Thursday, December 31, 2009

I'm Back, and on a MAC!

Happy happy joy joy! I own a Mac!
The reason I haven't posted is the fact my other computer, a Dell, gave up the ghost. I hope it is in pieces wherever bad computers go when they die. I tried to have it fixed yet again but my wonderful wife once again thought more clearly than me and decided to invest the money in a new computer. On Christmas day it was a complete surprise. Now I am trying to get software and other things I had on my computer transferred to Macville. It may take a little while, bear with me.
You Mac folks have been holding out on me. When I would ask "how ya' like your Mac?" I would get a "good" or "it's very nice". No one ever told me it is the single greatest invention in our species existence on this planet. The wheel, internal combustion engine, penicillin, nothing comes close. This thing is awesome. The color and quality of images on this are marvelous. I may now be able to paint from an image on my computer now and then. What a way to start 2010.
Speaking of 2010, have you made your resolutions yet? I know we all say "to get better as artists" but have you really thought about what that entails? I have noticed that there have been periods in my development where it feels like I have reached a plateau and am not quite sure what to do next to keep the momentum going, to keep getting better. When I look back at the beginning of 2009 I see improvement but if you asked me how it happened all I know how to say is,"I painted a lot." Didn't have a plan. No method. Just painted. Hard.
So over the next few weeks I would really like to think about what I want to accomplish this year and maybe at the end of 2010 I will have a more interesting answer than,"I painted."
2010. Here we go.

9 comments:

Gary Brookins said...

I began using Macs in 1992. Used them at the newspaper and at home for several years. Then about 12 years ago, the suits at the corporate level cut a deal with Dell to go exclusively with their PCs. So we switched over, and I honestly couldn't tell a difference in the performance. As a matter of fact, the Dell I was still using when I was laid off last April was so old, it actually had a Y2K patch on it. I had been using the same machine for about 10 years! It had gotten a little slow, but seldom crashed or caused any problems. At home, I've used Macs and Dell laptops (okay, so Mac calls them Powerbooks or MacBook Pros). All have their pros and cons. None seems to last more than a couple or three years. My two previous Macs weren't worth the much higher price, in my opinion. Currently, I have a two year old Inspiron 1520 (which I've hated since day one, though I'm not sure if it's the PC or the Microsoft Vista operating system . . . slow as molasses and full of quirks). Also have a MacBook Pro I got back in the spring. While it is light years ahead of the Dell performance-wise, I'm holding my breath on it's longevity. At any rate, after the Inspiron, I would never buy another Dell laptop.

Kevin Menck said...

I have heard some nasty things about the Dell, especially with the Inspiron. You're not the first. Mine was older and every time I tried to upgrade or add anything to it it would lock up. And sooo slow.
How's the painting going? Still gettin' after it?

Gary Brookins said...

I've mainly been working in graphite recently. I will be teaching a drawing workshop at Loryn Brazier's Studio in March, so I thought I'd better brush up on my skills a bit before then.

I do have a commission to paint an old abandoned Land Rover. I've done the study and will be starting the big one ( 4 x 6 feet ) in a couple of weeks.

Gary Brookins said...

Forgot to mention I've posted the Land Rover study and a few drawings on my site:

brookinsart.blogspot.com

Chris Ousley said...

Congratulations on the new Mac! They are awesome machines and you will be happy.

Chris Ousley said...

OK, put the mouse down, pick up a brush and post a new painting.

Kevin Menck said...

I'm on it.

Lisa said...

Welcome to the fold! I got a new Mac about a year ago, but I still occasionally use my old Mac. The old Mac is exactly 10 years old, but it has given me a decade of performance with out ever needing to be rebuilt or debugged. The rest of my family are Windows users, and it seems like every few months they are rebuilding one of their computers to fix some crazy problem.

Mark Alan Burnett said...

Both my PC and a Powerbook were over 5 years old & getting incredibly slow so last year I got myself another 17" Macbook Pro. I'm so pleased with it. It did take me awhile to transfer everything from the PC (mainly Quicken and Documents and email) until I found the book Switching to the Mac which helped greatly. You would be welcome to borrow it if you need it.