Italy Confiscates "Lost" Da Vinci Painting

Hat Tip: The Telegraph

The painting in question is a portrait of Isabella d'Este and has been attributed by some art experts as having been painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.  It turned up in a Swiss bank vault in 2013 along with hundreds of other art pieces.

The current owner of the painting was attempting to sell it when the Italian Police had it seized with the cooperation of Swiss officials.

The reason?  The painting was "illegally exported" and needed to be secured before it was sold.

The assertion by Italian authorities that the painting was illegally exported seems to be extremely dubious.  The painting was lost for 400 years.  Nobody knew where it was until it turned up in Switzerland.  There is no way for the Italian authorities to know when it was exported.  The painting could very well have left Italy in the 17th century.

There is no official record of this painting.  What proof could they possibly have that it was "illegally exported"?

They can't even prove it was ever in Italy.

Then there's this gem:

“Once it arrives back in Italy, we will conduct further investigations to establish who really owns the work,” Italian prosecutors said in a statement. 

Unless we are dealing with a painting that has been stolen, I think it's fairly clear who owns it.  That would be the person from which the Italian authorities seized it.


This case does point out some of the problematic art laws that exist in some countries. 

The owner of a work of art can't treat it as their property.  It is instead treated as public property and can be confiscated if the owner attempts to export it. 

And it's not just Italy.  This is true of any member of the Euro Union or signatories to 1970 UNESCO convention.

One big problem I have with these laws/treaty is that they are applied to works that predate them.  Countries are using them to confiscate art that was exported from their countries before the laws went into effect.

There is something about that behavior that strikes me as just plain wrong.

Kickstarter Project: 52 Weeks of Digital Art

I have started a Kickstarter project to dun a 52-week digital art project.

The Project entails creating 52 images (one image per week) created using "found" objects as the basis for each image.  The images will range from manipulations of a single items to complex scenes created using multiple items.

The images will be used to create a calendar and an ebook.  The ebook will include the images, tutorials and information on how the images were created, and how the items used to create the images were obtained.  The ebook and calendar are potential rewards for backers of the project.

I have done art like this in the past, I would just like to be able to devote my time to doing so full time (I'd also like to be able to pay my bills.)

Some of the art I have created in the past as examples:

The bottom image is more recent and represents the type of image created using multiple items.  The goblet image was created primarily with a single item (a Haeger planter)

The images won't include the watermark seen in the above examples when included in the calendar or ebook.  (Or other rewards)


Some personal information.

Part of the reason I'm doing this is an attempt to find a way to pay bills that doesn't involve a job with regular hours.  I have a family member that is on dialysis and I am the one that drives them to and from treatment as well as driving them to any surgeries they need.

This interferes with my ability to hold down a job requiring regular hours.

I have tried selling on ebay, blogging and selling my photography and art online as ways to earn money.

This project combines those to a certain extent.  Many of the items currently on hand are left-over from my ebay days.  (I quit due to a combination of shipping costs becoming too high to make a profit and changes eBay made to feedback.)

The artwork produced will require photographing the items, and I intend to provide updates on this blog.


For those who are interested in the project but aren't interested in funding it (or aren't in a position to do so) you could always help by providing a little publicity.

A brief post on a blog would help if you have one, as will mentioning the project on facebook or other social media site.


I'm doing what I can to publicize the project, but could use help.


I already have some items that I plan to use.

I have ideas on how I can use each of the items in the picture.  That's a cheap led flashlight, a hair-dryer, a candle, a metal pencil sharpener, a bulb from a lens cleaning set, a crochet hook, a glass swan and the knob from the back of an electric fan.

Want to see what I turn those into?

Lightning Deal at Amazon on Prismacolor Colored Pencils

I haven't blogged much about art related items even though I always intended that to be one of the subjects covered.

I feel compelled to mention this one: mazon has a lightning deal on Prismacolor colored pencils.  You can get 150 pencils for $116.29 for the next hour-and-a-half.  (Deal ends 2:00 pm Central time, August 15.)

Prismacolor pencils are artist level pencils, as opposed to the typical colored pencils most people are familiar with.  (These are the equivalent to those water-color sets used be school children.)  The higher quality makes them more expensive.

That $116 price is 62% off, and less than $1.00 a pencil.

Jump on this bargain if interested in professional level colored pencils.


(Amazon's lightning deals are worth monitoring.  You can see upcoming deals in advance and then keep track of when any interesting deals go live.)

Witches of East End Contest Entries

I mentioned the DeviantArt Witches of East End contest the other day, thought I'd provide an update on my entries.  I wound up with three entries, all variations of the same theme and inspired by Poe's short story The Black Cat.

The first was designed to look like a vintage book illustration:

The second was done using watercolor pencil, and the third is a digitally manipulated version of the watercolor after scanning.

I personally like the sgraffito effect produced by manipulating the image.


Contest entries can be viewed on the DeviantArt contest page (if interested). 

It's clear from viewing the entries that some people didn't bother to read the contest rules.

Witches of East End Art Contest

DeviantArt is hosting an art contest where the grand prize consists of getting your artwork featured in an episode of the Witches of East End. (And a $1,500 monetary prize.)

The art must be based on one of three stories by Edgar Allen Poe: The Black Cat, The Raven or The Tell-Tale Heart.  The contest is open for submissions through July 27.  (That's less than three days at his point.  Work fast if you don't already have a work that fits the theme.)


Works can be any medium.

Submissions must be at least 2000 pixels wide/high and be in either .jpg or .png format.

Blender 2.71 Released

The Blender organization has released the latest version of its 3D modeling software.

Version 2.71 introduces some new features as well as fixing bugs. 


3D Modeling software is a departure from the main subject of this blog (photography) but I do cover art related items as well as photography.  Blender is the most advanced free 3D modeling software available and it is well supported by volunteer developers.

There are ways for photographers to get some use out of the software, including using it to create animation effects with photographic images. 

It's also a way for artists looking to branch out into 3d modeling to do so without having to spend a large amount of money on a software license. 

Alternative 3D software can cost thousands of dollars to purchase. 

Why spend thousands of dollars when there is a free alternative?  The expensive software is used by companies producing 3D games and movies.  An artist will need to purchase the software used by those companies if they want to work in those industries on a professional basis.

Upcoming Two Day Animation Art Auction

Hat Tip: Wired


Heritage Auction has an upcoming auction offering a large selection of animation artwork.  This is a slight departure from my usual subject, but I do cover art (and auctions) when I find a story that interests me.




The auction occurs July 1 and 2 at the Ukrainian Institute of America at The Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion in New York city.  ( The Address is 2 East 79th Street.)

The auction starts 11:00 AM central time, with a full preview on June 29-30.


Heritage does offer Internet bidding as well as bidding by phone.

The auction includes Animation Cels featuring Classic Disney films and characters.  Non-Disney characters are also represented including the Beetles, Gertie the Dinosaur, and the Peanuts gang.  (Some of the non-Disney items have very low bids right now.  This could be a good opportunity to purchase these items at a reasonable price, but keep in mind there will be live bidding on these items July 1-2.)


For those interested in vintage movie posters, Heritage's next featured auction consists of a large collection of those.  That auction occurs July 19-20 in Dallas, TX.

Deal Alert: Save Up to $200 on Wacom Intuos Tablets

Hat Tip: SLR Lounge

Amazon currently is currently offering a deal on Wacom Intuos Graphics Tablets.

The large model is $200 off.

You can also save roughly $100 on the medium or small tablet.  (That's a 43% saving on the smallest size.)

Site Update: June 2, 2014

The photography news front has been fairly quiet recently.  Today has been no exception.  There really wasn't anything in my news feeds that I wanted to post on toady.

That makes it a good day to work on the blog itself.  I recently added a page that provides links to various stores.  I'll be adding to that today as I go through my links.


I also dabble in art.  I normally don't have that much time to paint, draw or work on digital artwork.  The current slow news cycle has given me more time to do so.

I always intended to include art related articles, and the slow photography news cycle will give me a chance to post those.


I am planning a project that involves creating digital artwork using images of found objects.

My current project involves a contest on DeviantArt: the WeChat Emoticon Sticker Challenge.  I have a day and a half to finish an animated gif.  I'll post it to my DeviantArt Page when finished.

DIY Wood Project That Makes Use of Your Photographs

Hat Tip: PetaPixel

The original post for this comes from Wood Working for Mortals.  The author of that blog has a quick method for transferring photo prints onto wood (or other porous surfaces.)  All it requires is an inkjet printer and a non-porous surface to print on.

He uses a label sheet that has had the labels removed in this video.





Viewing the video on YouTube's site will bring up a list of related videos, including videos with alternative techniques for transferring images to wood.

This techniques seems to be the quickest method.


Transferring images like this seems ready made for DIY gifts and craft projects.  Those projects don't need to be limited to wood as the technique used in the video should work with other surfaces.

Using Photographs to Create Artwork

I happen to be interested in painting an drawing as well as photography.  I enjoy creating art from the photographs I have taken.  Sometimes it's a digital image using composite photos or an edited image.  Other times, I use my photographs as source material for my artwork.

Here's a couple of tricks you can use when creating artwork from a photograph.


1)  Load the image or images into an image editing program.  This enables the image to be manipulated.  This can improve composition, extraneous material can be removed and material from other sources can be imported into the image.

I find constructing an image this way easier than attempting to construct it by sketching it out.  The digital process gives instant feedback and seems to provide a better representation of what the end product will look like.

Photos taken using a digital camera are easily imported as they are already in a digital format.  Photos taken with a film camera will require the use of a scanner to create a digital file.  Stand-alone flatbed scanners aren't that common anymore.  Multi-purpose machines that scan, fax and copy  are readily available.  Negative/Slide Scanners are available as well if a print copy is not available.


2)  Use the image editing software to apply a grid to the end image.  Then rotate the image 180 degree.

Sketch out the image using grid paper.  Grid size should be related to the size of the grid used in the editing software.  If the grid paper is 34 squares wide, set the image's grid to roughly the same number of squares.

Focus on one square at a time.  Look for lines and focus on where those lines enter and leave that square.

This upside-down grid approach is useful for those that struggle when drawing free-hand.


Images produced this way will have a different quality from those sketched free-hand.


An example of the process and result:

First, my source images:

I used both of these images, cutting and pasting from both.


One of the images inverted with a grid applied.

(I actually used a composite of the two images.  I didn't save the composite so it's not available for this example.)


Here's the finished drawing with a grid applied.  The grid should give you an idea of what the original sketch looked like. 

The finished product:

I like the way this turned out and I doubt I would have been capable of this without using a grid when sketching the flowers.  I was less concerned about the leaves.  Many of those were either excluded from the original sketch or just loosely indicated.

I was proud enough of this effort to upload it to my Fine Art America account.

Using Photographs to Generate Design Ideas

Sometimes designers suffer from the design equivalent of writer's block.  If you're anything like me, you're sitting on a fairly large stack of digital images that can be used as inspiration sources.  Here's a trick I've used for design ideas that works with many photographs.  It does requiring using an image editing programs capable of using layers.

The Process:

1) Pick Your Source Image
This can be any image.  The image selected will impact the results and some work better than others.  This method will work with what would normally be a "bad" photograph.  Blurry images, over or underexposed photographs or images with uninspiring composition will work, and may produce better results than using a good photograph.

Here's the one I'm using for this example:

This is a shot of a neighbor's tree.  I decided to keep it in this orientation instead of rotating it 180 degrees.


2) Create Duplicate Layer and Rotate 180 Degrees
New layers need to be on top of the layer stack when using this method.  Keep this in mind through the rest of this example.  (Assume any newly created layer is on top from here on out.)

Change the layer's properties so that it interacts with the lower layer.  There are a limited options that will result in a symmetrical design.  Lighten Only or Darken Only both work throughout the process, Grain Merge will work for this first step as well (but not for later).

I chose to go with Lighten Only with this image.  You may want to use one layer mode, go through to the end of the process, then start over with a different layer mode.  Changing modes at any step in the process will alter the results.


3) Create Layer from Visible Image, flip horizontally
GIMP has two methods for doing this.  Edit->Copy Visible then Edit->Paste as New Layer.  GIMP also allows the creation of a new layer from the visible image by Right Clicking on a layer in the layer dock.  The layer dock is located in the top right corner in the above image.

Flip this new layer horizontally and change its properties to Lighten or Darken Only.  (You can choose a different layer mode if symmetry is not desired.)

Darken Only was used here.

This step can produce an useful image.  You might want to save this image before going further.


4) Create New Layer from Visible and Rotate 90 Degrees

Here's an example of how different layer modes impact the visible results.  The new layer was set to Lighten Only in the top image and Darken Only in the bottom.

Again, yo may want to save the results before continuing.


5)  Create New Layers From Visible Image, Rotate 45 Degrees

6) Duplicate Top Layer and Flip Horizontally

The final step requires two identical layers in order to produces symmetrical results.  Set both layers to the same mode.  Here's the image after this final step:

The image can be edited after this.  You may want to enhance contrast or saturation or turn the image into a square image for better tiling.