Now I am so glad I didn’t run out and buy a couple of these… heh!

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/iphone-3gs-handsets-overheat-turn-brown/

Some extreme(ly silly) facebook banter:

Good Friend: “Is the ghost girl about to punch the other girl in the face?  At least that’s the scenario going on in my head…”

Bryan: “No no no. Ghost girls always slap.  No punching.”

Good Friend: “So it’s not a dead cat fight?”

Bryan: “I believe the Latin term is Felis mortis confrontum.  It’s an old stand-by theme for we classical painters… Of course the neo-classicists tend to favor subtle takes on zombie cat fights…”

I blame the VOCs.

“Up Next: Today’s Nude, here on Channel 4!”

So life drawing is undergoing a boom in Britain??? Really?!! Sweet!  That can only be a good sign if people/artists are interested in learning how to draw the human form.  Turning that into a reality television series though?  Hmmmm… I’d like to watch and see if it is anything but a way to incorporate nudity into network programming.  Perhaps our readers in the U.K. (all two of you) could post a review for us?  The author of the article creates a compelling story for the concept though - and I wish American audiences could see it - but it sounds like it’ll only be shown in the UK.  The author of the story describes his experience at his first life drawing class:

“I didn’t even know how to put up the easel. When the model walked in and slipped off her dressing gown, striking a series of one-minute poses, I was floored: “Bloody hell. Do they not ease you in first? A discreet elbow, maybe a little bit of knee?” For five minutes I looked everywhere but the model until I realised that that really was not the point.

I wanted to give up after the first lesson but my friend Jane, who had been to art college, persuaded me to go back. I took to bringing my drawings home and pinning them up in the kitchen until a plumber came round and looked taken aback. Now I tend to shove them in the loft. I’m not sure I’ve improved. Occasionally I’m so frustrated I’ve been brought close to tears. Sometimes I think, Yes! I’ve got it! I am Michelangelo!, only for the tutor to point out that the left foot is so far away from the left knee it might as well be in the room next door.”

Bry, you spend a lot of time in life-drawing classes… what do you think?  What is going through your mind when things go well?  What do you think when the drawing goes awry?

Sometimes the comments are more fun to read than the article itself.

I love her look… wow…

Dubbing him a ‘modern pre-raphaelite’, the Royal Academy is hosting an exhibition celebrating the work of J.W. Waterhouse later this month.  A description of his studio and how it contributed to his work is included in the Guardian’s article.  Unfortunately, it was never maintained as a historic site.  A textiles artist, Pauline Caulfield, is currently residing there - she rented the place for its cheapness and only later came to know of its historic significance.

So how to do apply to represent the United States at THIS shindig?  Sounds like a great excuse to throw a party in Venice! :)  What is an artist trying to say if his installation contains a drowned collector, ‘punished for his hedonistic lifestyle’?  I’m guessing these are stictly for display and not for sale.

This floorwork reminds me of the pebbles in the foreground of ‘Motive Force’ or the water cascading in ‘By the Fountain’.  I think that anyone would get a little blinky looking at that stuff for very long.  Bryan hasn’t complained about it though… he’s an artist-trooper.  My favorite thing about the background so far, aside from the little touches that indicate that it is in fact Bryan’s studio, is the subtle reflection of anything sitting on the floor.  It’s not the kind of thing that draws one’s attention so I thought it would be fun to comment on.

After completing the supporting plinth for the sculpture Bryan was positively giddy about how much the plywood actually looked like plywood.  I’m pretty sure the overall effect, with everything else in place, will be lovely, but right now it looks very rough in a very elegant space.  Speaking of which… everyone I’ve met that has visited Bryan or Damon Denys in their studios is always amazed at how very little paint is smeared on the walls, the ceiling, themselves, etc.  I know in Bryan’s case it is because I am unwilling to be a part of an expensive ‘Old Holland’ shopping spree… I’m always putting a damper on his crazy artist fun… he he… jk.