A late start for the New Year for me as the wave of administration from 2023 has not fully ebbed.
My last post in 2023 was entitled Penultimate post of 2023 but I was unable to post another owing to a deluge of work culminating in one of the worst travel experiences I have suffered while wending my way home to Brazil from Sicily. Take this link to this story.
Belated best wishes for 2024!
I have begun the process of re-establishing my work routine after an interruption of over 15 months. So far, this has included a return to painting, though this is really only getting head/hand coordination back after the long break, updating my Zazzle Store, and switching off the holiday status of my Etsy and Saatchi Art stores.
While on my three visits to Sicily in the past 15 months I was able to buy some materials. There are only two art shops in Trapani (one actually in Erice but close to the town border with its parent municipality) but the one I used to use more often has, in recent years, reduced its stock of quality paper while the Erice shop, I discovered, has a wider and better selection.
I also took advantage of a Fabriano shop in Rome’s Fiumicino airport where I bought paper.
Watercolour
In the past two weeks I have painted just 6 birds in watercolour, partly as journal practice and partly to test the papers. I also painted a landscape but (a) I am out of practice in painting generally and (b) I struggle with landscapes!
The Bee-eater portrait was no more than a doodle. The other five portraits were more focused on testing the materials.
Monochrome
In order to test a couple of other papers, and extend my practice to other media, I drew a Red-whiskered Bulbul in ink and a Common Raven in pencil.
Red-whiskered BulbulCommon Raven
Zazzle
Some housekeeping was required which I completed last week. I now need to review what I want to sell before adding new designs.
Take advantage of the regular Zazzle discounts – prices are dictated by Zazzle suppliers but I have some limited latitude in my percentage share so I will review this by product this month.
I have a limited edition of monochrome photographic prints (Gaucho / equestrian theme) but will be adding more photo prints over the next few weeks.
Most of my paintings on sale are watercolour bird portraits. New items will be added monthly with effect from February.
Pipira Rosa (Etsy)
The products in my Pipira Rosa store are mainly “head-shot” portraits of birds, most of which are available as downloadable files that allow buyers to print on demand and to customise the print size.
Again, more products with effect from February.
Photography
This is taking second place to my art and design work. I sold the rights to an image via my agency last year for over $1,000 but my share was barely 10% – with many other images being licensed for pennies. While a sale is a sale it really is demotivating and not worth the time to prepare images to place on sale.
Exploring other options!
Thanks for reading / following. Another update in a couple of weeks.
Mura di Tramontana with Torre di Ligny on the horizon
Twelve months since my 2022 visit to Sicily and I am back here again.
A year ago I was here in Erice, with a short side trip to San Vito lo Capo, to celebrate my mother’s 95th birthday. Sadly, in March, she passed away while I was visiting her in hospital. There is a long story attached to these events but now is not the time to narrate them. Instead I can simply state that while I attempted to deal with the inheritance administration in March / April I was unable to do so due to the time restrictions arising from Brexit. This could have been avoid if, in 2019 while visiting my mother, I had applied for residency. C’est la vie.
For the past 14 months I have been in family and administrative activities that have kept me away from my studio, in short doing very little, if any, painting or photography. There have been occasional stints at journal painting but I resigned myself to the fact that this year will be a write-off.
Violaceous Euphonia
The Euphonia, and its wife, were the only two paintings completed for sale this year.
However, in the these past months I have been able to think and plan for the future and I expect to kick off the New Year with a return to full-time creative work.
Final update of the year will be published in mud-December.
Toco Toucan on Fabriano paper I tested. Nice painting surface!
My last post here was made in November, after my return from a visit to my mother in Sicily. She had celebrated her 95th birthday at the end of October but, sadly, passed away in March.
I was with her in February/March though she was in hospital where covid rules, frustratingly, meant visits of 30 minutes each evening.
So that’s why I have not posted anything here since last year.
Watercolours
I have barely had chance to paint this year, merely taking minutes whenever possible to keep the hand/eye/brain muscles in practice.
In short, very little productivity! This pair of birds was painted after seeing them in a tree about 50 kms north of where I live, in a nice rural area.
Apart from these I made a few journal sketches and tested some quite nice Fabriano paper I had bought when passing through Rome airport.
Nothing new uploaded here though I plan to add a couple of new paintings when I get a chance. I have done some admin work on the site, principally to remove from sale a number of pieces.
There was no update for October as I was in the middle of a six-week trip to Europe.
About half-way through the trip I developed bronchitis which stayed with me to the end of November at which point I caught Covid on my return to Brazil. All of this despite being fully vaccinated for Covid and flu, and wearing masks during my trip. In many locations I seemed to be just one of a very small minority using a mask. C’est la vie!
My trip was the first post-pandemic opportunity to visit my family in various parts of Europe. Without going into full detail I can summarise the trip: visiting Sicily, the Scilly Isles, Bristol, Weybridge and Franconville; seeing my mother, four of five daughters based in UK/EU, all six grandchildren, and my brother; and capturing a host of images to add to my stock portfolio or for use in painting studies.
December activity is likely to be minimal in view of the holiday season, post-travel admin, and planning for 2023 projects. There will be something to report.
In the meantime … happy holidays. Have a great Christmas and New Year.
While September was a busy month it was not really productive in respect of design, painting or photography. A lot going on with my principal focus on planning my trip to Europe. More on this subject next week.
Watercolours
The King Swallowtail (Papilio thoas) became a subject in my watercolour journal after I found a caterpillar, commonly referred to as “bird poop caterpillars” in view of the camouflage appearance, feeding on my recently planted Common Rue (Ruta graveolens) plant, known in Brazil as Arruda.
I let the caterpillar feed, despite concerns about the arruda, but the caterpillar failed to complete its transition to the chrysalis stage. Two more caterpillars appeared though one was attacked by ants and died in the process of converting to the chrysalis. The third made it and now sits protected from attack in a glass jar. It is expected to turn into a butterfly any day now.
I managed to paint both the caterpillar and the chrysalis:
Caterpillar phaseChrysalis phase
The orange “horns” are not ordinarily visible in the caterpillar but, when threatened, the two balloon-like elements rush out of the caterpillar’s head and scare off any bird considering a snack. The “horns” then deflate and disappear.
The chrysalis takes 10-15 days to mature, so any day now!
The Rockpooling Project
I haven’t added more work to the project but I shall be visiting the Scilly Isles in November and, weather and tides permitting I hope to participate in a Safari, take lots of photos, and build an image bank for painting once I return to base.
Product Design
The 2022 Christmas card design is now available in my Zazzle Store both as a greetings card and as a pattern for my paper party plates.
Alan Skyrme Photography
My PicFair site has not been updated for quite a long time, primarily as I haven’t had the opportunity to travel. After my forthcoming trip to Europe I expect to have enough new material to put up for licensing on Picfair and Alamy.
ETSY
My ETSY store, Pipira Rosa, has about 50 items on sale. The digital downloadable prints will be on sale even while I travel but the physical products will be removed while I am away.
I shall upload new products after I return from my trip, ready for Christmas!
While in UK I hope to replenish my stock of watercolour paints and papers.
Outdoor space under a vine-covered pergola (in my mother’s garden, Erice, Sicily
The little shady spot, in the photo above, is going to be where I shall sit painting, drawing and writing under the shade of the grape vine for a short time in the six-weeks that I shall be travelling.
This is the first time since the start of the pandemic that I have been able to travel and I shall, in effect, be re-tracing my steps to where I was before corvid began.
I used to be able to travel frequently (for many years I was aboard an aircraft at a rate, on average, of one flight per week) but my logistics planning skills hadn’t been forgotten. In truth they slowed a bit but part of that slowness was due to a degree of anxiety and depression: the anxiety caused by a tight budget and the depression (albeit slight, as I have regular ebbs and flows) as a result of the financial situation and the realisation that I need to sell more just to be able to visit by family in Europe. Boo hoo.Poor me. Life goes on so stay strong.
Apart from visiting my mother and most (hopefully all) of my many beautiful daughters, and my grand-children, I shall be writing reviews of my travels, as I usually did in the past. This includes quite a bit of photography, so there should be some food reviews and images to publish. I have, for budgetary reasons, had to limit the number of hotels and meals I can include in my trip. I expect to lose weight!
I will be taking my paints and watercolour journal with me so expect to have material to produce some paintings on my return to Brazil. One important thing to do on this trip is to buy watercolour paints and paper. My stocks have been in short supply for most of this year, hence I have not been particularly productive.
My ceramic tile designs have been quite successful so, while in Sicily, I shall be looking for inspiration and hope to release a new range or two when I get back.
The travel arrangements include:
10 flights
7 buses
5 trains
2 boats (ferry)
metro and taxi
3 hotels
Although much of the accommodation will be with family I would, in the past, have added 5 hotel stays to ensure I stay well-rested and healthy! I doubt I will cut back in future so shall plan and ensure I have adequate funding for the entire trip. Being frugal is one thing but health, especially at my age, is just as important.
Thanks for following.
I hope my next few travel-related posts will be entertaining!
This is the first update on my review of alternatives to Meta apps (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) that I mention in my 17SEP22 post. Once I have completed all reviews I shall post a summary.
So far I have looked only at apps as potential replacements for Facebook. The review of Instagram and WhatsApp alternatives will follow in due course.
I found just four options: Diaspora, Ello, Minds, and MeWe. I wasn’t able to test Diaspora as it was, for me, too complicated. Here are my findings:
The app was identified as an option after doing a Google search. However, after checking with Apple’s AppStore I was unable to find a link. Another Google search found the link I have provided above but, as the site blurb indicates, one needs to either create or join a pod. Too much* tech for me to deal with so despite the positive notes regarding decentralisation, freedom and privacy (issues that Meta product suffer from) this app is not for me, nor likely to be for any of my contacts.
(* Although I say “too much tech” I have had involvement in computing since the mid 1970s so it isn’t that I don’t understand, its just that I want simple apps that deliver everything I need on a plate with minimal effort on my part!)
I joined Ello a while ago, when the germ of an idea to cut loose from Facebook took root in my head. To be honest I am not sure if this will serve me as a Facebook alternative as Ello is designed specifically for creatives. While I will probably use Ello in place of my gallery (Alan Skyrme Gallery) Facebook page I can’t see me escaping from my main FB page as it is the principle means of staying in touch with friends and family scattered across the four corners of the world.
Using Ello
Once one has downloaded the app and subscribed (and set up ones bio) it is possible to post images, comments and tags in much the same way as with instagram. The number of views, likes and comments are shown and it is possible to repost images or take other action such as copy, print or pin etc.
Users are urged to invite contacts to help grow the network too. I shall post my profile at the end of this post in case any readers are interested in looking at my Ello account or in joining.
I have just one picture uploaded on Ello so far, a test, which has had 550 views, though no “likes” no comments.
Conclusion
I will certainly continue to use Ello, and will probably delete my Alan Skyrme Galley FB page, though not the main personal page (at least not yet).
Minds
This app was described on the Simply Computing site as follows:
“Minds is a somewhat anti-establishment Facebook clone. The network is free-speech oriented with no censorship. New users can take advantage of the “migrate from Facebook” function. Saavy users can also generate income via their social networking by getting monthly support for monetized posts and/or ad sharing.”
First impression
I had a quick look and decided that it didn’t really appear to be an FB clone. Facebook is used by lots of people to post their thoughts or experiences of the day and to get feedback from their friends. At leats that’s how I use it. Minds seemed, at first glance, to be more of modern version of an old style bulletin board (the sort of thing that one accessed via dial-up modems 30 + years ago).
Using Minds
Downloading the app from the Apple Store was simple. Setting up an account was also easy: email address and password initially (the email address is validated as part of this process) and then more info to get started with posting:
Tag selection – a minimum of three hashtags to get started
Set-up channel – a bit of an odd name but takes you to an area where further info is added: Display name (confirmation of the initial set-up name). This can be changed. Bio – I provided my basic bio. Avatar – I uploaded a photo of me that I have used in other social media.
Verify uniqueness. This is a contact phone number. I added mine, waited for the verification code to arrive but nothing happened. I tried again a couple of times. I then tried with a different number but received an error message.
Create post. East enough. Similar to FB. There is a limit of 5 hashtags that can be included. There may be a text limit too but I haven’t tested that. The photo I included in the post was one I had recently posted on Instagram.
Posting allows the user to earn tokens, though I presume it occurs only if all of the above fields are completed so I may not be eligible until the phone number is verified. However, I seem to have exceeded some limit or other and trying again has not worked (I added the 9999 sequence merely to hide my actual phone number, for illustration)
I found some interesting discussions, with the usual irrelevant posts by folk wanting to offer sex, but most of it USA-centred subjects. I posted one of my bird paintings (Pied Kingfisher) which attracted 6 views in just over a month. No comments received. I note that even “boosted” posts have varying degrees of success (views).
Conclusion
Not for me. I see the appeal of this channel but it really needs my contacts to subscribe and follow me to generate more followers. So, thanks but no thanks.
MeWe
I downloaded MeWe from the Apple Store and set up my account with email and a password.
At first glance it seems to be a good FB alternative – similar in appearance and functionality – though there are some Premier (ie pay) functions that I have yet to see any reason to part with my money (I assume to avoid ads).
So far I have made one post but too early to say if it receives comments or “likes”.
More on this when I get a bit more experience
Still to be done!
I am about to start travelling so doubt I will be able to post regularly until I return, though I shall try to post even just a short note each Friday.
The plan is to complete reviews of the following whenever I get a chance:
Instagram
Vero
Steemit
Caffeine
Steller
Whatsapp
Telegram
Signal
Discord
Kik
Snapchat
Skype
Keybase
Viber
Thanks for following. I shall be travelling next month but will post a summary of my plans later today.
In my 12th August Latest News post I mentioned my plan to undertake a search and review of alternatives to Meta apps ie Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. My initial thought on this was triggered by the countless ads, irrelevant posts and recommendations to be-friend people I either do not know or with whom I have no interested in connecting. I also noted a tendency to push FB posts from Instagram accounts that I follow. Why?
I don’t have a huge following on Instagram but, while I enjoy looking at posts from a wide range of instagrammers, I have been content to post my own work in the hope that a few people may like it. But those instagram accounts have little to do with my personal Facebook account, and my “Gallery” Facebook account is used by me merely to reach a few people who do not use instagram.
Until recently I had a couple of other instagram accounts, for my nutrition and consulting businesses, but I deleted those during the early part of the pandemic as I retired from both of those work areas. More recently I created two new instagram accounts; one for my photography and the other for my design work. Things were going reasonably well till, out of the blue, Instagram told me my photo account had been blocked for transgression of some rules. As I pointed out to Instagram, I had NOT broken any rules as, at that point, I had only just uploaded a handful of photos. I had not solicited any followers and in fact had not yet confirmed my email address so the account was not even fully functional. I really have no time to waste in discussing such matters with social media providers so my plan to exit Meta has been accelerated.
Having now undertaken a search for alternatives apps I found a few that I thought would be interesting. In the last couple of weeks or so I downloaded the following apps (or I already had them) and will undertake a review of each, focused on how suitable these apps are to me.
I had hoped this review would take a few days but, as is too often the case, I became embroiled in other tasks – including an overdue plan to travel!
So, just to provide some feedback, here are the alternative apps that I will be looking at. I doubt I shall complete them before the end of September, nor even before I travel, so I will publish by thoughts as and when they become available.
I have not looked into Twitter replacements because (a) I don’t use it much (b) it isn’t part of Meta and (c) it’s been subject to a takeover by Elon Musk so the outcome of the change in ownership may be either positive or negative but, in any case, (a) is an over-rider ie I don’t use it much though perhaps I should.
I doubt I shall be able to commit to a specific schedule but will attempt to post some progress every Friday.
Towards the end of each year, since 2019, I have created a Christmas Robin greetings card design. On waking yesterday I realised it was September and therefore time for my latest design.
The drawing above is the 2022 design.
The previous years’ designs are below.
2021 – Cheers2020 – Flat Out2019 – Laid Back
The designs, in addition to greetings cards, have been applied to paper party plates, napkins and other products via my Zazzle Store – Alan Skyrme Design Studio.
I have a collection of paper party plates etc as well as wall art and other collections. Worth checking out and worth watching for Zazzle offers that are often significant discounts.
I ought to have provided an update on my productivity for the month of July but as it was almost zero I failed to do so last week.
There were a couple of paintings I managed to create in between other stuff that kept me away from my easel, one being a clover flower on 1st July.
Much of the other stuff was little more than journal painting. The fact is I have run short of watercolour paints so no way to produce much unless its predominantly blue, such as the Purplish Jays I painted at the end of the month.
A pair of Purplish Jays
The other bird portraits I completed were a pheasant, that was having a dust bath, and a Toco Toucan.
Toco ToucanRing-necked Pheasant
Until I can get hold of quality watercolour paints I will limit myself to design work and painting in my journal.
Social Media
Having created a new instagram account for my photography I discovered that Meta had blocked my account for, so they say, infringing some rules. Given that the account (shootinages2022) was operating for just a day or two after confirming my email address, with about a dozen photos uploaded to kick off the account, I found it odd to have been accused of something I hadn’t done. So I deleted the account and also deleted my design studio account. I will keep my watercolour bird account until I find a suitable alternative app.
I am also reviewing my Facebook and Whatsapp accounts with a view to moving to apps that offer a similar service. Facebook has been particularly annoying of late with, on one occasion, a total of 25 posts of ads or irrelevant suggestions between posts of friends.
So all Meta apps are now under review. I have found alternatives and plan to test them in the next few days.
I shall publish the results here, hopefully at the end of this month.
Skyrme Gallery 