Cliff's Monthly review of his DA uploads.

Supplying links to individual images seems inappropriate for the forum so I'll attempt a monthly summary as a more economical alternative.
In January 2016 seventeen images were uploaded to the gallery (the link to the gallery is here:

http://clifftoppler.deviantart.com.).

I don't tend to accentuate the fractal dependence so be warned for the images are hardly mainstream. "Abstract" is usually the intention and I strive to achieve clarity in the use of colour and composition, and I'm generally unsatisfied if unable to find a suitable title. Anyway it would be interesting if anyone (or more) comments on anything which captures your fancy.

Some of the images may have also been uploaded to the Renderosity gallery thouh I find their recent changes unsettling and the gallery difficult to negotiate.

Cliff. (I'll now make sure the link works?)

Twenty-seven images were uploaded to DA in February, though one of them was quickly deleted. Even so 26 additions in twenty-nine days is optimistic/excessive. There will be fewer in March as one of the eyes is to be operated on (cataract operation). I'm told there will be some discomfort for a few days afterwards so rest will be the sensible priority.
I'll also be meeting the dentist so that is likely to take care of another day. Whatever, I doubt if anyone will have a sense of loss.

I gave the link to the gallery last month but it is repeated here for your possible convenience: http://clifftoppler.deviantart.com

I tend to the conclusion that ideas make a picture so it might be of interest to list my favourites amongst the 26: "Just A Touch" ( a pure abstract and rather austere), "Adagio" (light and bright, with the blacks trying to justify the musical theme) , "Push Chair" (the kid's nose makes the picture and the intent otherwise is humerous), "Minuet" (both the picture and the colours are uncompromisingly severe, and offering an instantaneous simplicity). I long since learnt that people make differing evaluations so don't take my choices seriously.

Cliff.

I have enjoyed a few of your uploads this month, Cliff, particularly the more colourful ones. Adagio and Confluence are my favourites but I also like your most recent one too; Viaduct.

Abstracts are difficult, I find it difficult to say why or what I find good (or bad) about them. Colour is an important aspect for me (I don't like drab or clashing colours) but that indefinable quality of design is another crucial factor.

Good luck with the cataract op, I'm sure you'll be just fine. My mother had her second eye done a few weeks ago - she is very pleased with the outcome. She only had a little discomfort for about 24hrs. You may well find near-sight tasks like reading and maybe your computer screen a bit difficult until you get suitable reading glasses.

Hi Cliff,

For what it's worth, I wouldn't have a problem with supplying links to individual images. Good luck with your operation!

Cheers

Hi Frederik

I appreciate the offer but am pretty sure the members generally find "less is more", and a once monthly update seems more sensible. I'll keep it under review, of course, but a monthly omnibus is useful as a starter.

As to the cataract operation, the doctor reviewed my progress a week afterwards and was not impressed. He had expected better progress. Since then things have improved so the next review early next month could have him happier. The crunch will come when my optician does his tests for right now my glasses are fairly useless.
The operation on the other eye will probably take place about three months after the first.

Cliff.

There were 28 "fractal" images posted to the DA gallery in March so one more than in February. There was also one manipulated photograph. The uploads were dominated by Jess Darling's (jjd) formulas in the early part of the month (9-images),and by Jim Blue's colouring formula "ShapesDirect2" (8-images) towards the end

One image received a mention from Miincdesign in the Fractal Love March article ("Just Scraping By", but my personal; favourites are "Black Meets White," largely because all the design elements were of my choice and it relied very much on brain-power - such as it is; ""Abstract Form (Leaping Fish)" is number 2(close inspection might also reveal a butterfly therein), and my final choice is "Viaduct," though "Salvation" was a close contender.

The cataract operation took place on the 7th March and I revisit the hospital for a check up this coming Monday. The eyesight slowly improves but is still mostly unusable. I cancelled the visit to the dentist as the severe drops regime (five types with varying frequencies) has kept me close to home.

Thanks to Chris for her comments on Abstracts generally. Such work by others seems always difficult to understand until and unless you grasp the motives of the artists concerned. The best are more than just pretty pictures and sometimes "perception" is their message.

The gallery link is: http://clifftoppler.deviantart.com

Cliff.

We seem to have been over enthused during April, thirty-seven images were uploaded to DA during the month though one of them originated from a video and developed without any UF involvement. This means 109 images have been posted to the gallery during the first four months of the year. The Fractal Love gallery selected "Can't You See I'm Busy?" for mention in their April feature, and it's also one my three selections - the others being "Grey-Blue (or 2+2+2+2+1)", and "The Transient Made Durable."

As to the cataract operation the hospital was revisited mid-April and the doctor was well pleased with my progress. I intend going to the optician this coming week and will opt for new spectacles during the visit rather than wait until after the second eye has been treated. This probably mean the spectacles will have to be replaced again after the second operation.

Cliff.

May brought a more modest output: 30 images in 31 days, and I suppose simplicity was the general theme that and a striving for abstract purity. My favourite is "Reason Grapples," with "The Magician" as a second choice. I also like "Blue Mood," though it found little favour from others. On the other hand "Faded Black" found a surprising popularity given its reliance on some fairly bleak colouring for its effect.

I'm disinclined to continue these monthly commentaries as a regular feature. They do little other than point you to the gallery and the forum layout seems to make that unnecessary.

Enjoy the summer months. Nature thrives, surprises. Look deep and you'll find fractals there.

Cliff.