16 December, 2007

Anniversary

For My Readers - Click to Activate Gif

Happy birthday, The Colorist readers. Thanks for giving this blog legs, and for your kind input over the course of the year.


For My Fellow Bloggers - Click to Activate Gif

For my fellow art bloggers and fellow bloggers-at-large, here's a hearty thank you. The blogroll links most of you, and I feel that the community we share is a great, and a new, venue for artists' expression.

Blogging

When I began this blog a year ago today, I had an almost morbid fear of computers. We had that fear in the pre-PC days and the feeling was immortalized on film by Stanley Kubrick. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL..." (Then, your blood runs cold! See the scene at You Tube, if you have an extra 9 minutes to burn on this creepy, suspenseful clip.

The world that I was born into was a completely different one than we now inhabit. The short story of that is there were no personal computers. Can you imagine? A current Country song has some great verses to explain this whole matrix change we "old guys" feel. Bucky Covington sings, "We had three TV channels you got up to change", and reflects on how my childhood in the fifties and sixties was "Not just a different time, it was a different world."

In the course of the year, I have not mastered, but at least been able to function on this template style blog. I got competent and confident enough to also put up my website in a template site. I will credit two resources for my blog's "look". One: my fellow art bloggers. I observed what they were using as far as tools are concerned, and chose the few that seemed efficient and productive. Second: help sites like Dummie's Guide. There, I learned how to add headers to my HTML and much more. Yes, it is just cut & paste, but for a non-science guy, it is an education.

The other growth area for me has been learning to use Photoshop. It is an essential tool for art fair artists, such as myself, and I would hazard to say that it will become an essential for any fine artist who is starting out today. I began by posting humorously bad photoshops of myself and Vincent van Gogh, and have enough experience with this tool to accomplish a number of projects with this incredible tool. Keep in mind I had heard that universities offer whole degrees in Photoshop!


My Advice? Write from your own muse, and do this habitually. Add a photo or artwork on every post. For heaven's sake, use the language! Spell check! Read your post for grammar and syntax! Thuh-ankk yyyoouuu, claaaaass.

Next: The future at The Colorist.

11 comments:

Robyn Sinclair said...

Happy Anniversary and congratulations. You have a splendid blog.

Casey Klahn said...

Thanks, Robyn!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to the Colorist!

Casey Klahn said...

Thanks, Meg!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on hitting the one year mark Casey.

Casey Klahn said...

Thanks, William!

Anonymous said...

Wow Casey, quite a journey from the risqué comic illustrations of High School and college, slumming with a truly odd assortment of blokes during and after college and finally finding yourself with family, muse and blog in the occasionally chaotic and often peaceful rural bliss. Who a thunk it back at “The House”!!!

Casey Klahn said...

Woah, dude! Don't give away too many of my past secrets, here! Next thing you'll be bringing up my crazy ex-girlfriends!

Unknown said...

Hi Casey,
I am a bit late but I just found your blog from someone else's - cannot remember now which one but I found your recap very interesting and amusing.
I consider myself being a new blogger also (since June this year) and found it quite fascinating to realize that your experience with starting a blog reminded me of my own when starting my website about 5 years ago which was a bit more difficult as I did it all myself including learning HTML coding. Starting a blog as I discovered this year - was so much easier and being reluctant to it first I now enjoy it so much. It is a great opportunity to get to "know" fellow artists - the best besides personal contact.
I am sure I will visit your blog more often now. Congratulations for your anniversary.
Greetings from Munich,
Petra

Casey Klahn said...

In the course of the year I have met one blogger in person, Meg Lyman (The Crash Octopus) and had one reader pick me out at my art booth. She helped me make a big art sale, BTW.

Petra, I am very glad to meet you. I have noticed a big void at my Statcounter of German readers, even though I get plenty from all over Europe. I even created a post to attract some German readers, and later discovered the translator tool.

In order to find Petra, gentle readers, Google her name rather than following the Blogger profile, which is static. Cool art, Petra.

Unknown said...

Hi Casey,
thanks yo much for your kind words.
I am terribly sorry but I tried to avoid entering all the details each time I comment on a blogger post by opening an account on blogger. Now I have realized that still nothing is resolved - LOL. This happens when you try to be extraordinarily intelligent.
I have entered a link to my website and the links to my blogs which are on wordpress - that's why all this hazzle happened. Other than wordpress, does blogger not allow you to enter a link to your website directly (with your name) so you would have to enter all details manually again and again.
That's why I prefer to use wordpress. Never mind.
Now I am looking forward to reading more from your blogs...

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