Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Shostakovich’s contemporaries do not recall seeing him working, at least not in the traditional sense. The Russian composer was able to conceptualize a new work entirely in his head, and then write it down with extreme rapidity—if uninterrupted, he could average twenty or thirty pages of score a day, making virtually no corrections as he went.
But this feat was apparently preceded by hours or days of mental composition—during which he “appeared to be a man of great inner tensions,” the musicologist Alexei Ikonnikov observed, “with his continually moving, ‘speaking’ hands, which were never at rest.”
Shostakovich himself was afraid that perhaps he worked too fast. “I worry about the lightning speed with which I compose,” he confessed in a letter to a friend. Undoubtedly this is bad. One shouldn’t compose as quickly as I do. Composition is a serious process, and in the words of a ballerina friend of mine, “You can’t keep going at a gallop.” I compose with diabolical speed and can’t stop myself.… It is exhausting, rather unpleasant, and at the end of the day you lack any confidence in the result. But I can’t rid myself of the bad habit.
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #shostakovich @masoncurrey
I just finished the Calandra Lark. Here are some facts about this beautiful bird...
Appearance: It's a large lark, about 17.5-20 cm long, with a robust build, a heavy bill, and noticeable pale eyebrows
. Its plumage is mainly greyish-brown streaked above and white below, with large black patches on the breast sides.
Habitat: This species is found in open plains, steppes, pastures, and dry cereal cultivations. It's mainly resident in the west of its range but Russian populations migrate further south in winter.
Diet: Their main food source is seeds, but they also consume insects when nesting.
Behaviour: Calandra Larks are known to be gregarious outside the breeding season, often forming large flocks.
Song: Their song is considered musical and slower than the Skylark's. It has been historically popular as a cagebird.
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)
Kant’s biography is unusually devoid of external events.
As Heinrich Heine wrote: The history of Kant’s life is difficult to describe. For he neither had a life nor a history.
In actual fact, as Manfred Kuehn argues in his 2001 biography, Kant’s life was not quite as abstract and passionless as Heine and others have supposed…. If he failed to live a more adventurous life, it was largely due to his health: the philosopher had a congenital skeletal defect that caused him to develop an abnormally small chest, which compressed his heart and lungs and contributed to a generally delicate constitution. In order to prolong his life with the condition—and in an effort to quell the mental anguish caused by his lifelong hypochondria—Kant adopted what he called “a certain uniformity in the way of living and in the matters about which I employ my mind.”
This routine was as follows: Kant rose at 5:00 A.M., after being woken by his longtime servant, a retired soldier under explicit orders not to let the master oversleep. Then he drank one or two cups of weak tea and smoked his pipe. According to Kuehn, “Kant had formulated the maxim for himself that he would smoke only one pipe, but it is reported that the bowls of his pipes increased considerably in size as the years went on.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #ImmanuelKant @masoncurrey
Some recent dinosaur doodles inspired by the game Joe & Mac (caveman ninja) for snes/arcade. Drawn online at Magma.com using ipad pro (no Ai and no pressure sensitivity).
Kat is one of my favourite models. She has the most beautiful faces, full of character. Even when sitting between poses, as featured here, she has the most commanding look.
This is a colour pencil artwork based on the likeness of British actress Madeline Smith. She starred in a James Bond film once, and a few Hammer Horror films. Many thanks for looking and hope you like it !
Elias Rosenshaw 10/5/2023
Filtered digital collage of archival ink pen & gel pen on paper, gears (one with acrylic paint), manipulated photography, and digital colours & patterns.
The little bluebird, restless artist,
Flew over the orange horizon without restraint.
With his box full of colored pencils,
He thought he could paint the sky in an instant, of course!
But too many pencils and too few wings,
Unbalanced the poor little bird.
So many colors, no coordination,
His creative disaster fell to the ground!
Orange, yellow and red pencils shattered,
While the little blue bird fell in tears.
His celestial dream turned into a nightmare...
Until he saw - a rainbow formed!
From sadness, joy overflowed,
In that magical moment he understood:
It doesn't matter the skill or the tools,
Art comes from the heart, even if messy!
Swimmingly is such a good word!
I personally swim like a brick, so usually try not to describe things in my life as such.
Inspired by a photograph by a photograph by Michael Carlebach.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqk3W01uzUv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Inspired by Ruth Wilshaw and her book "Creative Gouache" I tried to get a gouache effect in my digital illustration. I think I did it. I'm nicely surprised with the final look.
That's why experimenting is so astonishing.
Lois's last book: "The style of Loish. Finding an artistic voice." is just AMAZING! It's:
- inspiring,
- full of tips on how to start searching own style,
- full of Lois's thoughts and experiences on her way to finding the artistic voice.
So I wanted to try something new in my digital art journey. I experimented with new techniques. I tried to use a brush type that gives a transparency effect.
I chose one picture from Loish's book as a reference.
And here it is - a colorful landscape.
Thank you, Lois, for creating and sharing your phenomenal and inspiring art!
My latest sketch using Corel Painter 2021 on PC with digital pencil. The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small, grey-plumed songbird, easily recognized for the crest of grey feathers atop its head, its big black eyes, black forehead, and its rust-coloured flanks. They are quite common throughout the eastern part of North America, so if you're in that geographical region and want to catch a glimpse of a Tufted Titmouse, it may not be that difficult to find.
