My routine thrown off kilter…

Classes have begun – today begins the third week.
It is taking all my energy to teach this fall. Nothing left for my own creativity.
However, I’m beginning to feel the pull, the need to paint. I will be back soon with new work to show. I hope.

Second time-lapse video and painting are complete!

This second time-lapse is of the painting Flesh and Rust #4.  The music is simply titled “Flesh and Rust” and was created for this film by yours truly.

I hope you enjoy my second film and the painting I’ve created.  Any questions, please let me know.

As some of you know, I’m trying to save up, sell stuff on ebay, etc., to buy a new DSLR.  I think I need some studio lights as well.

Take care,

Scott

And the final painting…

Flesh and Rust #4

More works listed on ebay.

Another batch of artworks from my past.  Kinda fun just dragging them out to see what I’ve done and how far I’ve come.  My style and subject matter was all over the place.  Still is to some degree.

Original Scott art on sale at ebay – cheap!

In my quest for extra money, my wife reminded me that I have tons of old drawings and paintings I could sell.  All originals, all by me, but stuff that doesn’t really fit with my current line of work.

So I will start off with a few on ebay and see what happens.  They are priced to sell – get your Scott Hagel original while you can!

5 on auction now – 100’s more to come!

So there are the first five up for sale.  Old works from my past.  Get ‘em while you can.  Happy bidding.

(Images link to their ebay auctions).

DSLR

I am in need of a new camera.  The one I have, a Fuji s7000 just doesn’t do what I need which is take excellent photos at 12+ megapixel.  I need to be able to photograph my paintings not only to document them but to sell prints.  I also need something that can handle low light situations when it comes time for a photo shoot.

Don’t get me wrong, the Fuji is a nice camera.  I’ve had it for several years now.  It takes 6meg images (claims 12 but don’t believe it – this is done through extrapolation or some such programming thing).  6meg was great several years ago.

It has a fixed zoom lens – no interchangeable lenses here.  It can zoom 19x but only 6x digitally (which again degrades image quality).  Does very poorly in low light.  You need to be taking photos outdoors in daylight (here it shines), or using a flash indoors which never looks great with its built in flash.

The aperture and shutter settings are somewhat limited as is the film speed setting (800 at 3meg).

So I am trying to sell a bunch of odd crap on ebay.  Trying to get the word out about my art – make some sales.  Offering up critique services for other artists.

Nothing is working.

Should have gotten a marketing degree…

Doing something wrong.

Edit:  Woohoo! Just sold some goodies on ebay.  Am $80 closer to my new camera!

Edit2:  some items

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150367500201&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150367502556&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150367506381&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150367562607&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Was thinking of putting a bunch of old artwork – unframed – up for auction.  Will need to get some shipping tubes or something.

Solo My first time-lapse painting is complete!

Solo is finally complete – the painting and the film.  This was a tough one.  I sort of randomly grabbed some reference material.  I was more thinking about the time-lapse expiriment than the painting itself.  Not a good way to start a work of art.  The final results, however, are not too horribly bad – both painting and film.

Please excuse my naked artist moments in the film as it was hovering around 102 degrees for a few days while I was working on Solo.  I am wearing shorts if it makes you feel better (honest).

The final painting, Solo, is 4′ x 3′ oil on panel.  It’s pretty shiny & wet so difficult to film.  I will have to consider this for my next project.  I have some lighting issues to deal with.

The music is Glitch Tube Radio by Scott Hagel (go figure).  Written especially for Solo.  I think it works fairly well with the video.  Both the film and the music are filled with random oddness.

If you check it out, leave some feedback.  Tell me what you think – good or bad.

…

And the final painting.

Take care,

Scott

To my devoted followers (hello, anyone out there?) I apologize for the neglect.

I have been hard at work on the painting Solo and the time-lapse video that goes with it.  They are nearly finished.  I am thinking a couple more days.  The difficult part might be composing the proper music to go along with the video.  Will have to figure out what sort of mood it needs.

Time-Lapse fun.

Sorry, no sound or anything. My first attempt at a time-lapse video of me painting.
One image every 10 seconds of real time – playback is at 6 frames per second.
The lighting gets a little odd midway. Could be glare from the fresh paint.
This piece is tentatively titled Solo. There is no particular direction that this painting is headed. Just sort of painting and see what happens. You probably notice a grid on the panel. This starts off as a small reference photo from a photo shoot with a model. Enlarged using a grid system. The refence gets me started but then is put away while i paint. I like to have a conversation so-to-speak with the painting. In the end, the piece may look nothing like the original reference material. But then, that’s half the fun.

Photos from the Flesh and Rust series

I often work with models in the process of creating one of my oil paintings.  I’ve been doing this for several years now.  The thing is, I’ve always used the photos as a reference and nothing more.  Well, with some nudging from my wife, I have begun to approach the photography as art itself.  Of course, not everything turns out great (or for that matter, good).  But I do occaisionally capture some images that I am particularly pleased with for one reason or another.

So here are a handful of  images from the Flesh and Rust photo shoots.  Please feel free to critique the photography.  There is no manipulation of any kind here.  Not even so much as a little brightness adjustment.  These are the shots I took.  Ok, some did require a little cropping…

Edit:  The site where I’m selling prints has been under attack.  Thieves stealing images and selling prints elsewhere as their own.  There is little to be done about this unfortunately.  It happens all over the net.  A huge debate on the print site, however, has led me to believe that far too few people understand copyright and/or copyright infringement, and even fewer seem to really care.  This is even more disturbing considering the debate was between artists!  So for now, I feel I have no other choice than to degrade the image quality of all things I post on the web.  These photographs were originally in pretty high quality – no better way to enjoy the beautiful models.  That is just not an option for the time being…

Should I Do It?

Ok, here’s the deal:

I want to paint.

Doesn’t really seem like a problem i suppose.  “Just do it”, you might say.  I have all the time in the world but no time for art.  Maybe its just me – maybe i am defective in some manner.  Painting, really focusing on painting, takes a lot of time, effort, concentration, and a definite lack of distractions.  I am distracted by jobs – the need to earn money on which to survive (i am sure i am not alone in this), i am distracted by household chores & yard work, i am distracted by the internet, and i am distracted by countless other things that fill my daily life including the need to pay attention to loved ones (sorry hun).

So what does this have to do with my post title “Should I Do It?”

I’m considering doing commissioned work.  There it is, i’ve said it.  I’ve been avoiding the issue like the plague.  I need to get away from teaching as it is far too frustrating for me and working a 9-to-5 is just too tiring leaving no energy for art.

I’m thinking that at least with doing commissions i will still be painting.  I can limit myself to projects that are at least interesting or challenging in some manner.   This could work.  Maybe.  Should I Do It?