pretty haus

Art Rage Pro Review & Tutorials

Anne Alexander Sieder — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:58:15 +0000

A few days ago I mentioned that I just got a new drawing tablet and with it came three software programs. I’ve only really had a chance to play around with one: Art Rage Pro. I’ll just give you a few of my quick impressions because if your interested, there’s an excellent review here. The software only costs $60 which frankly, I think is a great price for all that you get. The full program also comes in a version for the iPad and at $6.99, I think you won’t find a better digital painting program and that includes Sketchbook Pro. Ok, my quickie impressions are:

it has the look of real painting and drawing mediums like oils, watercolors, markers, pencils, etc.
the colors blend just like they would on a canvas (depending on which medium you’re using)
you can change the look and feel of the (many) different canvases to suit your taste, from rough to smooth and dark to light
you can work in layers
you have the ability to import images for tracing (this will come in very handy for floor plans and elevations done in Revit or AutoCad)
it has stencils to aid in drawing curves, straight lines, etc

Here’s a (major) tutorial to get you started.

Just a note of caution though, this tutorial is almost 3 hours long. However, if you like this guy’s style he offers a whole series of ten minute lessons that are definitely worth a look.

Here are a few pictures drawn using Art Rage Pro.

If you’re interested in seeing more fantastic paintings drawn on Art Rage Pro you should check out Susan Murtaugh’s gallery on Flickr.

Summer Cocktails

Anne Alexander Sieder — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Well its Friday and the feeling here on the lake is balmy though, we could use a bit more sun. Still, I can find my sunshine in a glass so I’m not complaining.

My two favorite drinks of the moment involve white wine. The first is an Aperol Spritz.

Recipe for Aperol Spritz:

2 oz. dry white wine

1 oz. Aperol liquor

1 good chug fizzy water

3-4 ice cubes

Serve it in a big wine glass- we use Shiraz glasses, and garnish with a thick slice of orange. Enjoy! Sorry, but the only picture I have of the drink is from when we went to a cafe and they served it in this crappy glass… still tasted good though!

This next drink is called a Hugo after the man who created it. He used to make pizzas at P1, Munich’s number one nightclub, but now owns his own swanky pizzeria just around the corner from Odeonsplatz.

Recipe for a Hugo

1 tbs Elderflower syrup

3 oz. dry white wine

1 good chug fizzy water

ice cubes

mint

Kind of crunch up the mint leaves before you add them to the glass to release their essential oils. Add the rest of the ingredients and imbib away. Happy weekend.

Learning Sketchbook Pro

Anne Alexander Sieder — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I just downloaded Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and am really excited to start learning how to tweak my drawings to make them look more professional. I think when I get this thing down, my drawings are going to be phenomenal.

Sketchbook Pro is a software program that’s actually made to be used in conjunction with a tablet and stylus. Right now, I don’t have either. I’m just using my mouse which can be pretty erratic. Still, with some of the tools like ruler and ellipsis, I’m able to get some fairly accurate results. Plus, just like photoshop you can use layers to “build” a drawing. I’ve order a medium sized Wacom Bamboo Create Pen and Touch Tablet and I’m sure once I get it (hurry up Deutsche Post) then I can really start having some fun. The stylus works just like a pen and the tablet reacts to pressure so you can potentially have illustrations that look completely hand drawn with the added benefit on it being digital. The digital aspect is good for a lot of reasons like:

you can lay down a template for 1 point perspective, 2 or 3 point perspective as your first layer then build the drawing on top of it.
you can change colors, patterns or arrangements of furniture, walls, rugs, etc by changing a layer. That means you won’t have to redo the entire drawing, just the layer.
you can import a CAD drawing that’s in accurate perspective and draw on top of it
you can immediately convert the drawing to a jpeg and then send it to a client

I am signed up to Lynda.com, which if you don’t know, is a great resource for video tutorials where I was able to learn the basics of Sketchbook Pro. The software is pretty intuitive so it’s not too hard. Below is my very first drawing.

I also got sketchbook on my iPad. I tried messing around a little with that but I think I need the control of a stylus so I’ve ordered one on those for that, too. There are some amazing videos on youtube.com but unfortunately not much that has to do with interior design. Frankly, I don’t understand why not unless everybody’s just so caught up in using BIM that they’re not into hand sketched renderings anymore. Personally, I prefer the look of something hand sketched. I think it has more heart and soul.

Here’s another video showing what sketchbook pro can do on an iPad.

BTW, if you have a mac you can download the program from your Apps button – I think this is only available in LION – otherwise you can buy the disk just like any other software program. Its available for Mac’s, PC’s iPads, iPhones and Androids.

Picasso, De Kooning & Beckmann

Anne Alexander Sieder — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:26:42 +0000

Last Monday was a holiday here and the weather was bad, so that put the kibosh on my husband’s idea for going for a bike ride. How about a museum? I asked, and to my great surprise, he said yes. A few minutes later we were all packed in the car and on our way over the the Pinakothek der Moderne which had an exhibit featuring Picasso, William De Kooning and Max Beckmann called Frauen, or Women. But before I show you pics from the exhibit, you need to see the building because it is gorgeous. Its what you would expect from a modern museum in Germany. Its stark, über modern and very well designed.

The Pinakotheke is actually 4 museums in 1 and this is part of the compound.

outside the pinakotheke der moderne

inside is a huge rotunda that branches of into different areas of the museum, each housing their own installation.

above the atruim is a huge pinewheel skylight

de Kooning

De Kooning

Max Beckmann

De Kooning

Picasso

Of the three artists, the one that I find myself thinking about even a week after the exhibition, is De Kooning. His pictures are almost indecipherable. They are so abstract that you can barely make out any kind of human form at all… but that’s the key word – barely. If you look hard enough you can see what he was painting, and that’s what makes it interesting for me. Plus I love his exuberant use of color and could imagine any one of his paintings in just about any interior. My husband and son like Max Beckmann’s work the most and I guess I can see why from their point of view. Beckmann obviously loved women and painted them as beautiful, sexy creatures. Picasso on the other hand… I know, I know, its sacrilegious but the pictures that were curated to include in this exhibition on women don’t exactly portray a deep affinity for them from our dear departed Spaniard. I’m just sayin’.

The Iconic Eames Chair

Anne Alexander Sieder — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:29 +0000

The mid century modernism craze and DIY go at it head to head in this video. Is it really possible to make anything at home? I’m not so sure. Here’s a vintage video that shows step by step how the classic Eames chair was built.

Stay tuned for I Dream of Jeanie, next up!

Isargold: Restaurant Destination in Munich

Anne Alexander Sieder — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:23:01 +0000

Isargold is a restaurant run by TV chef, Marin Baudrechsel. My husband and I went for dinner last Friday and had a fantastic time. The food was absolutely spectacular – imaginative and delicious. It was also very expensive but at least it was worth it!

We’re in full swing with asparagus season in Germany so almost every course included some form of the creamy white spears. We started out with a little “greeting from the kitchen” of White Asparagus Creme Brulee. Personally, I love sweet and salty together so I thought this tiny dish was really yummy.

Then I had an appetizer of grilled shrimp with spicy pineapple sorbet and a salad of white asparagus, mandarin orange slices, endive and other greens.

My husband, Matthias, had what they were calling “seared” tartar with a bell pepper marmalade, and a salad of radishes and arugula.

Then for the main course I had fish (as I always do). It was char served with grilled bock choy, cherry tomatoes and green and white asparagus.

Matthias had apple feed pork steak served with celery croquettes and creamed savoy cabbage.

and for dessert we split a cheese platter.

DIY Wall Art

Anne Alexander Sieder — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:03:22 +0000

The other day we had outdoor blinds applied to all the windows and doors. They are the kind that come down really slowly and when completely shut, lock out all light. My teenage son is thrilled! He can now sleep till 3 in the afternoon and never be troubled by sunlight. Its a godsend, really. In any case, I’m not really sure why we got them because neither my husband nor I use them. I guess its just one of those things… when in Rome and all that. All our neighbors have them so… But the point of this post is that they came with these nifty little Styrofoam donut looking things. Well actually, they were packed with them and the workers were just unpacking the boxes of blinds and pitching these fantastic little pieces of inspiration into the garbage. Well, I just scooped them up and decided I would make some sort of art installation out of them and this is what I came up with.

I used tissue paper and diluted wallpaper glue to collage each one individually, then a glue gun to stick them together. Voila!

Love the Bard

Anne Alexander Sieder — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:31:35 +0000

In honor of the bard’s birthday, which is today, April 23, Fab.com is showcasing prints and posters from the iconic graphic artist, Milton Glaser, who did a series of Shakespeare sketches. Happy Birthday Shakespeare! Here are a few of my favorites but all in all there are 36 to choose from.

The Schrannenhalle in Munich

Anne Alexander Sieder — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0000

In the 16 years that I’ve lived here, I’ve really come to love my adopted city. Its a lot smaller than Chicago (where I come from) and that took some getting used to. But once I wrapped my tongue around the language and started to feel more at home, I could step back and appreciate Munich for its beauty, cleanliness and style. I don’t know why I’ve never written about Munich before, but I’ve decided to change that trend starting with today’s post on the Schrannenhalle.

Way back when King Maximillian II reigned, his gentile ears where offended by the screaming of the corn traders in the square in front of the city hall. So to the rescue came engineer Franz Karl Muffat who designed what was at the time, a technical wonder made of steel and glass. The new location for the grain traders was to be next to Viktualianmarkt an open air farmer’s market that’s still around.

Back in 1853 when it was completed, the 430 meter long building was considered avant-garde. It was only used for about 20 years before it was destroyed by fire. It was rediscovered accidentally by architect and city historian Volker Hütsche in 1978.

Since I’ve been here, its gone through a couple metamorphoses with my favorite being the one I visited yesterday. The original skeleton of the building houses very chi-chi gourmet stands from some of the Munich’s finest restaurants and purveyors. Everywhere you look mouthwatering delicacies are beautifully showcased along with wine and spirits from around Bavaria and neighboring regions. But that’s only half the fun. The interior design is really spectacular with tons of vintage chairs and industrial fixtures. Its definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in Munich. If not, enjoy my virtual tour.

Foyer Design

Anne Alexander Sieder — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:00:12 +0000

I realized that I just left you all hanging as to how the design of my foyer was working out… I had several ideas, one of which I sketched out. However, even though I had stencils, I just couldn’t get the hang of those things and gave it up. The initial design began with this hanging shelf that I bought it on eBay for 5,-.

It was made of real wood but it was in terrible shape. So, I stripped it, repainted it and had the mirrors and handles put on it (I will never do that again – painting is something that should be left to professionals, but that’s another story). It’s a great size, not too wide, but with room in the cabinet part for dog leashes, mittens and other junk. I’ve got some gorgeous vintage sconces that I want to put up on either side of ONE mirror (you’ll notice I have two right now). That means its back to eBay to find the perfect mirror that won’t overshadow my groovy sconces.

Which also means I’ll probably have to find an new home for the cloisonne clock so it doesn’t fight with the sconces and (new mirror). It’s a process but it’s fun and I love to watch the design evolve.