Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.177

Welcome back.






This week we'll be continuing with the painting of the grille of a 1949 Packard automobile. The photo that I'm using is seen in the photo directly below. I'll be using my usual acrylics on an 8x10 canvas.





Seen in a vintage illustration directly below is the entire vehicle showing the grille in context.





When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.





Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.



I got a little lazy with the holidays but did manage to work on the headlight. It has enough visual weight now to stand with the central grill and provide balance. Painted in grays, blues and whites, I have left the lower portion in white. I may yet change it.



The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.





That's about it for now. Next week I'll have more progress to show you. See you then. As always, feel free to add photos of your own work in the comments section below.



Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Happy Holidays!

The entire staff of SLB wishes a very happy and healthy holiday season to our legions of readers!

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Friday, December 19, 2008

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.176

Welcome back.






This week we'll be continuing with the painting of the grille of a 1949 Packard automobile. The photo that I'm using is seen in the photo directly below. I'll be using my usual acrylics on an 8x10 canvas.





Seen in a vintage illustration directly below is the entire vehicle showing the grille in context.





When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.





Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.



I have now completed the reflection on the bumper guard, the vertical chrome piece in the lower left grille. It is now complete with the reflected image of the figure of the picture taker. His shadow curves away from his feet and a curved tree arcs overhead. With this addition and a few tweaks, the entire lower grille is now complete.



Also new are the reflections of the yellowish house on the upper left hood area. There is still much to be done with these. On the right upper grille are the sky and reflected bushes also seen in the central grille. Finally, the headlight has received some need attention. It will be completed in the next week or two.



The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.





That's about it for now. Next week I'll have more progress to show you. See you then. As always, feel free to add photos of your own work in the comments section below.



Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.175

Welcome back.








This week we'll be continuing with the painting of the grille of a 1949 Packard automobile. The photo that I'm using is seen in the photo directly below. I'll be using my usual acrylics on an 8x10 canvas.





Seen in a vintage illustration directly below is the entire vehicle showing the grille in context.





When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.





Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.



I've now completed the entire lower grille, moving down the horizontal bars to the bottom. (Well, the lower grille is complete except for the house reflection on the bumper guard, the vertical chrome piece in the lower left.) Blue dominates but there are blacks, greys and whites. I've left the highlights as simple shapes rather than attempting to duplicate the starbursts of the photo. The bumper guard now has its reflection of the upper grille.



I've also done work on the headlight, now closer to its final appearance. I will continue

to refine it for next week's installment. Hopefully, I will begin work on the green body color and its interesting reflections.



The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.





That's about it for now. Next week I'll have more progress to show you. See you then. As always, feel free to add photos of your own work in the comments section below.



Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

EPA Destroying Cultural Artifacts?

Not satisfied with the near destruction of its research library system, it seems that the EPA is on course to do the same with priceless cultural artifacts.  Required site surveys are being ignored at toxic cleanup sites.


PEER link


Washington, DC -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is needlessly destroying irreplaceable artifacts at hundreds of toxic clean-up sites across the country, according to a complaint filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) with the EPA Office of Inspector General. The complaint details how EPA and its contractors routinely shrug off required site surveys before they begin to blast or excavate, destroying significant historic and prehistoric cultural resources in the process.


The PEER complaint focuses on cleanup of a former mine site at the Elem colony reservation in Northern California in 2006.  The work was done without a survey despite a complaint from tribal officials.  It is estimated that $50 million in artifacts were lost.


The complaint is here. (pdf file)


There was apparently nothing unusually urgent at Elem that required immediate action without first meeting the requirements of the National Historic Preservation act, and waiting for an appropriate survey to be completed.  PEER believes this to be far from an isolated matter, with similar events in places as diverse as Oklahoma and Saipan.  In some cases, as at Elem, human remains have been disturbed.


"We believe that what EPA did in California is not an isolated incident but is part of a pattern that is taking place in hundreds of locations across the country," Draper added. "EPA digs first and does not even bother to ask questions later."


PEER is seeking a review of EPA Superfund operations and potential compensation for the losses.


More including contact information can be found here.


 

Friday, December 05, 2008

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.174

Welcome back.








This week we'll be continuing with the painting of the grille of a 1949 Packard automobile.

The photo that I'm using is seen in the photo directly below. I'll be using my usual acrylics on an 8x10 canvas.





Seen in a vintage illustration directly below is the entire vehicle showing the grille in context.





When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.





Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.



More incremental changes this week. I've continued to concentrate my efforts below the central grill. I've now revised the edge of the top wide horizontal with more deep gray. It provides the contrast seen in the original photo. The formerly plain shadowed areas below now have their fuzzy details.



Moving to the chrome horizontal below the topmost one, there is now a long linear blue detail set off by white. The edge has received its darker details.



Finally, I've played a bit with the reflection on the bumper guard. It still needs a great deal of work.



The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.





To assist myself, I've obtained a section of the topmost horizontal. It is the piece next to the central grille, but would be from the unseen driver side. No, I didn't raid the car in the photo. ;-) I was surprised to see that the edge is actually quite rounded. A photo of the section is seen in the photo below.





That's about it for now. Next week I'll have more progress to show you. See you then. As always, feel free to add photos of your own work in the comments section below.



Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

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Tuesday, December 02, 2008

A Very Modest Proposal

Now that the big 3 are (allegedly) at the brink, we here at SLB have a proposal for the weakest one, Chrysler. The iconic and well-received PT Cruiser is slated for the big auto scrapyard in the sky. With its departure, the Dodge Caliber, a car unknown to most people, is the smallest car remaining in the lineup. But small is a relative term. The Caliber, a crossover, is hardly a competitor for the efficient cars of other manufacturers.

Here is our proposal.

Chrysler is now manufacturing minivans for corporate partner Volkswagen. Chrysler should utilize its connection and negotiate for some VW turbodiesel engines. These should then be installed (with any necessary modifications) into a freshened PT Cruiser, and marketed properly. A stopgap measure to be sure, but perhaps the PT's icon status might buy a dwindling Chrysler Corporation some needed time.

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