my camera out again :P i had out it away after i kinda lost interest (being forced to do 5 million photos of groups of relatives, or firends and shit.) but yeah, thanks man, this has made me realise why i liked it again. thanks

[Dirty C]

I just liked how this one turned out.. no manip, just neat how the two sides - musculature and skull - make it look manip'd a bit, and I liked the glow, would make for a nice drawing or painting study if anyone felt like takin that on..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/halfhead.jpg


Hmm.. and here's me just come back from rome and coming over all chiaroscuro. I just might use this puppy.

[Bobby D]

I a stand in awe, you are so obviously master of your art.

[bfly]

Hi again. Some new images.. but first..
Phil - No worries about the layoff situation. It’s been a good kick in the butt for me. I’m doing my work. Good thing are happening. It’s been a great thing for me so far. Thanks for the support.
Injection223 - I’m having fun with the border treatments. Something different. Thanks for the nice comments.
Sems - Thanks so much. My kitty is such a poser. So glad you like that one. The dolls.. just a few of my favorite things.. glad you like em too. Thanks.
Bill Noble - Thanks about the dolls too. I posted a small tutorial on how I did the clown doll image from my first post on page 1. It’s way down the list now because I’ve only posted that one a good long while back. The thread is called bfly’s tutorials.
Andres pad - Inspired, eh. Very cool. That’s awesome. Thank YOU.
DirtyC - Oh, cool! I look forward to seeing your study…you know you’ll have to post it. So.. back from Rome? Chiaroscuro? Did you go for an atelier session for a bit or something? Love to hear about that too. If so.. when are you gonna come out to ‘ol SoCal USA to our atelier here, huh?
BobbyD - In awe? Wow. Thanks so much. And a master? Um, I dunno. I just know I love it. And I look forward to a lifetime of doing this, where ever it takes me. But anyway, thank you. I really appreciate your nice words.

...so I’ve been taking pics a lot lately (I always am really cuz I take my camera with me literally everywhere).. Here are a couple recent ones.. The clown face is a manip’d one obviously.. and the other is of paint on a palette (not manip’d) but I really like how these two look so similar.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/ClownMask.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/PaintOnPalette.jpg

And here are a few character shots from yesterday. Went to a Memorial Day Ceremony at Mt. Soledad here in San Diego CA. It was so moving. The vibe there was so inspiring and touching. My grandpa Boomer served in WWII. He passed away two years ago, but all these guys telling their stories reminded me so much of him. It was truly a day well spent...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay7.jpg

and last but certainly not least, and not a particularly well-crafted shot or anything, but these 3 were especially inspiring.. the 2 on the outsides were 2 key speakers yesterday with some very touching speeches, and the young woman in the middle served in WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam.. wow...
Imagine the stories she has to tell...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MemorialDay8.jpg

[Lauren Short]

the clown freaks me out :bashful:

the paint has a very outburst like feel to it, kind of overbearing but just the right amount to give an impact

i like the whole group of pictures from memorial day. they may not all be the most artistic with composition or lighting but they capture a moment, a genuine trace of human emotion. that right there is art to me :)


cool post :teeth:

[Dirty C]

DirtyC - Oh, cool! I look forward to seeing your study…you know you’ll have to post it. So.. back from Rome? Chiaroscuro? Did you go for an atelier session for a bit or something? Love to hear about that too. If so.. when are you gonna come out to ‘ol SoCal USA to our atelier here, huh?


Nah, I was just touristing - but just being able to walk around and see a few dozen carravaggio's in a single place is enough to teach any
one. Even Damien Hirst says he hates seeing the Vag's work - makes him feel like giving up :)

Hm. Didn't realise it was a possibility to just jump on in to Watt's. Might have to take a look at the site.

[bfly]

...been a while... fell off the face of the earth, but I'm back. Been painting more than digitaling. ..still taking photos (always! :) but not taking time to post. I really could explain, but then I'd be talking your ear off.. er.. writing your eyes off.. er..hmph.. anyway..
here are a few random images from the past couple months..

my reflection in abandoned house window..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/AbandondRflctn.jpg

inside a leaning abandoned house...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/LeaninHouse.jpg

an old tired tractor...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/OldTractor.jpg

the unknown artist and a leaning tree...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/UnknwnArtstLeaninTree.jpg

a beautiful sky in July...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/July24Sky.jpg

a lonely tree on a hill of elephants...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/LonelyTreeElephntHill.jpg

sun stripes on ron/fredflickstone's face...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/RonSunStripes.jpg

the unknown artist discovers a strangely familiar portrait...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/UnknwnArtstMeetsPtg.jpg
and in case any of you are interested.. here's that portrait in a more finished state, but I still need to finish the hand (not shown), then I'm done and I think I might post it in the 'it's finally finished' section, whenever it (the hand etc) is 'finished'...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SelfPrtrtProgress.jpg

[Dirty C]

1.Beautiful self portrait, can't wait to see it finished
2.Love the elephant hill - very apt
3.Coming to Praha?
4.Later

[mollyduker]

Very nice stuff, as always. I really like the tractor and the unknown artist pics. Keep posting!! No more disappearing!!
-Mollyduker

[Matt Smith]

Hi Venessa, great photos, the colors in alot of them are nice and vibrant. The self portrait is looking good too, I like the brush work in the hair. I took a make up class with Ron (figure invention) it was awsome, learned alot in just one class.

[strych9ine]

Just some beautiful work here... I don't stop by the Photography section (or this thread) often enough.

[bfly]

well, here I am again.. lagging.. I had uploaded some images of textures to post before I left for NY, but didn't get around to post them in time. Now, I'm back from NY with a ton of new images to go through from the trip to post as well.. in time. First..
Thanks for the replies.
strych9ine - thanks for the nice words and for stopping by.
Matt Smith - thanks also for stopping by and the nice comments. I will pass on the nice words to Ron as well.
mollyduker - glad you like em. and thanks for the positive kick in the butt.. no more disappearing. I need to post a pic of my pup. You posted a pic of yours a while back that I loved.. among the many good shots of yours. :)
dirty_c -
1.thanks
2.apt..well, thanks again.
3.not going to prague, unfortunately
4.c ya

okay, so I wanted to post some images that usually sort of play second fiddle to my finished images. Regarding this issue, I like to use the analogy of a soccer team.. having played left wing, left half or center half all my life, I had a tremendous amount of assists in my life, but the star player was the goal-scorer. Nevertheless, it's where I played best - out there assisting the goals, and I didn't want to be the star, by any means - at least, I don't feel it was my calling to be a star per se, but all this has made me aware of the balance and teamwork that must take place to achieve a successful outcome. The following images are of textures. I take pics of textures everywhere I go, always noticing great ones out there, it's my eye for the 'underdog' or the goal-assister, perhaps. But these guys are what make the stars shine. Without them, a lot of my images would not be the same and really quite honestly would not exist, at least not in the same way... It's the combination of the two, working well together, balancing each other out, that makes the finished piece what it is. Here are few of my shots of textures..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/DeepFriedFishHead.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/burrowwood.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/curlywood.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/jarritoscaps.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/shellwood.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/sludgebubbles.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/insulation.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/woodcutsurface.jpg

[mollyduker]

Awesome textures. I personally like the bottle cap one on its own, not just as a texture. If that sentence made sense. Definately post pictures of your pup! Keep posting!
-Mollyduker
PS Soccer rocks! :)

[alithenake]

absolute work, absolute artist .. congrats from a fellow artist

alithenake

[gibsini]

never really been that interested in photography as an art form..... Until I came here some of these are awesome, you've really made me sit back an take notice, I'm impressed.......... Thank you

[bfly]

sooo... went to NY. took a lot of pics.
oh yeah.. and thanks..
mollyduker - a fellow soccer player, eh?.. thanks about the textures. I feel like several of those stand on their own, but they do make for really nice textures for my digi stuff. I'll post a pic of my pup too.. and my kitty because I have to be fair. wouldn't want one of them to be jealous..
alithenake - thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. you also have nice work.. went to your site. very nice. thanks again.
gibsini - glad you stopped by and that it caught your eye.. thanks for the nice words. I really appreciate it.

well, like I said.. about a month ago, took a trip to NY. I have a ton of photos from the trip - all kinds of places, people, things.. but I thought I'd post some of these pics of sculptures at the Met. I thought they'd make for nice reference to do studies from, at least. Hope you all agree. Have a go.

first, here is a shot of two artists doing studies from the sculptures. We met and talked to both of these guys. The man, Dwight Williams, was awesome and really positive and inspiring. As we were talking to him, there was a girl named Gabby, who was 9 I think, that he talked to about her drawings. He asked her if she had the 3 P's (what it takes to be an artist).. Patience, Passion, and Persistence. Here they are drawing and inspiring us all...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetDwightGabby.jpg

Dwight's reference...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr13vanessa.jpg

a few more...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr5vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr4vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr3vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr12vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr11vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr10vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr9vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr6vanessa.jpg

in the next couple shots.. it was cool in this room to shoot the sculptures using the paintings that were on the walls around them in the background to sort of create a story along with them..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr1vanessa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/MetSclptr2vanessa.jpg

oh yeah.. and my 'kids', for mollyduker because I keep saying I'll post my pup..
they're both total hams. I have so many of them.. I'll post more later, but for now here are Zoe (pup, 1yr.) and Sadie (kitty, 13 yrs). Sadie's sending Zoe her zen out vibes..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/ZoeSadieYinYang.jpg

[mollyduker]

Hey!
I love the pics of the people drawing the statues,as for the actualy statues, they are awesome as always, but it seems as if some of them might have benefitted from fill in flash, just because the slight shadows are distracting. Adorable pup! <3 (for your work and pets)
-Mollyduker

[bfly]

Hi mollyduker. Thanks for the input. Well, in this case, there are 2 main reasons why I didn’t use a fill flash. 1) I was going for more of a chiaroscuro look and feel. And 2) The Metropolitan Museum of Art doesn’t allow flash photography. The sculpture gardens there are actually quite nicely lit, with a considerable amount of shadows being cast, especially as it gets darker or later in the day and into the later hours that they are open. I think that’s why so many artists enjoy going there to draw from the sculptures in person. Anyway, thanks for you reply. I appreciate your taking the time to write and give feedback.

When I read that post, it reminded me that I had put together a page with a few images of a head cast I took a while back. This was a handout for a cast drawing and head drawing class I was teaching, to demonstrate how changing light and shadow can effect the appearance of form and the planes of the head. Here’s that 4up page of the photographs of the cast, lit from different directions…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/CastHeads4up.jpg

This next image was a fun one…
My sis in a wig and other randomness…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/Untouchable.jpg

[rasdasa]

I fucking hate freaky puppets, these photos are so whicked
;)

ras

[culfinglin]

the insulation photo looks like it's got masses of swirling djinni in it; makes me want to paint over it to bring them out. it's cool to see texture brought to the forefront instead of being literally part of the background.

i like the unknown artist pieces, how the unknown artist is leaning into the tree in one and into the portrait in the other. i also like how the blown-out portrait looks like the mask of the unknown artist. how is that project coming? i totally forgot to tell you on saturday -- i have a mask/hat/headdress i made that i wanted to wear in the project. :) i think you would like the texture; it has fur and feathers and antlers and beads and all kinds of stuff.

take care,

--val

[claudeEGYPT]

As fellow photographer i hail you, i still cant find any of your tutorials.. do u mind providing a link? Thanks,

Claude

[one2hit]

hey venessa!

I am totally blown away by that self portrait! please post it when you are finished with it~ I would love to see it! The photos of Ben and Dzu are also great! holy crap...this is some of the best photography I've ever seen!

[bfly]

whoa! it's been way too long since I've been here. lots going on.

kitty says hello.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/vanessalemen/SadieShadow.jpg

more very soon!