January 1, 2009
There are a whole bunch of us Jones’s and every year we take a family picture…
(you can see this years photo over on Don’s page)
…anyway, while we were waiting to take it, I snapped off a shot in the mirror, one thing led to another, and I came away with the official Jones family alternative Christmas portrait.
January 5, 2009
I walked into the kitchen this morning and saw this and thought it pretty much says about everything there is to say about Saturdays playoff game except maybe that THE REFEREES HANDED THAT GAME OVER TO THE CHARGERS IN OVERTIME…
Very Fitting. I’ve been a Colts fan since they were in Baltimore while the Steelers were taking 40 years to get competitive. Even though I was not looking forward to playing Peyton again, I still couldn’t root for S.D. Like Pitts, it seems you guys could use a running game…they convert that 3rd and 2 at the 2:00 warning mark and the game would have been over.
Being from San Diego myself, I tend to disagree with you both and as far as the Referees they didn’t hand anything over to the Chargers Mr. Jones. If you were watching this game you would of noticed that the Chargers came back after the Sproles fumble on the Colts 2 yard line in the third quarter. They tie the game and then went on to win. all in all it was a good game. Now, the question is will they be able to do anything against the Steelers, HMMMMM? I’ll be watching.
A preconscious photographic prognostication of Peyton’s Colts and their precipitous playoff plastering. (My new year’s resolution is to use big P words)
…Zaz …my new years resolution is to use more hyperbole on this page, so that’s where my fiery rhetoric came from… the Colts weren’t going anyplace anyway because they haven’t been able to generate a running game all year…
…I love that little Sproles guy… back during the Kansas City Chiefs hay days (late 60’s early 70’s), they had mini-backs like Warren McVay, Wendell Holmes, and Mike Garrett that ran behind a massive offensive line, and what the Chargers have going right now with Sproles looks a lot like that to me…
…plus, the Chargers baby-blue retro uniforms are the best in the league… they should play in those all the time…
Den, you forgot the most prestigious, pygmy Chief of them all… SUPER GNAT! Noland Smith
Unfortunately for San Diego there baby-blue retro uniform may not help them next week against the steel curtain of old, but I agree the uni’s will make them look good if nothing else. Have you heard anything about Dungy retiring, that would be a complete bummer for the world of Football…a great coach and an even greater human being, ya know,role model stuff for the young. Hope it not true what we’re hearing here in Chi town.
…Tony ultimately wants to go into some sort of full time ministry but he says once he quits football he’s not coming back to it, so he kinda struggles with the finality of that kind of huge decision every year…
Ed Podolak wasn’t exactly tall either.
January 6, 2009
A lot of people spent the holidays playing Guitar Hero… I did, too… except I had a real live guitar and played in front of a real live crowd at a winter youth retreat. OK, OK, I was probably more of a guitar zero than a guitar hero, but it was still a lot of fun. This is the only picture I could get my hands on from the event. It’s kinda out of focus, but then again, so were our songs.
I thought this was the Doobie Brothers at first glance and you were Skunk Baxter. Will the “LIVE” concert recordings be available any time soon?
…I remember being at a Doobie Brothers concert back when Skunk Baxter first came over to them from Steely Dan… he sat on a stool the entire concert and just riffed thru all the songs…
January 7, 2009
I would like to see the NFL overtime rules revised just a bit. I say keep the sudden death in overtime deal, that’s all good… just add the first team to score 6 wins. Simple! This would keep a team from winning the coin toss, running three plays and kicking a field goal to win. It would not have changed the outcome of the Colts-Chargers game, but if you can’t keep the other team out of the end zone when all the marbles are on the line, you shouldn’t win anyway.
cool! you probably spent more time coloring this than I did drawing it.
NIce mutt! Speaking of dogs gone bad… our beloved Lola jumped the Fed-X man last week and bit his pant leg and held on. Kellie beat her down with the package she just received. (Car keys from Cincy)
…man, the fun just keep rolling on in from that Cincinnati trip of yours…
My cell phone was dead so I placed a little call from the motel room to discuss the missing key dilemma. Upon checkout, I was made aware that call cost me $37.
$37 is what a newspaper will cost ya not long from now…
Whoo-Wee! these just keep getting better and better. I’ve only heard arguments for and against the OT dilema…but yours sounds like a reasonable compromise. Dog? I thought this was a failed drug-tested hare?
Great dawg Den, compact and looks hard to get through if it was a lines man. OK boys, question of the day…who do you like, the Hoosiers or Gators in tonights BCS Championship game?
Well, if “Like” means favorite I’m torn because I have always liked OU growing up but I am without a doubt a Tebo fan so I will be rooting for Florida. If “Like” means who do I think will win then I would say that OU has a slight edge with that O but that they don’t seem to always bring their “A” game to the big stage so…”Florida” It’s never simple for me…because I’m simple.
Hey Zaz, you did mean SOONERS instead of Hoosiers did you not?
…yup, that hoosier deal Zaz tossed out at us threw me, too… I had to think real hard about who exactly it was that was playing tonight… I’m a Tebo fan, but also have Oklahoma ties… so… I guess I’m just rooting for a good game at this point…
We mean Tebow not Tebo.
I was thinking of getting Tivo.
Dennis, Not counting slim and none, what are the chance$ ( or bribe$ ) of hiring you to paint one of my sketches? 1.) A full color psd or tiff 2.) The above PLUS a YouTube video for my blog (with digital painting credits noted). P.S. Don’t forget my Jones Bros. pheasant discount.
…Don, if you get Tivo you could watch Tebo at a later date… very convenient…
…Bernard, I’ve gotta shove anything extracurricular back into late February… well… not bribes… bribes are welcome at any time…
Agh, I knew you would be too busy for such foolishness. But PTL your busy cause those heating, food and guitar lessons cost money! where do I send (email) the sketch to ( or do I roll it up and hide it in the secret coffee can, out in the wood shed )?
Sorry gents, I ment Sooners my bad, It was a good game last night and I’m happy for Tebow, it’s also great to see what God is doing in his life. Could be a good role model in the future for young people. Can’t wait to see your next drawing, and what the subject will be.
no problem Zaz…we knew that “SOONER” or later you would catch it! Lol! Well, it was a great game but don’t forget that ol’ Sam Bradford is quite a young man of integrity and moral fiber too…the boy reads the Bible before every game. It’s a good time for role models in the college game.
..hmmm …you don’t HAVE to be a convicted felon to be a good football player?? …I’ve never heard of such a thing…
Pacman Jones is MY role model. I can’t understand why he has been kicked off his second NFL team…
Speaking of roles, I had a delicious cinnamon roll from Krispy Kreme yesterday. I took my coffee cup in and the lady behind the counter sort of gagged on its degree of filth.
Speaking of models, I think they would make great football players. I have quite a few in the attic some finished and others not even opened yet. …there no high like Testor’s Glue high!
…check out this (old Brother Jones post) from 2005… two out of the three went on to become famous NFL football felons …I’m not sure whatever happened to that third guy…
When Bean-ard suggested models would make great football players, I was thinking of the female kind. If that were true, Howie would have a pretty good team on Deal or No Deal. Super bowl contenders, even.
I enjoyed that blast from the past. Since my memory does not serve me well, it was all new to me!
We can hide our own Easter eggs! life is guud…
hey… are we up for a new season of 24? anyone?…
…I’m polishing up my brass knuckles and looking for terrorists to rough up as we speak…
…and I am waxing up my waterboard…
Seen your art for years… are you doing it digitally? It is truly unique – wonderful concepts… God sure dumped a load of talent on you, guy. Nate
…thanks, Nate. This last year in March I bought a Wacom Cintiq and started using it exclusively at that point to produce my work with… everything before then was traditional, brush and gouache work…
January 22, 2009
…so Karen and I dropped into this Hindu place with a great big gold statue out front and rather than climb the six gazillion steps that led up the mountainside, we opted to snack on tea and curry in the restuarant that was there and I said, “this looks just like a place I saw on The Amazing Race” and the guy we were with said, “it is!”
As we were leaving I noticed some of the statues were moving, but they were not moving… it was monkeys… MONKEYS!!! …monkeys crawling all over the place! I sprinted over to them, jumped right into the middle of the action and started snapping pictures. Karen finally had to come over and drag me away.
Dang, you guys have pretty cool restaurants in Indiana. I hope this Hindu place goes national!
Karen and Dennis, I’m sorry to tell you but you’re the last to arrive in the humble and snowy cornfields of Huntington, Indiana. I’ve been striking the same pose as that hopped up Golden Thang-a-majigger. It’s obvious he has a strained lower abdomen. Am I late for the meeting?
…the meeting is over on your page Don, but as acting commissioner, you have to call it to order…
I’ve requested the attendance of the good Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether.
Didn’t climb the steps? You’re either wimpy or pretty smart. After studying the photo, I’ll opt for smart.
I just realized, that’s one BIG statue. Yikes.
…lots of steps AND 90 plus degrees outside PLUS tons of humidity… I’ve personally always been a really big fan of air conditioning and soft chairs…
I am glad to see that monkeys like Pringles! It gives me a warm feeling just knowing that.
That littl monkey has the best, well-groomed handle bar stache ever!
…do you remember seeing this place on Amazing Race? …it was the season with the beauty queens…
did you count all those steps, Den? if not you have to go back and count them before you can check in…
…great googly-moogly…
MINKEY??? You said MINKEY!!! Clouseau: “Yes… a Chimpanzee Minkey”
January 26, 2009
We had a day to kill in Prague waiting for a late night flight, so we made our way down to the old part of town and started wandering through old castles and stuff. We ambled into a cathedral and as we did the mandatory walk through, I stopped at one of the stained glass windows and was totally enthralled by it. Stained glass windows are usually not even on my radar screen, but this was the coolest one I had ever seen.
It turns out that it was done by Alphonse Mucha who did the really cool Art Nouveau stuff we are all probably familiar with. After I got home I discovered there is also a gallery of his work in Prague I could have visited. Rats! I would have loved to have gone there.
That’s what I get for sleeping through art history classes in college instead of paying attention.
wow… I really like that bottom picture. It has Mucha written all over it. Don’t worry… you will have plenty of chances to see that gallery on your next trip, right?
Forget them colored windows… did you bring your brothers a matching coat and hat like those guys in the top picture? I’m laughing at your LOCKED KNEE observation/posing stance.
…they weren’t so happy with me when I jumped in behind them and started marching along, too…
Which one of these soldiers is not like the others?
Wow. that is nice. Thanks for sharing. Never knew he did stained glass. This why I come here – for the fount of knowledge.
January 27, 2009
I love to paint with Photoshop, but it has a quirk that is driving me crazy.
My process is to work with three layers. My line work is in the middle layer set to multiply mode. I have a normal layer under that to block color in with and a normal layer on top to add the finishing touches. Occasionally I like to throw a multiply layer on top of everything and add value and color with that. During the process of painting, I might do that half a gazillion times. I dont need a file with half a gazillion layers, so I need to be able to merge those top layers together. Unfortunately, when I do that, the multiply layer loses it’s effect and turns opaque.
There is no problem dropping a muliply layer onto a flattened image, but I need to keep my three layers loose to work through my picture.
Mark Behm was trying to troubleshoot this with me over the weekend, and this is the little picture I did in the process of trying to figure this Photoshop quirk out…
…by the way, I didn’t get it figured out, so if there are any Photoshop geniuses out there that have a suggestion on how I can drop a multiply layer onto a normal LAYER, (not a flattened image), I would love to hear it…
Sorry Den I can’t help you in that area with layers but from a guy looking in, this subject is great. The folds in the clothes, the beard, the leather like foot wear…just blows me away. 2 Question, how long does a Photoshop piece like this one take you from start to finish to do… and can we see your process of how sketches of this dude came about. You are very blessed Mr. Jones! Nice style my friend.
…how long? …good question… I piddled around with this off and on all weekend… maybe 2 hours give or take… I was doing a lot of experimenting trying to get that quirk figured out, so it was more of a 10 minutes here, ten minutes there sort of thing… I’ll dig around and see if I still have a pencil sketch on this guy I can post…
Obviously this guy just snaked in thirty foot putt for birdie.
…yes, Don, this is indeed my tribute to Tiger Woods!
Just like Tiger, this guy needs his right ACL fixed up.
Hey Don, isn’t that one of those hickory shaft putters. Thanks Dennis, I really enjoy your style and seeing how your thoughts and work come together. It reminds me of the past and your Super Hero dude trapped in ice, a wolverine feel with blades coming from his hands and was Painted in Gouache then placed in Photoshop for those special effects. It’s great to watch that piece go from start to finish.
…Zaz, I like to keep the thinking part of my thought process to a bare minimum…
After a little Googling, I came up with this possible solution your multiply layer flatten problem: Give it a try.
OOPS! So much for my attention to the detail that you didn’t want the whole file flattened. Hopefully this will make up for it. I believe this actually does provide the answer to the Flatten (only a few layers) multiply layer problem. I tried it and it worked for me. The multiply layer and another layer kept the transparent quality, but became a normal layer: Basically what’s happening is blend modes don’t work when opaque pixels in the top layer try to blend with transparent pixels in the bottom layer. There’s no colored pixels to blend with, so it adopts the normal behavior. You can see this phenomenon in action by setting the blend mode of your brush and then paint over transparent and opaque areas of your layer. (The image below shows what happens when I tried to paint yellow-orange over blue with the multiply blend mode). As was suggested earlier, merging layers with a white or black layer, depending on what blend mode you are using, is a good solution provided your are mixing layers that have the same blend mode together. When I do use blend modes I never merge them because of the hassle. If I need to organize my Photoshop layers I’ll use folders or smart objects.
…hey, Dan… I Googled that same page up in my quest for an answer… unfortunately, the last comment on the page says, thanks but none of that works… which is the same conclusion I came to… my oldest son put the question to the art department where he works, and they couldn’t come up with a solution, either… thanks anyway for the Google!
…Dan, it looks like we were talking at the same time… the above comment goes with your top post… I’m not sure I understand your second post… what exactly did you do to retain the multiply effect?
Sorry about that. I need to slow down sometimes. I did go back and try the last part of the first solution, “Merge Visible should also accomplish the same results—just be careful to turn all the other layers off by clicking their eyeball icons. (Remember you can drag down through the eyeball icon column to turn off multiple layers.)” I did this and the effects of the multiply layer on the layer below stayed and the result became a normal layer. “Merge Visible” is found under the Layer pulldown in Photoshop. Is this what yer lookin fer?
…well …the issue I’m having (that I probably haven’t made very clear) is I need to collapse only the layers that are ON TOP of the linework.
…if I merge everything except the linework, that will work, but then the linework is sitting on top of the color. I dont want my finished product to be a bunch of color sitting underneath linework. I’m trying to get rid of the linework, so I need to collapse only the multiply and normal layers that are on top of the linework.
…when I merge ONLY the multiply and normal layers that are on top of my base layers, it doesn’t work…
…at this point, when I get a whole bunch of layers going, I just dump them into folders to keep things uncluttered.
This is such a contrast to a blog I was reading yesterday. A guy who draws a syndicated comic strip went on and on and on and on about the pen points he uses. DIP PENS! Seems that certain points are becoming very RARE and are going for LOTS of money on E-Bay now. He bought one there but paid so much for it he is now afraid to use it. As more and more people turn to the dark side (read Photoshop) no one buys traditional materials and they go out of business. pity. hey… awesomeness dittos on that dude! I really like the fuzzy beard!
…hmmm …I still got some of those old exotic dip pens somewhere… sounds like it’s time for me to dig them out and get them listed on Ebay… now if I only knew how to list something on Ebay…
Next up in my liquidation sale is a Cambo 4×5 film camera. Now that will bring literally 2 or 3 dollars in bidding wars.
“I can’t believe it’s not Weasel!”
hey. just do like i do……..never mind. i don’t know what i’m doing. Just DON’T do what i do. I haven’t touched a paint brush since mid october now. Still trying to figure out who i am in this new digital world. Keep posting brotha jones! gl
…Gary, did you go ahead and get a Cintiq?
…not sure why WeaselBoy asked you that instead of me… he’s always piping up at inappropriate times…
Dennis,Just learned of this FREE deal on a digital painting program I like to play around with and thought you might like it too: ArtRage- Give it a try. 🙂
The Comments
Bernard
Wow! Working for Jones Bros. must be nice…over 2 weeks off for Christmas vacation? Nice Family. Your are blessed…and I can see that you have quite a few young legacy lifters there to carry on the family crazyness.
Dennis Jones
…yup, those people are nuts… I’m the only sane one in the bunch…