Which is the best computer for artists?

Three years ago I was faced with the need to buy a new computer.  My computer was obviously failing and I had very limited time to get a new one before it failed completely.

So I asked you for your help - and you were stunning with the comments, advice and help you provided.  It was invaluable and I can't thank you enough.

I'm minded to do the same exercise again - not because I need a new computer but because this is the type of major expense we all have to face from time to time and it's good to hear the views of our peers.

Plus both hardware and software have progressed enormously in the last three years - so the answers may now be different from the answers then.

I'd love to hear from you - and so the question I'm posing is........

Which is the best computer for artists?

Today I'm going to repeat the questions I asked three years ago (slightly revised) when I sought your advice as to which was the best computer for an artist

This time it's for the benefit of other readers of this blog who, from time to time, are faced with the question of what to get next.

BEFORE YOU READ ON please answer the following questions.

You can leave them as a comment on this blog or maybe answer them elsewhere and reference this post. (note moderation might be slower than usual as it's going to be via my iPad)

WHICH COMPUTING SET UP IS BEST FOR ARTISTS and people using large graphics and/or video files?

• SAY WHICH IS BEST - a PC or Mac - and why.

• PLEASE SPELL OUT WHY you like your favourite machine - and tell me what it is

• If an Apple Owner tell me WHICH APPLE IS BEST for artists? 

• If you have a view about what you think works best and/or specific aspects of specifications or versions or software and/or whether it is worth updating DO TELL !

My Apple iMac is 3 years old on 7th March 2013

Tomorrow is the last day of the three years of warranty and after care and it's going back to the Apple Store at Bluewater to have its DVD repaired.  It stopped working at the end of last year - in the middle of the Seagate hard drive fiasco and a huge number of owners needing their hard drives replaces.

I faced being without my iMac for two weeks so resolved to have it fixed before the extended warranty ran out.

(Which incidentally means blogging is going to be a bit hit and miss until I get it back - hopefully by the weekend or early next week)

My experience in the last three years

I have to say using a computer in last three years has been a complete and utter contrast to the previous few years of expensive laptops failing one month after the 12 month warranty finished and PCs blowing up because their fans were completely underpowered relative to the gubbins stuffed in the box.  I no longer feel as if I'm going to pass out in high summer because of the heat generated by the computer !

Setting up on Day 1
This shows a normal format photo in full screen on the HD screen
It now sits on top of the Yellow pages for East London and a Board game
I wish it were easier to find something to put the screen on which enables you to adjust
to the correct viewing height to avoid back and neck pain

I now have a computer which is very simple to use. It's also silent, does not overheat or make 'funny' noises, never fails to start and very rarely falters.  On top of that I've enjoyed the best customer service ever - on the phone and in the store!

• I'm on my third mouse - changeover was not a problem (DO buy the charger which comes with three sets of batteries which are designed for the Magic Mouse - and do make a difference!)
• I've had minor glitches which have been sorted out on the phone - usually software related
• one learns not to put the SD card in the DVD slot!
• I now back up every hour on the hour without ever thinking about it - outrageous!
• the only major issue has been the DVD failure - and that's being replaced under warranty.

The only thing I wish I'd done was bought one with more memory.  As it happens I can slot more in and will probably get round to doing that one day instead of cursing when I have 57 image-intensive tabs open!

They're breeding!

The power of excellent performance and very good customer service is absolutely amazing!  Since I bought mine, I've bought a 21" version for my elderly mother - which she finds relatively easy to use and even "he who must not be bored while I sketch" finally gave in and after he retired finally bought himself the latest 21" version.

I gather there are also a few of you out there who also bought an iMac on the strength of my reviews of my happiness with my iMac!

TIP:  When testing out different computers take some well-loved and 'testing' photos with you on an SD card or USB drive so you can test the quality of the screen.  You'll be amazed at how much you learn when looking at your own photos.

The benefits for my eyesight

In the last three years my eyesight has deteriorated a lot.  When I bought it I was buying with a view to wanting an excellent screen - but was thinking more art than eyesight.  That said it has been a huge boon to me as I've had to increase the size of the font on the screen and change the way I work with documents.

Hence I highly recommend a 27" iMac to anybody with defective and/or deteriorating eyesight

The benefits for my hands

My wired keyboard has been absolutely amazing - right up until the point when I emptied half a mug of tea over it yesterday!  It's very nearly OK but has lost it on a couple of keys.  I'll pick a new one up tomorrow when I'm in the Apple store rather than continue to use my Microsoft back-up  keyboard.  That's because the Apple keyboard has had the most amazing benefit for the very bad tenosynovitis in my right hand.  The soft-touch Apple keyboard means no problems with vibration and the amount of extra travel with a conventional keyboard.  So no pain and no need for strapping or a brace.

So - if you have arthritic hands or tenosynovitis or anything similar I highly recommend an Apple keyboard.

(Note: I'm less impressed with the wifi version because of the lack of case for travelling, the fact the keys fall off if wrapped for travel and the fact that if you forget to take your batteries out as an occasional only user you'll find they refuse to come out!)

The quest, the journey and the immediate aftermath!

These are the posts which recorded my quest for information to help me make the decision as to what was the next computer going to be.

Have a read through if you're having a think about what to buy next and see what what I found out and what people have to say.

The PC versus Mac for Artists debate 

• PC vs Mac for artists - explaining the reason for the exercise and inviting views - which attracted 50+ comments
• PCs versus Apple Mac - for artists (Part 2) - in which I tried so summarise what people were saying in the first post and I created a chart of recommendations - and which also got a lot of comments
• Decision time: pros and cons of PC vs Mac for artists - in which I explained my own particular set-up and key considerations - and then applied these to analysis of what I'd found out to date (not all of which is on this blog. I've been looking at websites for a long time)
• PC vs Mac update: questions about the iMac 25 Feb 2010    Mac keyboard: I'm still not really sure about the Apple iMac keyboard. I liked the keyboard action but found it cramped. I don't quite understand the point of having a very small keyboard if you've got a very large screen!

After the iMac came home

• Journal of an iMac Virgin #1 08 Mar 2010    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.
• Journal of an iMac Virgin #2 13 Mar 2010    I've been using the iMac for long hours since Monday and have generally been enjoying the experience with interludes of frustration while I try and work out how to do something. I'm not a lover yet - but I could be!  A summary of Pros, Comments and Cons!

It took a little while to learn
the new shortcuts for the keyboard commands

• Techie: How to remove a CD or DVD from an iMac 22 May 2010   It's frightening when you've got a CD or DVD in your iMac AND the drive disappears from Finder AND the eject button on the keyboard does not work.
• Journal of an iMac Virgin #3 07 Jun 2010   I've now had my iMac 3 months and I'm not giving it back. That said I have given my Magic Mouse back and got another one. More about that later.

One year later

• Happy Birthday to my iMac 07 Mar 2011   Today is my iMac's first birthday! A year ago today I bought an iMac and started out on my love affair with Apple. A year later I am the proud owner of a one year old 27" Apple iMac, an iPad and my other half no longer protests

Three years later

• I sometimes think my other half thinks I love my iMac more than him!

Do please leave a comment and 

share your experiences with computers with other artists who read this blog. 

I'll provide an update and summary of what people think in a future post.

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RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2013 - exhibition review

This post is for all those who are thinking about entering the annual open competition run by the Royal Watercolour Society in 2014.

I wasn't able to get to the Bankside Gallery to see the RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2013 until the last day.  (a combination of the "the cough" which followed the flu and latterlly post viral fatigue!)  Hence you can't see this exhibition as it has already closed.

Bankside Gallery - RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2013
This perspective gives you a sense of the size and framing of some of the paintings
Note how the frames are mostly neither wide nor obvious

However sight of what the exhibition looks like will be helpful to those whose work was rejected this year or those who are contemplating an entry next year

The RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition is an annual competition open to non-Members. It aims to encourage innovation and experimentation in watercolour painting, spanning work on paper in watercolour, acrylic, gouache, pen & ink and watercolour mixed media.

These are the lists of

• RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition - Prizewinners 2013
• RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2013 Successful Entries

The pdf files provide listings of the images with title, name of the artist and details of size, medium and price.  Note that the image on file is not the same as the actual image as some are heavily cropped.

Below you will find:

• images of the exhibition and prizewinners
• observations on the exhibition, the prizewinners and artwork I liked

Bankside - and Tate Modern - on a Sunday (3 March 2013) is the video I took while walking along Bankside, past Tate Modern on my way to the gallery - to get you in the mood!

Prizewinners

Videos: Bankside and Roy Lichtenstein

This afternoon I went to Bankside to see the RWS Contemporary Watercolour Exhibition (review follows tomorrow) - however walking over the Millennium Bridge I was caught up in the atmosphere of Bankside on a Sunday afternoon.

I'm currently trying to upload a short video to YouTube of what it's like at Bankside in London on a Sunday afternoon - next to the Thames and outside the Tate Modern and the Bankside Gallery - the home of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers.  YouTube is being very slow - however you can see the video on my Facebook Page. [UPDATE:  Here's the YouTube link for all those who want a dose of galleries by the Thames on a Sunday afternoon]

Videos about Roy Lichenstein

Lichtenstein: A Retrospective is on at Tate Modern until 27 May.
In the meantime here are two excellent videos about the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.

The first is an excellent short film (nearly 9 minutes) by the Tate - Diagram of an Artist: Roy Lichenstein

Roy Lichtenstein is renowned for his works based on comic strips and advertising imagery, coloured with his signature hand-painted Benday dots. This film brings together archival footage of Lichtenstein at home and at work in his studio, as well as interviews with his wife Dorothy and friend Frederic Tuten to create an intimate portrait of the artist.

The second is a much longer programme (nearly 50 minutes) seems to be a South Bank Show about Roy Lichtenstein.  At any rate it's got Melvyn Bragg interviewing the artist.  It discusses his appropriation of comic book art for his paintings and has the perspective of both comic book artist and Lichtenstein.  Plus it also contains comments from his dealer - Leo Castelli and the first Lichenstein exhibition at the Tate.

He comes across to me as somebody who is respectful of art history and the work of other artists - and is clear that when appropriating he is not copying.  Interestingly one comic book artist alludes to an exhibition which was organised for comic book artists to have a chance of a response to the work of Lichenstein.  It appears that those who created the original art found it very difficult to do what Lichenstein was doing!

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Painters prefer painting in the early morning (Poll result)

The most popular time for painting is early morning - 20% of you prefer to be "up with the lark" and at it bright and early

White Frost, Sunrise (1889) by Claud Monet
Oil on canvas, 25 x 36 in. (64 x 91.3 cm)
Collection: Hill-Stead Museum

In 1888-89, Monet painted three canvases depicting two identical grainstacks, then two more paintings of single grainstacks. Grainstacks, White Frost Effect was one of the first three, and Monet included it in a joint exhibition with Auguste Rodin, in 1889.Hill-Stead Museum

The Making A Mark Opinion Poll for February asked you 'What's your best time of day for painting'?.  123 of you responded and answers were spread across the options

The top four results were as follows:

• 20% prefer to be "up with the lark - bright and early"
• 14% opt for "whenever I have free time"
• 12% like "whenever it's quiet and nobody else is around" best 
• AND another 12% regard painting as "a job" and are "in the studio before 10am"

up with the lark - bright and early	25 (20%)
it's a job - in the studio before 10am	15 (12%)
midday gives me the longest period of static light	6 (4%)
afternoons are for painting	15 (12%)
sunrise and sunset	2 (1%)
late nights are best	12 (9%)
all day long - however long it takes	11 (8%)
when I've got a brush in my hand	4 (3%)
whenever I have free time	18 (14%)
whenever it's quiet and nobody else is around	15 (12%)

Poll Results: What's your best time of day for painting'?. 

Convention suggests that the best times for painting plein air are during the cool morning light at the beginning and the warm evening light at the end of the day - which both have long cast shadows.  However I think the poll must have had a bias toward studio painters as "sunrise and sunset" drew the LEAST number of votes at only 1% of the total vote!

The best time of day for painting?

Here are some more thoughts on the best time of day for artists to paint - whether it's in a studio or plein air.

• Michael Chesley Johnson (A Plein Air Painter's Blog) - Light and Time of Day
• Wet Canvas Forum - Best Plein Air Time of Day

Constable commented on the fact that the natural world has an appeal - and a challenge - at all times of the day

"The world is wide, no two days are alike, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of all the world; and the genuine productions of art, like those of nature, are all distinct from each other."

Monet of course went to some trouble to demonstrate that the same subject can look very different at different times of day and in different seasons of the year - see my website Monet's Series Paintings - Stacks of Wheat

There will be a new poll next week for March so do watch out for it!

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Who painted this? #18

OK after a spate of more difficult ones, I'm going to be kind!  So here are some white roses and I want to know who painted them - and a few other things. (see below)

Who painted this? #18

For the record I've removed the signature and date.

How to participate in "Who painted this? #18"

PLEASE make sure you read the rules before posting a comment - and ONLY POST ON THIS BLOG what you think is the answer.

Click this link to read THE RULES for participating in this challenge (this saves having to copy them out for each post!).

In short:

• use your brains not software to find the answer
• search using words only on a database of images
• leave your answer as a comment on this blog
• if correct it will not be published until the next post - which provides the answer
• if wrong it will be published
• do not leave the answer on Facebook!
• the winner - who gets a mention and a link on/from this blog - is the first person to give me a completely correct answer for ALL the things I want to know

Who Painted This #17 - The Answer