Open Studio in the Center for Creative Connections

This Thursday at the DMA Center For Creative Connection we had an open studio with choice to do painting or work with clay. In painting we had the challenge in working with these large dry tempera disks used in childrens art programs. An amazing quality came out of this media on the table I was sitting at. I experimented with the colors of sunset. They are posted in the order I created them, each in about 30-40 minutes.

DMA Thursday Nights: Motion Photography

This past Thursday in the CS3 we had a workshop in photography with Teresa Radifi. During this workshop I took these two photos with two American Paintings by Leon Polk (Homage to Victory Boogie Woogie #1) and Gerald Murphy (The Watch).

Natural Textures

At Enchanted Rock Natural area grasses are permitted to grow uncut.
This is what is left of a prickly pear cactus after all the leaf has decayed,.

Here is an experimental piece I painted with gouache on 3x5 ampersand watercolor board.
No predrawing, just paint.

Abstract Painting at the DMA Center for Creative Connections

Tonight at the Dallas Museum of Art in the Center for Creative Connections we had an opportunity to experiment with high quality gouache paint. I created this abstract painting based on a Robert Delaunay painting of the Eiffel Tower (1924) which is on display in the Encountering Space exhibit in the Center for Creative Connections.

Futurity Sale Yearling Photoshoot

I had a great equine photo road trip yesterday, Oct 20, 2010 for James Eakin Futurity Sale yearlings. I started the morning in the Weatherford/Brock area with two different stops, 2 and 7 yearlings respectively, then drove through Lipan to the Houston Ranch. This trip took me through the Brazos River Valley. As I drove into the Houston Ranch the road changed to gravel and the landscape to a hilly dry land with fewer trees. As I drove into the Whitehouse division camp I found James Barten practicing roping steers. I had arrived a little earlier than I had expected. I photographed 8 yearlings in the greenest field around. While they were going for another yearling I photographed this old wagon next to a Horse Trailer and truck with horses tied waiting until we finished the shoot.

Highlight Cat Sells High

Last Thursday (Oct 14) I photographed an auction and put together this 30 sec video slide show along with audio recorded on with my camera.

Cutting Horse Auction

This is an iMovie I created with images and audio recording taken during the Stan Thomas Dispersal Sale this past Friday, Oct 15, 2010

Thursday at the DMA Center for Creative Connections: Jewelry Making

Thursday Night in the new updated Center for Creative Connections, we were given an assignment to Take a square box and make it into something totally different. The photos below are what I came up with. After this short project, we moved into the studio and discussed Creative Process with Jill Foley, the creator of the "Living Room," the temporary Center for Creative Connection space while the other was being reinstalled.

Images from the past - slides from 1976 to 1981

Zion National Park, UT

Chisos Mts, Big Bend National Park, TX

James Fox Photographing on a backpacking trip.



Click to see a full gallery of archive images.

Ranchos De Taos Church

Here are a few more images of the Ranchos De Taos Church taken on Kodachrome during the Summer of 1976 and scanned in on the last day of Sept 2010, About 34 years later.

Back View
Bell Tower

Ranchos De Taos Church - Window View

I discovered a box with some of my early slides. This image is from a 1978 Kodachrome slide taken of a Window View of the Ranchos de Taos Church. I did a watercolor of this image that still hangs in my parents Fredericksburg, TX home.

Drawing from the Galleries: 2 Texas Sculptures

These two drawings were done during the Dallas Museum of Art Center For Creative Connections Drawing from the Galleries Class. We were in a special exhibit of Texas Sculptures from the collection. Our group was small this week, one person decided to stay and draw on invitation by our leader.

Leadbelly by Michael Owen, 1943. Drawn in white pencil on black paper.
Ode to a Cotton Picker by Evaline Sellars, 1953. This sculpture reminded me of the style of Modigiliani.

Cardboad Constructions at the DMA

Last night in the C3 Studio, Jill Foley led a project in Cardboard Constructions. We first went down to the African Mask exhibit for inspiration and then returned to put our ideas into cardboard. This is what I created, as inspired by a Antelope Mask fron the back wall of the exhibit.

Rock Art 2

While my thin section images are natures' 2d art, the magnificent boulders at Enchanted Rock in Central, Texas are the sculptural equivalent. They remind me of Serra core steel and Henry Moore Bronze Sculptures. For scale notice the dog peaking over the main rock on the right.

Rock Art

I have been going through my archives and scanning some old negatives. In this post I go back to 1985 and present the images I took during my Geology Thesis research in Big Bend National Park. These rocks were from the McKinney Hills in the East Central part of the Park. As part of my thesis I had to cut and create thin sections whereby I essentially glued a transparent section of each of my samples onto a glass slide. When the final transparent thin section is put under a microscope under plain, and under polarized light. The dark image with color was taken under polarized light.

I think of these as natures abstract art. Look at the colors and textures in these images. I have posted a gallery of many other slides in this Rock Art Gallery.

Mr Beamon

A few weeks ago Mr. Beamon Ashley passed away. I had posted about it on my website, jarnoldphoto.com, from a scanned print. I have since found the negative and re-scanned and am reposting this image. I did not know Mr. Beamon until he was like what you see in this image. I met him about 1997 or so when he would come to most of the Area 24 Cutting Horse shows. I visited with him many times and heard stories of all the horses he had seen cutting in their prime.

Layered Scanning of transparencies

plus








Equals a unique layered image:





I was scanning some archival transparencies (slides) and a Discovered that you can overlay slides in the scanner.

Tech Night in C3 during the DMA Thursday Night Live

This Thursday Night for the C3 Tech Night we wandered about the galleries taking photos that showed characteristics found in the sculpture of Natalie Mecellaio. We were to return to C3 and use photoshop to create a sculptural piece from our photos. This is a recreation of the piece I created using textural images of two African Tribal Hats, one was beaded, the other included many cowrie shells.

Thursday at the DMA Center for Creative Connections: Jewelry Making

Tonight we made jewelry (Brooches, Tie Clasps, Pins, etc..) with brass, copper and/or nickel sheet metal with the help of Natalie Mecellaio at "Make it, Take it" in the Center for Creative Connections. I made this equine tie clasp. I probably will never clasp a tie with it though.

Drawing: Offshore Drilling Rig under full moon

This is a drawing I did yesterday afternoon before my Drawing from the galleries class. This drawing is white and chsrcoal pencil on black paper. This drawing was done entirely from what I assumed an offshore drilling rig looks like as I did not have a reference image

Yearlings running

3..2..1...



There is nothing like being able to photograph a full herd of horses. These are the yearlings from 2009 and prove to be a great study of running horses. The top image is my favorite. Click on this image to see a larger view.


Why are they coming, It must be my camera.

Equine Art: Drawing with water soluble graphite

Last night our project was to use a USGS Topographic Map as our support, and watercolor, and various colors of ink to create a work of art.

I found an online resource for topographic maps and downloaded the two maps from 1986 Thesis area. I merged, added geology and two additional watercolors which I had missed before.

The Colors of Doc O Lena Twist: Two Foals

Tut- Doc O Lena Twist x LS Shania Doc, owned by Karen Milan.
Toby- Doc O Lena Twist x Cordura
Dam is Sorrel and both Toby and Cordura are owned by Austria Arnold





Tut was named after the King Tut Exhibit which was at the Dallas Museum of Art this past year.







Toby is trying to steal some Alfalfa from the mouth of my horse, Squirt. Cordura the Dam is in the center.

Equine Art: Mini Oil Pastels

This is the Image which was my model
3.5"x5" Oil Pastel on Ampersand Aquabord.
3.5"x5" Oil Pastel on Ampersand Pastel Bord. The big challenge with these was depicting detail with such a broad stick of pastel.

Map Art: McKinney Hills Watercolor Map

In anticipation of a map art project at the DMA Center for Creative Connections this coming Thursday, I found my Thesis Research Field Map and scanned it. I then gathered a number of field watercolors I did back in 1985 during my field work. I put these watercolors under a transparent layer of this field map, adding an important tool of the geologist, the Brunton Compass. I will take with me images of this map and the watercolors and see what comes of it this next Thursday.

Edit: I took this map project to the Creative Connections class and afterward ended up making a few minor changes. This is the updated map.

Thursday at the DMA: Self Portrait using Office Materials

Our assignment in the Center For Creative Connections tonight was to do a Self Portrait using common office materials. I did my Self Portrait on a green file folder using colored pencils, Paint marker and Liquid Paper correction fluid.

Oil Pastel Sketch

Still Life oil pastel sketch on black paper
original photo of same still life

Still Life with Basket

Whats for Dinner?

Eggplant and Squash