KenSwinson.com

Author: Ken

  • winter scene blender 3D

    i am learning 3D modeling. I made this:

    snow scene using blender 3d. snowman, house, birds in tree, cow on hill

    UPDATE: added snow

    snowSceneMaybeFinal2 copy copy copy
  • Frontier Christmas in Old Washington

    Frontier Christmas in Old Washington

    This is my favorite time of year in Old Washington

    frontierKids

    The village is decorated in green and red

    shops

    inside

    claudia

    and out

    gardeners

    And Stefan Hayes and company have moved to Old Washington. We are glad you are here!
    stefan

    …and I made a lot of Christmas Cards with friends.

    christmasCards

    Thanks everyone for coming! It was a fun weekend…

  • Tamales – block print

    Right now, I’m doing a lot of printmaking in my studio:

    tamales

    The design is from my recent residency in Oaxaca, MX. These two women sold tamales in the street. Their tamales are delicious, and they let me practice speaking spanish while I ate. They have been selling tamales on that corner for 15 years.

    DSC01257
    I thought they would look good in red.

    tamale01

    …using oil based inks

    tamale02

    and my old fashioned printing press

    DSC01258

    I’m hungry just looking at the finished print.

    tamales_1

    You can watch the process (friday december 4, 2015 from noon-5) at the EAT gallery in Maysville, KY.
    If you can’t make it for that: I’m having an open house Saturday and Sunday in Old Washington for their Frontier Christmas Celebration.

    And if you would like to try it yourself, I am teaching a 4 hour workshop at the Baker Hunt Art and Culture Center in Covington, KY December 12th.

    If you are interested in the artwork I created while in Oaxaca, MX, you can see more by visiting the “Mexico” section of my gallery

  • Thirsty

    Last week, I spent a week as the ‘Artist In Residence’ at Longbranch Elementary School. Their art program works with a non-profit organization, called Faith 2 Move, to incorporate global awareness into their curriculum. I collaborated with 850 students to make this video about water. Enjoy!

  • Block Printmaking at ‘Taller la Chicharra’

    While in Oaxaca, MX I took a printmaking workshop from Alan Altamirano at the Taller de Chicharra. The inspiration for my print came from the street ‘fiestas’ in the streets of Oaxaca.

  • Road Trip to Huajuapan de Leon

    I had a great time on my road trip over the weekend. Thanks Mimizita​ for introducing me to you family and village.

    yo encante durante mi viaje de la fin de semana. Gracias a Mimizita por me presento a tu familia y pueblo.

  • Morning Run – Oaxaca, MX

    My morning run is so pretty…not sure if it comes through in the video, but I was experimenting with a video app called, hyperlapse, to make it less shaky. hope you all have a great day.

  • Dia del Taxista – Oaxaca, MX

    One thing I love about Mexico, it seems like there’s a celebration for everyone! Today, during my morning run, I ran into this:

  • tree of life- 3d lighting

    I’m learning to model in 3D with the program, Blender, and I am working on lighting. These are best 2 attempts so far:

    IMG_6870.JPG

    My goal was to make the fruit on the tree appear like they are glowing.

    treeOfLifeIlluminated

    Not so bright that you can’t see the skin, but an effect more like a paper lantern.

    Which one do you like better?

  • a smooth way to transition between colors on a mesh?

    I’m learning Blender, and starting to add color. I’m trying to figure out how to create a soft line between 2 different colors on the same mesh.  The best solution I have come up with is to make a UV map, then brush the color by hand.

    duckCloseUp

    I’d like a simpler solution. Drawing on the UV map is close, but I would like the transition to be smoother. For example, I don’t want the texture that you see between the bird’s beak and body.

    rotating-colored-duck