Mike Ruiz

Replaced Mona Lisa, 2011
Oil on Canvas
77 x 53 cm

The Mona Lisa with the lady selected then put through Content-Aware Fill (a Photoshop CS5 tool that automatically generates content based on the existing surrounding content of the image and fills in selected area). The resulting image is a potential landscape as interpreted by the software. The image was sent to an painting manufacturer in China where an oil painting was produced.

Extended Black Square, 2011
Oil on canvas
212.4 x 213 cm


Kasamir Malevich's Black Square with white area added to the sides of the image and then put through Content-Aware Fill

Low Art.

This is my latest work, fuck da police! I'm experimenting with ideas of computer art which is primarily seen as a "low" form of art, despite the fact that most of us use Photoshop these days.
This is called "Attention Span". It's the prototype for more work I hope to do- by saving and re-saving as a compressed image it gains what are known as "artifacts" which in a way adds to the image. I'm appropriating my appropriation, how mind blowing.

. I have some bold ideas. Basically I hope to use this way of working to expand on the notebook worth of anti-social cartoons I considered as research.
Aside from that, I'm interested in poor examples of 3D art, if you have or know of any get in touch.

I think I'm in love

Typical Lois, typical Morrissey fan, I fall in love with a program who could never reciprocate my love.
I jest of course, but CS5 is pretty epic. Content aware fill is so much more than I expected, it almost lives up to the hype.

Still trying to work out if that shadow in the corner looks natural or not...

Boredom.

Yeah forget about any uni work, or finding a house for next year. I'm going to sit in my parents' living room, complain that I miss uni and watch Alan Partridge.
And do shitty line drawings using the brush tool. Awesome! Pen tool is for graphics fags.

That's me btw, aren't I hot?

Deer Diary

Hello. I have not written here in some time, mostly because I have been off uni for what feels like forever (actually more like four weeks). I'd love to say I have been very busy creating like a good artist but I have not. Mostly staying in bed all day, eating lots and occasionally drinking lots.

Not all is lost though, I got a moleskine for christmas which I am slowly fillying will illustrations. I have realised that the only thing I can really draw without too much effort is faces. Faces faces. I should become a portrait artist...

Over the last few days I have been working on a digital painting. I'm quite new to this, although I've been using photoshop and similar for years I've never really got round to mastering the art of painting. There are some really amazing things on youtube if you look up "Speed painting" but I am slightly sceptical (or jealous?) of them. Well anyway, here are some images from the creation of my painting. It's nowhere near finished but I'm feeling very positive about it, which is unusual for me, of late...



Also, a side note I suppose, I have been trying to "up my game" in photography. Partly because I want to get out there and get some gigs (even if they are unpaid) and chance to show off my work. I'm always slightly skeptical about using photoshop to such an extent, but one thing I try to remember is that in days of the darkroom they used plenty of techniques to make their photos better, it's just that nowadays we use computers.

That's my friend Emma and her brother Dave. I took those on Friday night in Oldham. There's more in my Flickr photostream if you're that way inclined. I like to think they're a step above standard "friday night" photos but that's superiority for you.

Back to uni next week, I can't say I'm excited (although I have sorta been missing Sainsbury's 9p noodles) but I have got a lot of ideas for new projects, I just need to wrap up the ghosts thing and work more efficiently than I have been. I'm thinking of doing commemorative plates. Stay tuned.