Journal of an iMac Virgin #1

My desk this morning - a brand new 27" Imac supplants the old 19" screen (on left).

This shows a normal format photo in full screen on the HD screen

photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is the journal of a brand new iMac virgin.

Just in case anybody else gets thoroughly fed up of PCs and thinks about switching, I hope this may be of some use. Plus it is of course my way of recording the things I'm learning as I work out what's what - so i'll be able to remember what I've learned so far! I'll continue to update as I learn more about it.

The journey so far

These are the blog posts concerned with my decision to change to an iMac - caused in the first part by a pretty terrible record with PCs of in the last three years and absolutely dreadful noises coming out of the latest big box.

• PC vs Mac for artists
• PCs versus Apple Mac - for artists (Part 2)
• Decision time: pros and cons of PC vs Mac for artists
• PC vs Mac update: questions about the iMac

Yesterday I visited the Apple Store at Bluewater to make my purchase after much research. Bottom line it would have been very difficult to go back to looking at anything else having tried an iMac! Take a look at that screen size and quality of image in the picture above to see why.

Consequently I caution against a visit to look at an iMac unless your budget will stand it and you don't mind a major rethink about how you work as it's so big!

What did I buy in the end?

I bought a 27" iMac with the 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and a 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive. I didn't get the better spec 27" models as I keep reading about the iMacs with an i7 processor running very hot and since I was looking for energy efficiency and good heat dissipation this didn't seem like a good idea. The processor and graphics card in my machine are both focused on energy efficiency.

The store gave me the extended keyboard for free and I'm giving it a go. There are some tips below about the only aspect which is causing a problem to date which is keyboard shortcuts

I also bought the three year AppleCare Protection Plan, PC Elements 8 for Mac and iwork. I may well buy Office as well in due course but there's a Office 10 is out in June and the Mac version will follow 6-9 months later so I decided to wait for that. In the meantime I've been able to devise a set-up which means I can access both iMac and PC with relative ease so can continue to use all software on the old PC. Trouble is I'm liking the new silent environment a bit too much!

You can see the new desk set-up at top. I've included the dummies book for a sense of scale.

Setup

Setup was a breeze - although I have to say it was reassuring to have Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Dummies at my side! There's not a lot in the iMac manual other than put in the power cord and switch on. Mind you there's not much more to the set up than that.

It also found my modem router and set itself up without me needing to do anything other than to enter the password.

This morning I worked out finally that all I had to do to set up my printer was plug it in while the iMac was off and then switch it back on and the iMac would recognise both printer and scanner.

As you can see (below right) the width of the screen makes writing blog posts a little bit easier! It's also a boon for those of us with steadily deteriorating eyesight. The backlighting makes good quality photos look absolutely stunning.

Blogger post screen (enlarged) plus Google Document screen (enlarged) next to one another on the 27" screen

photo Katherine Tyrrell

Tips

If you are an inveterate keyboard shortcut user like me, the mac keyboard will drive you bonkers to start with as none of the conventional shortcuts work.

Some keyboard tips:

• use google to find all the explanations as to where your favourite keyboard shortcuts have gone
• MacRumors Guides provides a useful summary at Keyboard shortcuts
• the control key now seems to be the command key so all the shortcuts for cut, copy and paste use the same letters but you have to use command instead of control. Moving the cursor one word backwards and forwards involves the alt key rather than the control key. I now have a yellow sticky note attached to the bottom of my screen to remind me what does what!
• # is missing from the apple mac keyboard - don't bother searching it isn't there! However alt + 3 gets the same result ie #

Mac Matte displays and slamming fingers!

I was out at the Apple Mac Store yesterday - of which more later - came home and somehow managed to slam my heavy front door on my fingers. I ran cold water over them straight away but I've still developed a nice black nail above red swelling on my index finger! It throbs and cannot be used for typing and the middle finger means typing with difficulty. The two fingers affected are my mice clicking fingers so I'm slow in that department as well!

So there's going to be no posts until Monday while the finger recovers - and I clear a space for and set up a new machine!!!

I've discovered that there is an antiglare or matte Apple Mac screen. It's available as:

• an antiglare option on the MacBook Pro 15" and MacBook Pro 17" - not too expensive as an add on.
  
• a 30" HD flat panel screen with over 4 million digital pixels displaying 16.7 million colours - and costing £1,199!!! It's very, very nice - but not quite nice enough for me to spend that sort of money! Incidentally it doesn't say anyhwere that it's matte - but neither does it say that it's glossy and I sat in front of one yesterday and it's excellent for viewing and it's very definitely matte. These are the reviews
  

Now I just need to go and get some foam and a finger stall - and collect a new machine!

See previous posts on the Apple investigations - and all the incredibly helpful advice and comments received to date.

• PC vs Mac for artists
• PCs versus Apple Mac - for artists (Part 2)
• Decision time: pros and cons of PC vs Mac for artists
• PC vs Mac update: questions about the iMac

Exhibition review: RWS Open Competition

RWS Open - a selection of Landscapes

all paintings copyright the artist
all photographs copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I went to see the 2010 Open Competition Exhibition held by the Royal Watercolour Society at the Bankside Gallery last week.

The RWS Open Exhibition, previously called '21st Century Watercolour', is an exhibition of successful entries to the annual open painting competition organised by the Royal Watercolour Society. The aim of the competition is to encourage innovation in the use of water-based media on paper and to stimulate fresh approaches to what are considered to be watercolour’s traditional strengths.

This exhibition has been redesignated as a competition rather than an open exhibition and from what I could see now does not include RWS members works whereas I seem to recall it did in the past. Making it a real open - as in all work is by non-members - makes it an attractive proposition both for the artist submitting work and the exhibition visitor. First work by non-members is not going to be squeezed for space by work by members. Second, the visitor is almost always going to see a goodly proportion of work by artists not previously seen - as well as ones who have been trying to become members for some time.

The exhibition also supports artists of any age and is not prescriptive about size or subject matter.
All water-soluble media (watercolour, acrylic and gouache) is admissable. The selected work is also available for purchase at Bankside Gallery during the period of the exhibition.

Unfortunately, the exhibition has not been loaded on to either the RWS website or that of the Bankside Gallery website which is a pity. The images which are on the Bankside's site aren't even in the exhibition. I'm afraid I'm one of those who simply don't understand why it isn't possible for an art society's or gallery's website to show something of the work which is in an exhibition.

My impressions

I sat and made notes about my impressions of the exhibition while still in the gallery and this is a recap of my notes.

• there are a number of very impressive landscapes and some extremely well painted atmospheric effects. These varied hugely in size, format and approach but there was a very nice group hung in the prime position in the gallery - which you can see at the top of this post.
  
• If you want to see some impeccable graded washes by contemporary artists you can find them here. Gerard Stamp's work was particularly strong in this respect. I'd describe him as a traditional watercolourist. Norfolk Saltmarsh (which can be seen on his website) is in the exhibition (as is St Mary the Virgin, Shrewsbury). I took a good look at his saltmarsh painting (middle of top row of photo at the top of this post). It's on rough paper and there is terrific subtlety of colour and tremendous control over his washes.

Section of Winter Greens by Tessa Shedley-Jordan

• there are some very impressive works of the 'not quite botanicals' variety - very attractive portrayals of flowers and vegetables. The 'standout' example for me was Winter Greens, a still life of winter vegetables (see below) by a lady called Tessa Shedley-Jordan. The painting of all the different colours and textures was simply impeccable - as you can see from a section of the painting on the right. I very rarely post sections but I was hugely impressed by this painting which achieved a high standard of botanical correctness while at the same time being a very pleasing still life watercolour painting. Tessa received the Royal Watercolour Society Friends in East Anglia President's Award in 2008. As luck would have it the painting was bought while I was in the gallery and I'm very sure the new owner is going to enjoy it a lot.

• I thought there were too few works including figures. However there were two pieces which demonstrated how it is possible to paint figures both realistically and very effectively in watercolour. One of them was Scottish artist John McKerrell's painting The Anniversary II which won the David Gluck Award (£1,000). It's a landscape painting which is full of atmosphere and pathos - which includes an excellent figure - and is painted like a miniature painting except it's actually quite large. You don't often see watercolour painting of this quality.
  

• Another were the two paintings Crabbing I and Crabbing II by Robert Cunnew which are hung behind the reception desk. They reminded me of Sir Stanley Spencer's paintings. They were animated, interesting and kept a potentially complex subject accessible through the use of a simple palette. They were also an excellent example of how and why two paintings on a theme can have much more impact than just one! You can see larger images of these two paintings on his website.
  

Crabbing I and Crabbing II by Robert Cunnew

• There was much less abstract 'contemporary' work than in the main RWS shows. I wondered if this is maybe there are more artists in the open exhibition who are painting in watercolour for pleasure as opposed to trying to satisfy the market.
  
• Interestingly the only work of this sort which absolutely whipped my eye across the room was by Sarah Armstrong Jones who has two still life floral paintings Still Life November I and Still Life November II in the exhibition. They are painted in a very contemporary but considered way. Both are heavily pigmented (maybe with some use of gouache?) and the very wet strokes across the paper are impressive. I also particularly liked the way they were presented with the works on paper floated inside a frame with a narrow and simple distressed silver gilt frame. A very contemporary take on floral art - they looked very good.
  

Still Life I and Still Life II by Sarah Armstrong Jones

• The exhibition does however include some watercolours which to my way of thinking are old fashioned, some which are boring, some which were copying the style of other artists and some which are just plain bad! Which rather suggests to me that many more people should be encouraged to enter this exhibition next year! Do get in contact if anybody wants guidance on size of works in the show and/or prices being charged.
  

Prizes and Awards

I've got a note saying that some of the prizes really left me wondering what the judges saw in a work - with the picture which won the RWS Award being the main prompt for this thought. However I very much agreed with the judges about some of the others although I was left wondering why some of the other works had not won a prize - compared to some that did.

The prizewinners were:

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Purchase Prize

• Fabrication I by Bella Easton
• Fabrication II by Bella Easton
• The Drain by Robin Storey
  

St Cuthbert’s Mill Prize

• 1st Prize: Mending Orange Nets Against Black Sheds by Judith Dobie
• 2nd Prize: Quayside, Newcastle by Janet Kenyon, who's from Bolton and now lives in Carlisle. This artist also won the new Smith & Williamson Cityscape Prize in last year's RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition. She seems to excel at painting light at night when there's damp in their air. Not quite Atkinson Grimshaw but of the same ilk! I liked her painting.
  
• 3rd Prize : L’Arret Lazarre, Paris by Peter Blodau.

Winsor and Newton Prize

• 1st Prize: Traveller by Bob Ballard
• 2nd Prize: The Bakehouse, Vienna by James Cowan This was very graphic and was well painted
  
• 3rd Prize: Cow III by Celia Lewis

Daler Rowney Prize

• Wellington College by Susanne Du Toit

The Artist Prize – an article in future issue of The Artist Magazine

• Autumn by Shanti Panchall

Royal Watercolour Society Award

• Genie by Jonathan Huxley

David Gluck Award

• The Anniversary II by John McKerrell - a well deserved award.
  

and finally......

Fellow bloggers who can get to show should make a point of looking out for Sarah Wimperis's (The Red Shoes) excellent painting of a palm.

Palm by Sarah Wimperis

The top ten art galleries and museums

A little while ago I read on Bloomberg about a survey which identified the top ten art galleries and museums - in terms of the number of visitors they got. Or rather it identified most of them and I had to work out the rest!

I've now created a new "resources for art lovers" website which lists the top ten art galleries and museums and provides a link to each of the museum websites - see Top 10 art galleries and museums

I think many people may be surprised by the order. I have to emphasise I'm not certain about the numbers 8 to 10 but am clear what was listed above that.

So who knew that London was the city with the most art galleries and museums in the top 10 - and how lucky am I to live in London?! :)

What I also discovered during my research is just how few art galleries and museums list their visitor numbers in their annual reports - and that's if they've put their annual report on the website in the first place. To my mind it's a key indicator of effectiveness in terms of commmunicating the value of the contents to the public - and I simply don't understand why it's not there. Unless it's because some don't want to admit how few visitors they get? Given that most of the major museums get some considerable help in terms of public funds I'm fairly appalled by this state of affairs.

There are some quirky issues - such as the Centre Pompidou is not just a museum and I don't think anybody can extract figures just for the museum part. Plus the four Tate Museums (Modern, Britain, Liverpool and St Ives) would come second with over seven million visitors if counted as one museum. I'm planning to do some more research on this in future and I'm toying with the idea of developing a suite of performance indicator information based on data in the public domain - or data which should be!

The website also lists articles about visiting museums and art galleries and I'm intending to develop it:

• as a resource which provides links to major museums in different countries.
• by identifying other helpful links related to the top 10 art galleries and museums.
  

Do let me know what you think about it - I'd love to know if there were any surprises for you.

What's your favourite software for editing digital images?

The Making A Mark Opinion Poll for March asks you to identify your favourite software for editing digital images.

Scarlet Charlotte
7.5" x 11.5", coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

With the potential need to buy new software on my mind at present, I thought the Making A Mark Opinion Poll for March could focus on software for editing digital images. This was after I realised that having photo editing software was more important to me than Microsoft Word!

So - I trawled through Amazon to see what seems to be the most popular software and came up with this list. They are of varying degrees of sophistication and I haven't bothered to identify different versions as the list would have gone on forever. Also note that this is NOT about software for creating digital artwork per see - just about manipulating digital images derived from cameras or scanners to get a good image for posting on the internet to represent your art in the best way possible within your budget.

The options for manipulating digital images are:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Photoshop Elements (for PCs)
• Adobe Photoshop Elements (for Macs)
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
• Apple Aperture
  
• Apple iphoto
• Corel PaintShop Photo Pro
• Corel PaintShop Photo Express
• Corel Graphics Suite
• Photoplus
  
• Picasa
• Windows Photo Gallery
  
• Another priced software
  
• Another free software

You can find the poll in the right hand column below the Blogger Followers widget (lots of faces!)

The poll closes on 31st March and the results will be posted later the same day.

Do please leave comments saying why you choose to use your preferred software

You can see other Making A Mark Polls - oriented towards art media, art practice and the art business - in The Making A Mark Poll - Resources for Artists. Alternatively check out the category label 'opinion poll' towards the bottom of the right hand column.

Note: The picture is the completed version of the one that didn't make it to the SBA submission. I think this one is going to be going to Southern California for an exhibition late this year.