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08/26/10:
- A number of you wanted to see "Tears From Heaven" without the foreground in silhouette (without the lighting). That was my original idea for this piece, but I was (and still am) a bit unsure as to how it looks. I've posted a render in the Pickle Jar feel free to share your opinion here as to which you like better.
Just a reminder: My Back-To-School special is running until midnight 8/29. The normal %20 education discount is now %25 and the education/military discounts will no longer apply to Lifetime memberships after the 29th!
Use the code "learning" to get 25% off the membership (or renewal) of your choice.
08/24/10:
- Last week I had the good fortune of a clear night to observe the Perseid meteor shower. It was Ian and Jason's first and they had a great time (we had my green laser pointer to play with between meteors). When I was a kid my mom used to wake me and my brother to watch shooting stars. I've been fascinated by the night sky ever since.
My latest wallpaper, "Tears from Heaven", is dedicated to that night last week with my boys, the nights to come, and those nights many years ago. I hope you enjoy it!
- From now until midnight 8/29/10 I will be running a little "Back-To-School" special. I've upped my usual student discount to 25%. Students, teachers, administrators and parents are welcome to use the code "learning" to get 25% off the membership (or renewal) of your choice. The discount will return to 20% at midnight 8/29/10 .
Lastly, I want to also mention that my education and military coupons will no longer be valid on Lifetime memberships or renewals after 8/29 so lock it in now if you are interested!
08/21/10:
- I've been working on a new project for the past few days so I moved the revised "Gotham Garden (Summer)" multiscreen render over to my alternate box. It took a bit longer than the first time but it's finally finished and available for Members to download.
08/17/10:
- I've posted a new "Gotham Garden (Summer)" revision this morning. I've tweaked the building textures, planted some foreground flowers, and added a few more rooftop gardens. What do you think? Is it a worthy upgrade or should I stick with the original (which is still available in the Pickle Jar).
08/16/10:
- A few items to note today. First, I've added the multi-screen versions of "Gotham Garden" to the gallery. I'm still playing around with this one so there should at least be a Pickle Jar version or two to come.
- I've also added the triple-screen version of "Double Rainbow" which I had to render seperately so all versions would be DRATW.
- "Enshrouded" is new in the Free Gallery today. Check out my Memberships if you enjoy the freebies!
- Lastly I should mention that Zazzle is offering a back-to-school poster print sale. You can get 40% off by using coupon code "BTSRULEPRINT" when you check out.
08/11/10:
- I've added the second render in my "Gotham Garden" seasonal series. This one depicts a hazy summer day in the city.
I hope to add autumn and winter versions later in the year and view them all together on this page.
08/10/10:
- I've added the dualscreen version of "Double Rainbow" to the gallery today. The triplescreen is still rendering on my other machine and I hope to have it available shortly. Usually the dual and triple are ready at the same time (because one is just a cropped version of the other) but I had to render separate versions this time so the mirror rainbow wouldn't be cropped out.
08/05/10:
- It's a sad day for me as I just returned from saying a final goodbye to my grandfather, Earl Kaufman. He passed away last week at the tender age of 97.
Grandpa lived a good long life and taught me a great many things, among them how to whistle, fish, and steer an airplane, car or boat. He also showed me how much personal joy can come from making others happy. He was a farmer, musician, pilot, businessman, politician, fireman, teacher, and a great friend to many. More than a few times I called him Dad by mistake.
Grandpa was something of a contrarian in his church and my positive spin on the term "blasphemy" has always been a tribute to him. Here's a few photos I put together on Facebook shortly after his passing.
Goodbye Gramps.
07/30/10:
- I've added my final (?) "Double Rainbow" to the gallery this afternoon. It's been rendering away on my alternate box now quite a few days and is at long last complete. I've moved the camera back to reveal a bit more sky and added a lake in the foreground for some nice "rainbowy" reflections.
The other versions can be found in the Pickle Jar.
Hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend!
07/29/10:
- A few items to note today. First, I've posted the dual and triple-screen versions of "Hexaline" this afternoon.
I know that abstracts aren't everyone's exact cup of tea, but they are necessary every so often in order to shake out my creative cobwebs. Sort of like REM sleep. They're also fun. I do notice, however, that I've done less and less of them since I started accepting comments and ratings.
- I've added over 150 wallpapers designed to fit 27" 2560 x 1400 displays (like the new iMacs). Members can download the updated zip file here.
- DecalGirl is running a contest from now until August 1st. Post your favorite DB DecalGirl Skin design on their Facebook page and you can win a $25 gift certificate. Make DB the most mentioned artist and you all get $9.99 coupons. Details and entry form here.
07/28/10:
- I've posted a new version of "Hexaline" this morning, taking it further away from "The Comb" update that it started out to be. The original that I posted yesterday will remain available in the Pickle Jar. The basic theme was very much inspired by the "Giant's Causeway". I would love to do a natural version someday...
07/27/10:
- I've added a new abstract, "Hexaline", to the gallery today. I set out to update "The Comb" but took a detour somewhere. Perhaps I will go back to retry the update, but I think this one stands well on its own.
07/21/10:
- I've posted an intermediate update to "Double Raindow" this morning. I'm still playing around with the scene while I work on other projects (it's nice to have more than one renderer) so don't consider it final just yet. You can still find the original, desert version, in the Pickle Jar.
07/17/10:
- With tongue planted firmly in cheek I offer my latest wallpaper, "Double Rainbow". I spent all of one afternoon putting it together and, yes, it's based on that double rainbow. It was a fun break from the more complex stuff.
I know a lot of people are laughing at ol' "Hungry Bear", but I found his enthusiasm refreshing. Here's to enjoying all that nature has to offer!
07/14/10:
- I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of "Subarctic" to the Members Gallery this morning. I hope to have the empty version available shortly.
07/10/10:
- I've added an "ice-only" version of "Subarctic" to the Pickle Jar this morning for Members who requested it.
07/09/10:
- I've posted an update to "Subarctic" this afternoon. The beluga has been exchanged for an orca and I've given the ice a little more texture. You can find my first draft in the Pickle Jar. Thanks for the feedback!
07/06/10:
- I've added "Beginning of the End" to the freebies today. It's been a popular piece with my Members and I hope the rest of you enjoy it as well!
- After much thought (and reading your feedback) I've decided that "Subarctic" just isn't ready for prime time. I'll remove it to the Pickle Jar for now and will have a more polished version later in the week and will post future projects when I am at least 90% happy with them (rather than 50%). Thanks to everyone who left feedback!
07/04/10:
- Happy Independence Day! I've added "The Emblem Of" to the freebies for today.
07/01/10:
- I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of "Extrasolar" this morning.
06/29/10:
- A couple of renders added today. First is an updated "Shanshui". I've played around with the exposure a bit and the image should look a little less washed out now.
I've also added my second render of "Extrasolar". I've tweaked the shoreline a bit and removed the high level clouds. The multiscreen version has been rendering concurrently on my alternate box and should be ready shortly.
06/23/10:
- I've added "Extrasolar" to the gallery this morning, and it is very much a work-in-progress. I don't usually post projects that are quite this "unfinished" but I won't be able to work on it for the next couple of days and it does make a nice wallpaper in this simple form. I do have some ideas on what to add next, but feel free to share you own in the comments thread.
I went back and forth between Vue d'Esprit and Terragen for this project, but finally stuck with Vue because I just couldn't get a decent, noise-free, high resolution render out of Terragen. I'm sure it is possible and I will have to explore the settings more thoroughly, but for now I am happy with Vue's output.
Stay tuned, more to come.
06/21/10:
- After a lengthy render I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of "Shanshui" to the gallery this morning. I hope you enjoy them!
I'm also working on a new project but it has taken a bit longer than normal because I've had to start using Terragen for it rather than my old standby Vue d'Esprit. As always I am learning as I go. Stay tuned!
06/16/10:
- I tried a few different approaches with "Shanshui" but none of them seemed to improve the image enough to justify another 4 day render. I've decided to keep it as is and go ahead with the multi-screen version. It's rendering away right now on my alternate box and I am working on some new projects on my main machine.
06/11/10:
- I've added my latest render, "Shanshui" for Members this morning. It isn't entirely perfect and there are a few things that I would like to tweak, but seeing as the render took four days I thought it looked good enough to share.
"Shan Shui" is a Chinese word (translation: "mountain-water") which describes a style of landscape painting which originated in the 5th century. I've always loved these ethereal paintings and this wallpaper is my homage to the genre.
06/10/10:
- My next render is hours away from being finished and I'm hoping it looks good enough to post.
In the meantime I thought I would share with you all the winners of my recent DB Membership Giveaway. DB Member Walo was kind enough to donate 6 1 year Membership gift certificates (and had the original idea for the giveaway) and I added a Lifetime Membership as a cherry on top.
There were nearly 200 entries and it was very hard narrowing them down to just 7. The six 1 year winners (with links to their winning posts) are Fiona Williams, Lydia Koh, Damon Seymour, Vincent Sementelli, Anna Bates, and April Hahnfeldt.
The Lifetime Membership went to Ronald Fisher, a 3rd grade teacher who wrote simply:
As a 3rd grade teacher I use your art work to help inspire my students during creative writing and during art. They love your pictures. I would love to have greater access to them to use with my students."For a number of reasons I was very moved to read this. I'm not ashamed to say I got a bit misty even.Last night DB Member "Firestar" wrote me and said he would donate three 90-day Memberships to be given out as "Honorable Mentions". They are going to Karin Kramer (lol), Josh Mauthe, and Carla Rothacker.
A big thanks to Walo and Firestar for donating the gift certificates and welcome new Members. I hope you enjoy my gallery and I look forward to conversing with you about my new artwork!
