liquidoranges continues to grow in concept and depth on a daily basis with further development of new products which are inspired by and utilize digital art. This week, we launched a series of pages including Art Glass, Masonry, Tapestries & Textiles and Dish Collections. Some of the work is so new that the web site is not updated. But one really stunning product development is; Dish Collections. We have established a b2b relationship with a manufacturer of quality dishware in Pennsylvania who is able to take our digital design work and apply it as a ceramic glaze, fired at 1500F degrees for a permanent, beautiful pattern. Currently, two such designs match our hand-woven rugs. How awesome is that?

So, it is with incredible enthusiasm that we have posted our first Employment Opportunity at liquidoranges. We are looking for that artistically inspired Global Sales Executive to facilitate moving the ever growing list of products to the professional design and consumer markets. Check it out!

The new site is up. we are now represented in the UK through DESIGNER PRODUCTS ONLINE
http://www.designerproductsonline.co.uk/WN/wnew-1.htm (UK)
http://www.designerproductsonline.co.uk/WN/wnew-us.htm (US)

You can go directly to our listing here:
http://www.designerproductsonline.co.uk/ClientProfiles/liquidoranges-usa.htm

This latest work moves into a different direction for me; one of subtlety and suggestion. As I worked on this painting, my biggest difficulty was not to blow out the intensity of color which I tend to do because I like bold color. Also, there were additional layer attributes going on in the background which I worked and reworked for days, which the viewer may probably not “see” but lend to the textural feeling and detail. this one nearly went into the “works in progress” folder where other works languish for years until I decide to rediscover them, but something made me finish it. The process of working through this piece generated an irony of thought: I want to be etherial and wispy, almost ghost-like in form, but the conclusion of this work has driven me to reconsider the graphical nature of what I do. Out of the ambient subliminalism comes the renewed need for strong definition of line and form. So, that’s where I think I am headed next.....

This work is numbered 102108. It is 221.1 megs, 30”x30” at 360dpi. The version you see here is 144k.

My time in art school was focused on the classical training of scale, composition and proportion. As with architecture, I believe those rules apply more than ever today and I interpret them within a modern context. What I work for is a “Zen” moment where order is found amongst chaos, where surrounded by energized environments a moment of peace exists. I want my work to have depth, richness of textures and forms to explore, with a place where the eye and the mind come to rest. It is that place where we can introspectively view ourselves both separate from and relative to the chaos around us.

A short video exploration of simple form, light relative to sound as an experiential work.

I started this work in Illustrator, creating basic shapes of motion with the pen tool, no stroke, with blue as the in-fill. The shapes were rasterized, grouped and distorted both through stretching and three-dimensional warping along a spherical path. The shapes were imported into Photoshop where layer attributes included inner and outer glow, drop shadow, pillow bevel among other subtleties. The shapes were duplicated into a new layer with similar attributes and rotated, stretched further to create a tension between the forward and behind forms. Working with gradients and manipulating the shadow colors and layer type to multiply, I used the eraser tool using a very, very large brush type which looks like a sponge and started eating away at the forms. The results appear as decomposing metal, with every removal of digital material leaving behind scarring and depth, due to the layer attributes in place.

The official title is 063008, but the resemblance to flight suggests another title. Perhaps you can suggest one?

Finally! At last! Yes I know, its been a long time coming, but liquidoranges now is a Google Merchant where my digital art work and murals are available for sale using the Google shopping cart! Obviously, the prices listed are for past works in limited sizes, but come signed, numbered and include a copy of my artist statement.

Enjoy!

liquidoranges studio is now open for business! I am very excited and pleased to make this announcement.

Liquidoranges is a studio where three distinct markets are pursued: architecture, art and architectural photography. You may be with my professional architectural skills, you may be familiar with my digital fine art and my photography skills. Together they create the liquidoranges studio where we practice The Art of Architecture.

The Murals page is now started, and I hope to get sketches and composites posted very soon with mural applications in architectural interiors. It is perhaps one of the most exciting things I am working on right now, so stay tuned!

click here to see the liquidoranges video on YouTube

Finished this work this evening. This painting began March 28, 2008 as a black background. I worked in Adobe Illustrator, creating line work in layers, adding layers of radial gradient's, removing large parts through erasing, and constantly testing the order in which things occur. Once I had all the parts and pieces working reasonably well, I exported to Adobe Photoshop where further layering, adding and subtracting of material was performed. In its fully expanded Photoshop format, the file is 1.3G at 300 dpi. Compressed, the work exists at 469.3M. It represents how I work, the process of building colors, forms, vector lines, etc. with challenges and decisions to be addressed along each step. Constant assessment of the work takes place until I feel I have achieved a composition satisfying my own eye. But once again, this work started with the intention of being something completely different, and the observations and choices I made throughout the process drove it in another direction.

The objective of this work was to describe fibers, initially as fabric but evolving into more electric-like streams, moving and shaping around a global force. The force began as a multi-atribute sphere which was heavily manipulated both texturally and saturation. Once the force was established, the motion could occur around it, like a tumultuous digital event.

Hope you like it.

Something I don't often do, and certainly do not pursue right now is exploring the digital manipulation of photography. It is a very tricky fine line to follow between creating an artful work and simply screwing with an image. The example below is one that teeters on the line, maybe leaning over the edge toward uneventful manipulation, versus resulting in a digital art work, because the original photograph all by its self was already very interesting to me. So, its for that reason I probably post it here on the blog page.

To say that digital art is of limited value is contradictory to the meaning of art. The perception of value is presupposed by traditional attitudes regarding art, as tangible struggle expressed through physical means to describe emotion or document time, or both. If the "value" of art is it's market potential as an object or item for sale to the highest bidder, then the value of art is that of commodity. If there is any joy to be held at being in the presence of something that continually gives to the visual and intuitive senses, that makes us want to look at it for what it gives us intellectually, then joy is a definable value associated with art. Joy is tangible value.

If, for there to be value, art must exist unique to all else, and there be no duplication such as to be an "original", consider photography, lithography, wood block prints, and other art forms. If being "original" puts art out of the hands of people who want to possess it, and places it as an elitist thing for the very few, then the purpose of art is defeated.

So let digital art determine its value the same way as all other art forms. Judge it by content, not by commodity.

without art, there is no architecture. artistic influence on buildings benefits not only individuals in possession, but those who are personally removed, as observers. artistic influence can cause a community to gather in unity, and lack of art can cause confusion, outrage and objection. with art there is hope. the dreams and values which demand art make the statement to society that there is more to our existence than rational and pragmatic need; that humanity embraces the desire for enrichment of life through exploration of our souls and the response to our emotional connectivity with our surroundings. architecture which exists without the soul of art is shelter without a care for that which it shelters: people. we have a fundamental responsibility to the intrinsic notions of civilization towards the quest for a life greater than those who came before us to build upon their dreams to build a place where our children will dream. art becomes the vehicle, the motivator of architecture

My 15 year old daughter built a XANGA web blog for me this weekend. Its really cool!
http://www.xanga.com/liquidoranges

uploaded some of my earlier works, some dating back to 1996. they're here more for me than anything, just to remember the process and the thinking. i think it is always good to revisit old works to reassess what went into them, the process of decision making, rationalisms, serendipity, etc. they are easy to spot because they had analog names and not digital numbers.

the site has not even been up for 24 hours and I received an order for one of my art prints from Susan. Thank you Susan! also, thank those of you who have visited already in the first day and shared your support for what I'm doing.