This site was created using more coffee than should ever be consumed by one human being, an occasional glass of great single malt highland scotch, a nonlinear imagination, and a lifetime of exquisitely fine and strange experiences.

Screen Resolution and Color:

This site is configured for a minimum of 800 x 600 screen settings and looks best at 1024 x 768. The early work on this site was all done on an ancient monitor at 640 x 480. To learn how to change your monitor´s resolution and color settings, please go here and follow the instructions. With today's technology, I love the fact that a jillion colors are available and that is how I prefer to see my world. It is also the world in which I create my art. If you are viewing my work and the colors look grainy and strange, then you are probably viewing at 16 bit. Try boosting your color setting to 24 or 32 bit color and you will feel as if you just stepped out of Kansas and into OZ.

Download Time and Compression:

One word: ACK! It is my own personal preference not to run when I am in an art gallery. Simply because I am viewing someone's work on a machine that allows me access to their work within literally seconds, does not mean that I need to have access to it by even a couple more nanoseconds. Certainly I could compress the heck out of my work until it is pixelated mush, but I won't sacrifice quality for a few seconds less download time. If someone is not interested enough in my work to allow it the time required to download, then I sincerely am happy that they move on to another site. I truly mean that and in a nice way. I would hate to have ever experienced someone "running" past my work in a gallery. This is not to say that I do not consider load time. What I do consider is finding that fine line between compression and quality. And before anyone writes to me to suggest that I chop up my larger pieces into several smaller pieces, this does not always decrease load time. In fact, it can increase bandwidth usage, and slow down load time, because the server has to be called for each piece of the graphic, there is increased k in HTML code due to tables, etc. to hold the pieces. . . and well you get the drift.

Software Used:

Corel Photopaint 7+, 9
Photoshop 5.5
Poser 4
Bryce 4
Kai Power Tools 3 and 5
Painter 5.5, 6
Typograph 4.04
Fireworks
Flash 4
GIF Movie Gear
Dreamweaver

I have a shoebox full of other programs, . . .you know the story. They sit, they collect dust, they make expensive coasters. This is not to say that I do not like them, I simply do not use them. Just as with traditional media, I find myself falling in love with favorite tools, and exploring them to their fullest, while others remain cast aside until some rainy day or stretch of boredom prompts me into taking them out and playing with them. However, that said, for me, tools are like books and people, if they fail to captivate or intrigue me within the first few minutes, I rarely go back for more, having learned over my lifetime that my first impressions are usually correct. Again, all this means, is that those programs are not for me. Because of that, I am absolutely enchanted when I look at work done with them by artists who are highly skilled in their use. The  one tool I can't live without?  Anything from Metacreations

Clip Art And Stock Shots:

So many times I have heard artists rant  and rave about their piece being "hand drawn" on the computer. This always makes me chuckle. My philosophy is that tools are only as good as the hands that wield them. I have seen some incredibly striking work done with the use of clip art and stock shots, and some terribly poor and mediocre work done all from scratch and vice versa. I have seen some incredible work done with the most inexpensive bundled software and/or freeware, and pathetic work done with cadillac programs. It is the mind, eye, and skill of the artist that truly renders a beautiful piece. When I am captivated by a master painting, it is the painting first that enthralls me, then it is the process that may or may not be of interest to me.

None of my work is scanned. I do not have a scanner, not because I wouldn't use one, I just don't have one. Some of my work is completely rendered by hand using a stylus pad, and others incorporate small portions of digital stock images into what I think of as digital collage work. I don't place higher value on one or the other. I do place value on composition, design, color theory, and skilled execution.

Putting Egos On The Shelf:

If you have questions about how I achieved any effects in my pieces, please email me, I am happy to share. If you have any tips and suggestions, I welcome your email. My tutorials on color theory, KPT5, and Painter can be viewed in the Web Design Clinic's Ezine.

Tips On HTML And Site Design:

There are so many hundreds of sites available on the net that address this subject far better than I ever could. Therefore, my suggestion to you would be to do a search, and pick and choose from the best. A great place to start would be Aspirations To Sweetness. This site has a splendid resource section and you would be hard pressed to find a better place to begin your search. Another outstanding resource is the Web Design Clinic. Be sure to catch the latest issue of their ezine for articles and tips by some of the net's best.

Awards:

Stop The Hate Award. The STH award cannot be applied for and is given only to those sites that I feel have an outstanding and long term commitment to promoting tolerance and cultural relativity. Each month, however, I do recognize an artist who has contributed their work to Stop The Hate.


Other Nooks And Crannies Of RockArtifacts:

Stop The Hate
Children Of The Moon
My Favorite Links
The Darker Side Of My Addiction or Times New Roman, Nevermore!

Memberships:

The Safettes
Esteemed Member Of Fonts Anonymous
WebMasters For A Cure
Supporting Site of Day Without Art

Incredibly Fine Aritsts

Frank Savino
Martin Murphy

Bradley Schenck

Excellent Design and Graphics Houses

Adler's Carbon Places Structures By Design WDC Graphics By Judith Eyeball Design
Secret Heart Silver's Place Web Of Dreams WebVoodoo Luminessence

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Please let your conscience be your guide and kindly refrain from highjacking any of the works from this site. Remember: what goes around comes around. . .and if that is not enough, I have two great attorneys named Mrs. White and Miss Scarlett, an afghan hound named Pirin, and I see all, know all that happens on this site.

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