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Colour from Space

Dead Sea Painting by Myke Amend
Dead Sea Painting by Myke Amend

An experiment in color, recently completed as a commission for Mike Skoog, wherein he asked if I could do something small enough for his music room, and more colorful than my standard muted palettes.

I went the more impressionistic route with this one, and instead of starting with the colors as I wanted them, I started with the nearest primary colors in their place, and worked downward in saturation and sideways in hue, until I reached this point.

Details are painted so incredibly thin, that I practically painted them with the very corner of a single hair, dropping molecules of paint in a line for stitches and ropes and other details. In this, I am reminded that working smaller is actually harder, not easier, because I still feel compelled to add my standard amount of detail…but in a smaller space (which means eye-strain and neck cramps in spades, and a more time-consuming work).

All the same, sometimes I like working small just for the opportunity to test my patience and practice my hand.

That was the second to last of all the commissions that remained on my plate before Artprize… one more to go, then I am my own man until I sell another…

Signed and dated giclees of this are available for only $25 here for a limited time, or $30 through Etsy

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The Rescue Limited Edition Giclees current count

Cropped image from "The Rescue"
Cropped image from "The Rescue"

I was asked earlier today what the status (particularly current remaining count) of the 32×22 (full sized) giclees are, and since I feel it may interest repeat visitors and new visitors alike, I thought it would be good to repeat the information given here:

Of 50 to be made, ever (no “Second Editions”, no “Bonus Editions”, no “Super-duper Extra Golden Millennium Editions Plus!!!”), minus the one I am keeping for myself, 10 remain.

Of those 50 “the Rescue” giclees, 2 have been stolen (1 disappeared in shipping and was replaced with the next print, 1 was stolen from an owner), 2 have been destroyed (1 accidentally, 1 purposefully).

That leaves 46 existing, meaning only one in 139,417,298 people planet-wide will have one of these things when they are gone.

I am saving 3 for upcoming gallery shows, 1 for myself, and I keep 1 print on hand for every print that is in transit (to have a replacement on hand for those who order, just in case something goes wrong).

So, when another 5 of these have sold, they’ll be out of stock online, and I think they’ll have pretty much seen their last Holiday season here.

I say these things not to pressure anyone into buying, but as a heads up. And my refusal to release future separate editions, is to protect and ensure the value of those prints purchased from me.

I do 1 set of full-sized limited editions from each of the three support types (metallic, canvas, and fine art rag paper), and any open editions of any of those support types are at a reduced size – and of course un-numbered and un-certified.

Thank you for visiting – thank you everyone who has purchased prints here (and enabled me to make artworks for a living) – and thank you everyone else who has made this possible – for every blog, every article, every friendly link or friendly mention, for every url scrawled out on a bathroom wall, and every child named “MykeAmend.com” – You people are incredible, even those of you which don’t exist but might.

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Win a Free 24×24 Antarctic Experiment Giclee [ended]

24x24 Giclee of "The Antarctic Experiment"
24x24 Giclee of "The Antarctic Experiment"

[ ——- This contest has ended. Joe McCormick of Iowa is the winner ——-

The other contest (my Twitter / Twitpic one with the picture guessing)  that one is still going. Thank you all participants, I will make sure you all get something extra for playing. ]

I’ve been wanting to hold a contest for a while, but aside from the paid raffles at Random.org, wherein I would have needed to either have a raffle – I couldn’t think of a decent option… until today.

When I was looking through old orders today, I remembered that all orders from my store come with a purchase ID!

Currently (at the time of this posting), the most recent purchase ID is 210.

Purchase IDs are auto-generated by the store as purchases are completed, and an email containing this purchase ID is automatically sent to the buyer via email.

Since 10 purchases, big or small would be nice to have, and not to ambitious a goal: I am going for purchase ID 220 – Purchase ID 220 will be the winner, and the winner will now almost immediately whether or not they won.

If your email receipt says “purchase #220”, you win – if paid for by e-check, winner will be declared if/when the e-check clears and not before, a canceled payment or bounced e-check for the winning purchase of course disqualifies the winner.

The contest ends Wednesday July 8th, 2009, the winner will be announced here Thursday July 9th.

If there is no #220 by that time, #215 wins, if there is no #215, then #212 wins, if there is no #121, #211 wins. If there is no #211, then no one has participated, and one can’t pull a winner from a list of zero participants – but as long as someone buys something, someone wins.

The winner receives a limited-edition and hand-embellished Antarctic Expedition Giclee**, or the original 5×7 engraving for “20,000 Leagues Under (the Nautilus)” – their choice. No cash value can be substituted for winnings – I am an artist and therefore do not possess this “cash” you speak of.

** For the giclee, I will even cover up to $15 of the shipping cost – meaning if you are in the States, shipping is free. This item will ship rolled, not stretched and mounted – so shipping should still be relatively cheap if not free wherever.