Lawrence Jones Design

President’s Day

Larry — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:31:25 +0000

In honor of President’s Day 2010 I have created a derivative image of the poster used for the play Abraham Lincoln which was produced in the 1920s by William Harris. The image is available as a 15×19 inch, 300-dpi layered, Photoshop file. The skin tone, the white shirt, the orange background, and the black keyline image are all separated on individual layers for easy editing. For pricing and use information please contact me.

DAC Class photos

Larry — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:55:25 +0000

All the photos taken by students over the last weeks. Today we will choose the best, download them, work on them in Photoshop and post to this gallery and tag them by student name. Students login here.

Portrait Sketches

Larry — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:17:03 +0000

Here are some portrait drawings from my sketchbooks done over the last few years. Most are very rapid drawings, but a few are more carefully rendered. I rarely erase. Usually, I just start out with light scribbles. Some are drawn from direct observation, others are copies of master works, and some are copies from magazines or photos.

Painting from bad photos

Larry — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:39:52 +0000

I tend to work in different media to the saturation point. I have not be doing much else besides web design lately, and before that, I was doing nothing but photography. I am really getting an itch to paint in oils, so today, in order to prevent web design burnout, I took a little time out to look through my photo files to try to find something worth painting.

I have tons of images taken through windows on bus and cab rides. They are not great photos, but some of them might make reasonably good paintings. This particular shot was taken during a taxi ride in Barcelona in 2005. The original image had poor contrast, weak saturation, annoying window reflections, crooked alignment and not-quite-right composition.

After fixing the problems in Photoshop, I still did not feel as if the image gave me the same pleasure as when I first photographed it. I decided to run a Photoshop filter on it and make it look a bit like a painting. It’s better, but I still don’t think it is worth printing as a 13 x 19 print. I think it would be great on a 24 x 36 canvas with rich brilliant impasto oils so I am tagging this one as a potential future painting. The images below show the original digital shot and after all the Photoshop work.

Film Development Checklist

Larry — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:40:54 +0000

My checklist for developing 35mm 400 Tri-X or Ilford HP5:

Wire or plastic reels
steel or plastic canisters and tops (if using plastic remember to insert center column)
scissors
can opener
Changing bag (if dark room is unavailable)
Ilford Ilfosol 3 film developer (1+9 chemistry to water) Ilfosol3 factsheet
Ilford Ilfostop (1+19 chemistry to water) ilfostop factsheet
Ilford Rapid Fixer (1+4 chemistry to water) Ilford Rapid fixer factsheet
LFN Wetting Agent
thermometer
graduated beakers
rubber gloves
goggles
film squeegee
film clips or clothes pins

Developer mix ratio
Mixture should be 9 parts water and one part chemistry which is 10 total parts. If I want my total mixture to equal 500ml, I divide the 500ml by 10 and find that 50ml is equal to one part and that is the amount of developer I need. One part is 50 and the other 9 parts are 9 x 50 =450ml. If I want 1000ml total, I need to divide by 10. One part is 100 and the other 9 parts are 9 x 100 or 900 ml.

Developer Summary:
total | water | chemistry
500ml=450ml+50ml
1000ml=900ml+100ml

Stop mix ratio
Mixture should be 19 parts water and one part chemistry. So I have 20 total parts. So if I want my total mixture to equal 500ml, I need to divide 500 by 2o which gets me 25ml. I can multiply the other 19 parts by 25ml or subtract the 25ml from the 500ml which gives me 475ml. For 1000ml, I divide by 20 to get 50ml of chemistry and subtract from 1000ml to get 950.

Stop Summary
total | water | chemistry
500ml=475ml + 25ml
1000ml=950ml + 50ml

Fixer mix ratio
Mixture should be 4 parts water and 1 part chemistry. So I have 5 total parts. So if I want my total mixture to equal 500ml, I need to divide 500 by 5 which gets me 100ml. I can multiply the other 4 parts by 100ml or subtract the 100ml from the 500ml which gives me 400ml. For 1000ml, I divide by 5 to get 200ml of chemistry and subtract from 1000ml to get 800.

Fixer Summary
total | water | chemistry
500ml=400ml + 100ml
1000ml=800ml + 200ml

Wet part steps:

Three minute warm water soak.
Recommended Development times for film
400TX at 68°F = Seven and a half minutes, (8-9 for higher contrast negatives)
HP5 Plus 400 at 68°F = six and a half minutes ( I go at least 7.5 minutes)
Recommended Stop Bath times for film
10 to 30 seconds (fill the canister, gently agitate and pour out)
Recommended Fixer times for film
2-5 minutes depending on film
Recommending Washing times for film
5-10 minutes running water ( 7 1/2 is good for student work)When ILFORD RAPID FIXER has been used for spiral tank processing the following method of washing is recommended.
This method of washing is faster, uses less water yet still gives negatives suitable for long term storage.After fixing, fill the spiral tank with water at the same temperature, +/-5°C (9°F), as the processing solutions and invert it five times. Drain the water away and refill. Invert the tank ten times. Once more drain the water away and refill. Finally, invert the tank twenty times and drain the water away.
Photoflo or LFN Wetting Agent
Drop two to three drops in canister filled with water and agitate gently 30 seconds. Rinse until suds disperse.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Our House-Durham Arts Council

Larry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:39:49 +0000

Our House-DAC

In January 2009 I had two of my photographs shown in the “Our House” exhibition at the Durham Arts Council.
Venice Hospital, Venice and Chenonceaux Chateau, Loire Valley, France

DECEMBER 19, 2008 – FEBRUARY 15, 2009

OUR HOUSE
Works by DAC Board, Staff, Faculty and Students
Semans Gallery

Public is Invited to a FREE Artists’ Reception,
part of Downtown Durham’s Third Friday :
Friday, December 19, 2008, 5-7 PM

Unfettered Show

Larry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:59:58 +0000

Visual Art Exchange

I submitted two pieces of artwork for the “Unfettered” exhibition at the Visual Art Exchange, in Downtown Raleigh, April 6-24. The one that was accepted was my Acorn Attic Antiques photo (left), taken in Wilmington.

When I saw the dolphin, I was reminded of William Eggleston’s tricycle image. It took me a long time to learn to appreciate his work because it is so stark and dispassionate. So it is a bit ironic that my first-ever photo accepted into a significantly competitive show was inspired by Eggleston, and is not very indicative of the majority of my work.

At right, is the other photo I submitted, but was not chosen. I took it on the Brighton Beach Pier in England at sundown. I thought that this picture was a bit quirkier and would get in the show before the other one, but I have since learned that it is not always easy to predict what will capture a juror’s attention.

First Fridays, Raleigh NC

Larry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:56:57 +0000

From 2008-2009 I was in two different studios in the Carter Building and was open for most First Friday art walks before I decided to design, build and move to a home studio. However, I am still very much a part of the Carter Building community and now manage the Carter Building Website.

Emulous

Larry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:40:32 +0000

Breaking Free, Linoleum Cut Print, Edition of 20, $50 unframed. Breaking free was inspired by Picasso and the German Expressionists and was selected for inclusion in the Emulous Exhibition at the Visual Art Exchange, in Raleigh.

Exhibition details:

Emulous (desirous of equaling or excelling)
June 6-27, 2008
First Friday Reception: June 6, 6-9pm
This exhibition will be filled with the work of famous artists – recreated by local artists. A tradition in formal art training, reproducing the work of masters is a great way to learn their technique. Artists can mimic an existing work or create original work in the style of their favorite master artist.
Juried.

Museum Visits

Larry — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:26:36 +0000

When I lived in England I tried to see as many exhibitions as possible. These visits were very formative and have substantially affected my visual arts career. I have only had time to start writing my thoughts on the first two listed. Check back from time to time as I continue to post drawings and reviews.

England

Citizens and Kings: Portraits in the Age of Revolution, 1760—1830 |Royal Academy of Arts | This was a very difficult show for me to absorb. Quite simply, I was overwhelmed by the volume of works on display; it was a huge collection, I only had an hour and It was quite crowded the day I attended. Although the works were amazing, the collection was less about the art and more about history. It was an intellectually deep show and to be appreciated fully, really required more knowledge about the period than I possess. I did take the time to do a few sketches, but I am not sure if I still have them. These were the most memorable works for me: Ingres’ Napoleon and Houdon’s Bust of Franklin.

Leonardo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment, Design – Victoria and Albert Museum | This show was stunning and I remember it as one of my favorite visits. It was a little crowded but I was able do a quick sketch of an original drawing. (see my drawing at right)

NG London/Exhibitions: Velázquez

NG London/Past Exhibitions: Renoir Landscapes 1865 – 1883/Introduction

Tate Britain | Past Exhibitions | Holbein in England

Tate Britain |Past Exhibitions | How We Are

The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings – Exhibitions – Royal Academy of Arts

Tate Modern: International modern and contemporary art

National Portrait Gallery

British Museum – Welcome to the British Museum