Imagined Lives: Mystery Portraits 1520-1640
Monthly Photo Tip – March 2010
At Home
Pick of the Day – Edward Sobuta
Tribute to Gareth Carrivick
Trillum by David Lane
Pick of the Day – Alfred Ng
Production begins on Jane Eyre
Its Spring 2010a by David Lane
It’s Spring 2010 by David Lane
Syd Baker – Interview With The Artist
When did you first become interested in art?
“Ever since I was a small child I was making art, and we kids grew up with the added attraction of Dad’s woodworking shop, and Mom’s ceramic studio and kiln.”
What style of art do you use most?
“My first inclination is to reach for a 3D designing or 3D landscape program, or a combination of the two, also I still draw in pencil, ink, and scan to computer for coloring; it all depends on the project.”
Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?
“Certainly, changing demands in my former career, as well as just the passage of time, drawing gets better hopefully and experimenting with different software creates branches of styles.”
What medium do you use?
“Drawings are usually just pencil and ink, scanned for coloring, but 3D programs include Strata 3DCX, Vue Esprit, Groboto, and all things come eventually to Photoshop, occasionally I use a vector program like Freehand.”
Planet Goss ©Syd Baker
What made you choose that medium?
“Drawing pen-and-ink-watercolors dates back to childhood, but 3D programs for illustrating has been a long time fascination, the realism available even in a cartoon style is still a wonder to me, particularly nowadays movie’s computer generated imagery.”
Do your ideas come from life or imagination?
“Both, plus experimentation: the inhabitants of Planet Gloss for example, are the opposite of real life selfishness, competition, and violence, in an imagined ecosystem, while the textures and plantlife are real-looking but fantastic in details.”
How do you choose your images and colours?
“Sometimes I have a firm concept of an image or series of images I have to plan out and create parts and pieces to assemble into the finished project; other times I just play and see what happens.”
Who is your favourite artist?
“If I had to pick just one, it would be Leonardo DaVinci, master painter, sculptor, engineer, designer, inventor, dreamer, genius at everything he did.”
What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?
“Hard to pick just one, but it could be Blue Man Crossroads, the re-emergence of a favorite character of mine, and his evolution as a personality.”
Blue Man Crossroads ©Syd Baker
How much time (on average) does it take to complete a work?
“If I’m just playing around, 3 – 8 hours, depending on rendering time; the latest series of 7 images ‘Hint Of Rose: Planet Aurora’ took over a week in my spare time, plus writing a short story linking the images. Two extremes!”
How well do you take criticism?
“I spent over 18 years in a huge creative corporation being art-directed every single day. You either learn to take criticism or you don’t survive. Besides, any opinion is just that, an opinion.”
What do you do to overcome a ‘block’?
“Simple – either go look at other artists work, either in an art museum, or internet galleries, and/or just play around with a program and see what comes out.”
How do you know something is ‘finished’? Is it easy to walk away?
“Usually I have a plan and a goal, so it’s pretty easy to know a piece is done.”
Eleganz03 Collaboration with Bunny Clarke ©Syd Baker
Have you had exhibits in galleries?
“Not a physical gallery, but I have work at Red Bubble, Fine Art America, Blue Canvas, My Art Space, The Untapped Source, and three books/collections at Blurb.”
Have you any exhibits in galleries planned for the future?
“My work is all digital, and there’s no time or money to print, frame, and organize for a show, even if a gallery was interested, which they aren’t last I checked.”
What are your plans for the future?
“Keep doing what I love to do, keep looking for some outlet for my work to sell, stay true to my concepts.”
What advice would you give new artists?
“Pretty much the same as when I started art school, DRAW, and Draw some more, it’s one basic discipline that can enhance most media you choose to work in. Or, if classes or some type of instruction is available, nothing jump-starts an interest like a good teacher.”
Blue Man Black Candle at Midnight ©Syd Baker
Have you done any courses to help you?
“Biggest help for me was the Kansas City Art Institute, and much later, some seminars in 3D work. Otherwise, mainly self taught, especially the computer stuff.”
What do you do to market your work?
“The above mentioned on-line galleries and print on demand places. I am not successful, not marketing-aggressive enough no doubt.”
Do you use social networking in your day to day life?
Are you available for work (commissions)?
“I’d like to say yes, even though I don’t have an FTP site or Paypal, I’d probably indulge if there were any interest.”
Adventure ©Syd Baker
Have you got hobbies?
“Right now this art is in the hobby category, since I have to search out some other way to earn a living, I’d love if it were the other way ‘round.”
Where are you based?
“Urban suburb of Kansas City, just over the Kansas line.”
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