Greetings! Time again for another sporadic update from Peter J. Sucy Digital Arts!

Please notice the change in name, I thought it was about time. A name change also meant I had to update the look of my website. I hope you'll find the new design a bit cleaner, easier to navigate and sorry, no more Flash.

New High Resolution Digitally Screened Print Masters Introduced

It's been a busy summer. Since July 1st I have been creating new print versions of nearly every image in my Fine Art America Gallery. Nearly 200 different original images from my catalog have been re-worked in Photoshop. Most of the originals for this process were generated from RAW camera files using an HDR technique combining several different exposures of the image. Each of these new originals were then digitally screened into high resolution (10,000 pixels wide) layers using a paint synthesizer called Studio Artist. Each of about five different screens is created with a specifically tuned paint patch. These screens, which are between 150 and 200 Megapixels each are layered and then carefully blended in Photoshop to create my High Resolution, Digitally Screened Print Masters.

Back in June, I read an article in which Russell Kirsch, the "father of digital imaging", was quoted as basically saying that he made a mistake when he made pixels square and that he was now trying to correct that problem, more than 50 years later. You can read the full article here: . After reading it, it suddenly dawned on me that I might have inadvertently been trying to solve that same problem with my use of the paint synthesizer.

Further Artist Techno Mumbo Jumbo follows: Click here to skip to the point.

Originally my use of the paint synthesizer was an attempt to take the edges off the stark, digital harshness of 3D renders which I felt were just too clean. I wanted to introduce a slightly more analog look. It has alsot allowed me to more readily blend photos and 3D renders in my images. Most of the early attempts were failures, they were too painterly for me. I really hate to lose any of the detail originally captured. After few years of experimenting though, I began to learn which patches worked and how to tweak the various controls for each paint patch to my liking. Eventually I was able to create images that are just on the edge between painting and photographs by boosting the output size to 10,000 pixels. They are photographs at a normal viewing distance but at close up they are paintings made with tiny little brush strokes.

Dissatisfied with the noise, grid patterns and color artifacts of my digital photos I began experimenting using the same technique hoping to improve my photos as well. Over the last 5 years I have probably gone through large sections of my library more than a dozen times trying different combinations of paint patches. Two times this year alone.

The synthesizer works by taking a source image and then re-rendering using brush/pencil/ink strokes defined by a customizable paint patch. (Typically my source images are 3k x 2K digital photos which I re-render to 10,000 x 6700 pixels.) Each layer/screen can take between 30 minutes to an hour and a half to paint to the canvas. The resulting layers are then blended in Photoshop to create the final Digitally Screened Print Master. The just the screening process for an image usually takes 3 to 5 hours to complete if I'm at the computer the whole time.

There is a very strong similarity to the working process of a darkroom of days gone by. Each time through the process I'd learn something new and make a slightly better image, always encouraging me to go back and try again. There is also the same delayed kind of gratification to seeing the image develop as I adjust blends and opacities in Photoshop. I was reminded of Ansel Adams once saying that creating a print was like a musical performance. Although the score (the negative) is the always same, each performance (the act of printing) is unique. The lsyered Photoshop files are my digital negatives. which I can go back to and tweak some more at a later date. Currently, I'm very happy with the majority of my last set of performances, although there still might be a few images that I'll tweak a bit more, but overall the results have exceeding my original expectations.

The Artist Techno Mumbo Jumbo ends here, mostly.

In the past with film photography, one of the key cues human perception used to determine an image's sharpness was film grain. Due to it's inherently random nature, film grain was also not a pattern the eye was likely to discern. Unlike a digital camera or scanner sensor pattern. But what if you took each pixel, blew it up and turned it into a bunch of brush strokes made up of pixels by rendering the image at extremely high resolution. Imagine also that this enlargement process took into account the patterns and colors of the surrounding pixels and used vector algorithms to lay down these brush strokes, These tiny brush strokes are very much like a kind of digital grain, make them sharp and the whole image will appear sharper.

The test images I've printed at 18" x 12" here at home have been very crisp and I'm confident that the images will hold up well even when enlarged all the way to 6' x 4'. The prints may begin to look a bit more like paintings at that size when you are close up, but from across the room they will still look like extremely sharp photos.

A Bit More Techno Mumbo Jumbo follows:

I created a sample image that illustrates the process showing a section of an image at 1:1 resolution when you zoom in on one of the highlighted squares across the top or the large green square. The image above was resized to fit but demonstrates the 600 x 600 area selected compared to the whole image. The sample image at full resolution is located HERE on the second page of my gallery. There is also a lengthy description alongside as well. Remember, clicking on the green squares that show up when you move your mouse over the image will load the full resolution version of that area of the sample image.

Techno Mumbo Jumbo ends here.

SA Soft Sell follows:

Sandy and I recently had one of my images printed by Fine Art America's print service on a 4' x 3' canvas. Sandy wanted a print of one of my works for over the couch and I really wanted to see one of my images large on canvas. Even at cost I couldn't justify getting the 6' x 4' canvas, although I really would've liked to have seen one. The gallery wrapped (stretched over 1.5" deep frame) canvas arrived less than a week later, safely packaged, completely bubble wrapped and even included size appropriate hanging hardware. We were extremely satisfied with the quality of the canvas, the print quality was nearly as good as one of my own prints.

A Soft Sell Ends.

A Harder Sell Folllows:

Speaking of my own prints, I will personally print an edition of up to 10 - 18" x 12" or near equivalent (on 17" x 22" Hahnemuhle watercolor paper) of any image in my online gallery. These images will be printed on my personal proofing Epson 3880 printer, signed and numbered by me and will include a certificate of authenticity. The price is $150 per print, $175 matted with archival materials, $200 matted and framed (plain black aluminum frame unless otherwise requested) plus shipping.

The same pricing and edition sizes apply to my "straight photographic" versions which I recently added to my FAA Gallery in case some would prefer these. These are only available in sizes up to about 40" x 26" due to the lower resolution. The 18" x 12" limited editions are sized for the optimum reproduction quality. You can tell which are the straight versions in the gallery because they will have the word "photo" at the end of the title. Not all images are available as an original photo. Often due to severe camera artifacts or poor optics, too much editing has been done and I usually produce only a digitally screened version which better hides the telltale signs of editing and artifacts.

An Even Harder Sell Follows:

With the economy such as it is, I have had to put aside plans for producing a show of my lenticular works for awhile. With no work in more than a year and a half and no sales since January, any income I have coming in has to go to maintaining the household (and paying off student loans). Therefore, I have no way to fund having my images printed or building the prototype of my LED backlit display design at the present time.

News Update: OK make a liar out of me. The good news is, I just licensed two images to the set designers of ABC's Desperate Housewives and they also bought 24" x 16" prints of each as well. (09.27.2010)

Might there be any wealthy art patrons or maybe some venture capitalists out there interested in helping me launch a line of lenticular fine art with custom designed LED backlit displays? You can see some of animations of these works and some display concepts in my Lenticular Galleries section on www.peterjsucy.com.

Anyone else who would like to contribute to furthering my art explorations could simply buy a print, a canvas or even just a notecard from my Print and Frame Shop. You never know... it might be worth more than you paid for it someday, but it will certainly mean a lot to me right now.

Hard Sell Ends.

What's going with me?

These days I'm primarily employed as a stay at home Dad for the youngest of my four who is a senior this year. Sandy commutes to NYC/NJ 4-5 days a week and since I'm unable to work outside the house, it's a pretty good arrangement. During the day I can work at my computer in between chores, meals and such. I might even have the whole house to myself during the day soon, if my third child ever finds a job and moves out.

Cue the Tiny Violins:

Only a few people were aware that my decision to leave Kodak in 2001 was largely driven by the onset of increasingly severe symptoms of Fibromyalgia. In particular, debilitating chronic fatigue and widespread aches and pains in the muscles and joints. It's a condition I've had since childhood (but went undiagnosed until 1996) but over the last 20 years had become progressively worse Commuting an hour each way and working a 40 hour work week was unsustainable. Disability wasn't really an option back in 2001 because FM was a fairly new diagnosis. Social Security refuses to accept FM as an eligible illness even today.

The closing of the Dynamic Imaging lenticular group in July 2001 and lure of two years of severance pay, seemed to be THE OPPORTUNITY to start a new business in that field. I needed a job that would let me work at home at my own pace and allow me to better manage my symptoms This also fit the bill. What I didn't count on was waking up one week later on 9/11/2001 to a whole new world.

It was probably not the best time to start business specializing in a more expensive alternative to traditional 2D printing. My original partners (my sales and management team) had to leave in 2003 and 2004 to find more gainful employment. Recently, and a bit reluctantly, I decided to close down Zaxys Depth and Motion Imaging and disolve the corporation. The last few years there hasn't been enough income to cover the cost of having the corporate taxes done.

This spring, I also finally made the decision to try and qualify for Social Security Disability benefits after reading that other FM patients had been winning in many appeals. This August I received my official notice of rejection from SS and my attorneys immediately began the appeal process. My lawyer feels I have a pretty good chance of winning the appeal due to my age and the number of years I worked. Even so that whole process will still take another couple of years. There is reason for hope in getting benefits as there may finally be a blood test to confirm the diagnosis. Current research indicates that fibromyalgia, myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS), epilepsy and a number of other diseases appear to be caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Which basically means is that the body's cells are unable to produce enough ATP (energy currency) for proper muscle, organ and nerve functions. As a result you fatigue easily and feel tired much of the time. A test measuring ATP levels may eventually provide enough proof for Social Security. There is no known cure, all that can be done is to try and manage it.

Fortunately, I can still work at the computer for an hour, sometimes two at a time, ride the mower, do some household chores, the groceries and cook for the family (just not all in one day) as long as I pace myself and be careful to not get too fatigued, The neck, shoulder and lower back are probably the most used muscles every day. Just holding your head up and keeping you upright whether you're sitting or standing uses a lot of energy. When you run out of ATP in those muscles either by overexerting yourself, or in my case just trying to muddle through the day, those muscles really begin to cramp and burn. The cramping and burning in the neck can escalate to severe migraines if left unchecked. The most effective treatment I've found is applying heat, taking a few advil, occassionally a flexeril, and laying down. For the last couple of years now I've been taking most of the very few approved drugs, (for Fibromyalgia) like Lyrica (pregabalin). I haven't had any migraine episodes in quite awhile and as long as I don't over do it I can make it though most of the day much more often than a few years ago. At any rate, at least I'm able to still do what I enjoy most when I can work. Although I seem to have a greater tendancy to over do it when I'm able to focus on a task I enjoy. Focusing becomes a struggle when you are in pain, exhausted or just plain uncomfortable. There, my little secret's out.

If you'd like to learn more about Fibromyalgia you can start here. The estimate it that more than half a million people in the US suffer from it, and the number is increasing. It's called an invisible desease because even though you feel quite miserable, you can look perfectly fine. For years it went undiagnosed and often the people who had it were labeled hypochondriacs or told that it was all in their head. Believe me I know. I was labeled the class weakling throughout most of my years in public schools as result of embarassing gym class episodes requiring stamina. There is still quite a bit a stigma attached to Fibromyalgia, so I encourage everyone to learn more about it and help fund research for a cure.

OK, Kill the Violins:

Hawaii Trip this Spring

This past March, Sandy, my sister and brother-in-law, and I went to Kauai and the Big Island. We spent a week on each island at one of our timeshares. Sandy had earned enough miles and we had to use our condo points or lose 'em. My FM symptoms are at their peak in the spring (and fall) and I had been having quite a bit of lower back and hip pain for several weeks leading up to the trip, thus making the plane rides extremely uncomfortable. The pain also limited how much I was able do and photograph in any one day.

While not as productive as my 1998 Hawaii trip, Kauai, even in the rain was still awe inspiring. I did manage to get several new images and a couple of panoramas of Waimea Canyon in the rain and a nice pano of the black sand beach on the Big Island (above) all of which are posted in my FAA Gallery. Despite the somewhat disappointing photo production and uncomfortable travel, the rest of the trip was quite relaxing, we ate very well thanks to my sister, and we had a lot of fun. Though, I could have done without the roosters crowing outside our window all night long on Kauai.

As I hinted at earlier, Sandy and I are edging ever closer to becoming empty nesters. My hope is I'll still be able to do some more traveling (if the economy ever recovers). Probably no more trips to Hawaii again for awhile. I'd dreamed of someday selling the house and getting a motorhome to cruise the country and photograph, particularly out West. However, we all may be living in our cars before that will happen, it seems. But... it's a lot harder for your kids to move back in with you if you're on the road in a motorhome. At least that's my belief.

HELP WANTED

I haven't had much luck selling my work via only the internet and absolutely nothing from the shows I've done here in town. (You have to rent the space to get wall space in most galleries these days, so doing those type of shows is too costly.) I was offered representation in NYC by the highly regarded Agora Gallery but had to politely decline due to the $3000/yr. fee. Since I've become somewhat of a hermit these days, I'm looking for someone to do sales, marketing and even a bit of management for me. Hauling portfolios around pitching my work is not something I can do anymore without paying for it for days or sometimes weeks afterward, not that I ever enjoyed it. I'm looking for someone who can pitch my work to galleries, get it in front of collectors, make licensing deals, organize shows, find new opportunities. Basically, I'm looking for an artist representative and though I can only pay a percentage of any sales to start, the opportunity exists for the right person to become a partner if we are successful. I'd rather put what energy I have towards making new images and designs, not spending the amount of time required on promoting myself. I think I have a varied catalog of images that has some commercial appeal, especially in the lenticular arena. Drop me a line with your qualifications, if you are interested.

Just One More Thing....

Recently I picked up a refurbished iMac to replace my aging Power Mac PowerPC G5 (circa 2005). Actually, I still use the G5 for rendering or server tasks but most software programs no longer support that architecture and the OS has been frozen at Leopard. The iMac also replaces my five year old Dell LCD which had developed some nasty discoloration flaws and was also pretty much uncalibrateable for the last few years or so. Now that I have a calibrated monitor I have been able to more accurately fine tune the images for proper display on the web and printing. I hope you'll check out my Fine Art America Gallery and let me know if you think I got the calibration correct (not too dark, or too light on your monitor), and also if any particular image might need some adjusting. I'm trying to update them all but I might miss some. Be sure to refresh your browser if you've visited any image before so it will load the latest version not the cached one.

Sorry, just another sneaky, shameless way to get another link to my online store in.

Thanks for reading this rather long winded update but I guess I had more to say than I originally thought.

Peter

PS: OK, just one more thing, really.

Today we the people are under attack by large corporations and financial institutions. This is the real war, the very rich aren't satisfied, they want it all, at our expense. They are taking our jobs and homes away using fraud, theft, usury, and any other dirty tactic they can get away with by rigging the political system to their benefit. If you don't feel that just sending different politicians into DC (who for the most part are only hoping to get rich of the largess of these institution's lobbyists) is going to solve the problem. There is something we all can do. Move your money (or what's left of it) out of the big banks like Chase, BoA, Citibank and the others into small local banks and credit unions. Then only vote for politicians who will fight to eliminate corporate lobbying and allow only individual campaign contributions. That is how we will get our democracy back to being run by the people, not the corporations.