Botanicals

Taken on Silver Lake. It's funny. But I forgot that there were several kinds of swans until I went looking up the scientific name to make the placard.

I'm sticking close to home this Summer so the inspiration for art, digital and otherwise, will have to come from close to home.

There is little in life more confusing to a person than wading through the scientific classification of things. The internet is a great place for information. But sometimes it is too full of information. I miss the days of a World Book encyclopedia where I could look something up by a common name and have an easy informative graph or table for the short reference in addition to the long complicated description in the body of an entry. World Book knew how to keep things succinct and pertinent to a search. Britannica however is every bit as verbose as your typical arch criminal who loves to hear the sound of his own voice.

EDIT: as it turns out this is not a cottonwood. The fissured bark is at the base. There is smooth bark at the top. It is an Aspen. But in all the information about identifying Aspens no mention was made of "mature" bark. Apparently, trees age wrinkled too. 

It started with the Blue Jays screaming at the pew pewing Cardinals. The Jays stood still and actually let me take photos. The Cards not so much. So I filled the feeder and sprinkled a seed/nut/fruit mix on the ground. I got chickadees this morning. I could have had a very pretty red headed sparrow with an Eye of Horus brow line but the camera didn't cooperate.

The female Cardinal was on the ground foraging so I think I need to consult some pros about what types of feeders the bigger birds would prefer. The shallow tray is only going to make the finches, sparrows and thrifts happy.


When did I turn into such an old lady?
I'll blame Midsomer Murders for this one. It surely isn't a Sherlock kind of habit.

Breaking Through the Blocks

There is this thing that happens to all artists when creative periods ebb and flow. We  get a bit panicky, we want to rush to create a huge body of work and we lose the focus of the experience for the perception of success in having a quantity. Art is one of those things, like wine, craft beer, catching fish that can not be rushed. And forget the hand painted mass production. If one painting takes 40 hours and you need one hundred to make a profit that is 100 weeks of the same painting. No one has the werewithall for that!

The problem of ebb and flow doesn't just affect the quantity of works. It affect each individual piece. That is some thing that I had not thought possible since I love to paint as much as I do. I know that there is the period between works when the energy has ebbed and starting again is hard. But to have the excitement dissipate mid-work.... that is newer to me. With moving and taking on a new position at work I thought that my dry spell was just because I needed some inspiration. Which I did. I thought it was because all of my creative wells had been neglected... which they were. So I did what I always do. I stuck my head in some books and got myself motivated again.

Or so I thought. I had a stack of periodicals to help me jump start some ideas over at the geeks blog. And then I found a travel magazine that hit on almost all of my interests. And I thought.... I have to paint that. So I started.

And got stuck. It is a new technique. I have paints that I haven't worked with as often as I would have liked since my preferred blend was accidentally left behind in the move. And I was breaking open a pad of watercolor paper that I had not really used a lot. It pills, sadly and that has cause a bit of frustration as I am unsure how to correct for it or incorporate the pilled area into the texture that I am looking for. So I have set it aside so that I can let my subconscious brain have a go at the problem solving.

And I stepped away from the work to do something entirely different. It is a glorious season for photography as you have seen. And anywhere the boyfriend and I go I have my camera with me. There are day trips almost once a week where we explore his old haunts and I am able to go back and take pictures of places that mean something to the family. But I still can't figure out this piece. I am stuck somewhere that I don't know how to navigate.

So I painted something else in a different style from one of our day trips.

And one day while waiting for schedules to gel and deadlines to happen I popped into the library for some instruction and inspiration.

I found a few volumes of Splash. And in volume 2 I found a few answers to the dilemma at hand.

• Step away from the work and get outside
• paint something else and let your subconscious work on the problems. 
• seek advice

And that is just a bit of the advice from artists who have been featured in the yearly anthology have offered for encouraging breakthroughs. But the biggest help is knowing that the kind of struggle that I am going through in this piece means that there is a breakthrough waiting for me on the other side, perhaps a quantum leap in understanding or skill if I will only be patient with the process. 

This 

is the confounding bit of art taken from a NatGeo travel mag with a new technique for me.

With some distance I can see a lot of places where this is working. And still a few places where I am terrified to continue for fear of losing the strength of the line in the underpainting, which was all done in Prussian Blue. The book called for Cobalt but I don't have any in my stash. Indanthrene might have been better but it stains too so I don't know about that anymore.

In a few days I'll be able to sit and paint again.... waiting for the rain to go away and the road tripping to be done for a bit. 

with a background

 

Here it is with the first layers of background color. I wanted to contrast with the poppy pods and went with orange-pink ( a mix of Holbein's Opera and Green Gold from Windsor Newton) but the yellows and greens in the iron patina washed out.

At least with the obnoxious amounts of poppies the wash pushed them into the background a bit so that I could pick out just a few to high light with details.

Then the problem becomes the poppy fading into the background. I am debating the addition of some lavender tones to the bottom of the background around the poppy petals. I know green won't work and I don't want to do brown either because I want to keep it bright.

The bottom of the poppy, where all the goodies show through the paper thin leaves could be made a bit purple near the stem and then that color could come up to background and fade up..... I don't know. I am a bit stuck here to be honest.

But it gives my brain something to do when I get overwhelmed with moving again. Or with the idea of finding a second job. Interview's today.

And the plumber keeps setting off the fire alarm with his torch. You'd think he would take the batteries out of the thing.

 

 

Thinking Spring

I think this is going to be my facebook cover.... I don't know. One of my friends asked me if she could use the last post as her cover which got me to thinking. The previous post really was not formatted for facebook. So I have no idea if it is going to let her do what she thinks it will.

But it did give me an idea for this one.

So more noodling........

Fruit & Jar

 

 

Seriously. There is nothing like editing software to fix all of your mistakes. Okay.... maybe not ALL. But the glaring mistake of the apple in the original is completely wiped out and this thing has more character in it now than it has otherwise.

 

 

See?

 



Easter Eggs

Again: lots of layers. And here is the thing that you want to keep in mind while using picmonkey. When you apply several layers at once, you will want to use merge function after the second or third layer. LOVE THESE LAYERS: you will NOT be able to go back and edit them once they have been merged..

I applied several textures and erased everything over the green bowl each time. Then I merged. I added more layers and this time erased the bowl and the pale background at the top so that I could keep it looking like real marble. Then merged. Next applied the texture that is the cracked marble, keeping it only over the three center eggs. Added a pink splotchy texture that looked like a scraped polaroid film )sorry, I can not remember the name of this one). Merged. Then a layer of cosmic dust. Merge. Then I did another marble layer, leaving it right over where I put it before. I can not explain why this added more depth to the cracks in the big egg... but it is truly happiness to see it look authentically cracked AND mottled.

The tricolored overlays? Pick an overlay, decide the size, duplicate it several times. Place an overlay, make it your bright color (highlight) then lay another one over it, chose a mid-tone, erase the mid-tone layer where you want to see highlights, lay the darkest layer over the top and erase from the dark layer everything else. This will reveal previous layers and give the effect of being reasonably well planned to be realistic. I think it was most successful on the egg to the right.

Autumnal Air hints at Influences at Work

 

 

 

Monochromatic, pomegranate theme, the original watercolor is repeated with the pomegranate floral stamp down the left. Again a lot of layers and some fancy effects. Blend. Blend. Blend. That is lesson number two to take away from the whole thing. This is the first thing in a while that got more than a couple of likes on facebook. I will be using it for my profile pic for a while. 

Morroccan Leather? Nope.

 

 

The eraser tool can be your best friend in multiplying the usefulness of the flourishes. I had to cut off the end of a flourish to lay it over the scroll and get a repeating pattern that made sense. The other key to making this work was adjusting the swatch layer (scrolls) to harden the light so that it looked like batik. Then.... for the authentic leather look I went with the texture that looked a bit like skin and kept it away from the zombie scheme.

 

 

 

The original watercolor is here:

Art Every Day

If it is true that the way to be successful is to just show up at the drawing board then the only way that is going to happen right now is with the digital studio that is picmonkey. The physical space still isn't ready. And I have begun to take on more work of the "paid" variety. Yay! The bills get paid. Boo!The art doesn't get done.

Well no... that is not true. The art gets done. I just have to feel like doing this the digital way is not cheating. That manipulating my own work is still art.

Today's entry:

 

 

 

If you have read this blog for any length of time you will recognize this amphora as the old headline picture. The key... layers, layer, layers. Use the eraser tool. And keep the basic rules of art in mind, especially proportion and overlapping. Overlapping is where the eraser tool comes in handy.

 



And play with the fade slider. The lettering would totally have been overwhelming without the slider. The original writing, bottom left hand corner in my own handwriting, has a transparent quality to it because of the nature of the materials used. And I didn't want the original to be crisp anyway. It was supposed to look like a page out of an archaeology journal. The letters were chosen, colored then a mode of application had to be chosen then the fade. I think this one is actually hard lighted. But don't quote me on that.

I really like this one even if it is all dark and chocolate-y.
Actually the resemblance to chocolate might be what I like the best.

For Dawn: Thinking of You All

This patchwork of my stargazer watercolors is not quite done yet. So far it's been a two hour process and I am a little stuck. Not horribly stuck. But a little stuck. One of my favorite bloggers is having a helluva time with Life the Universe & Everything™ right now and the "stuck in the process" seems like an important thing to acknowledge as much as trying to brighten up the day for her.

I am hoping that some good news can come her way soon. I know a lot of people in Arizona close to her in geography but no one who can do too much to help her out right now and it is frustrating. To be part of a network that is helpful for the commiserating but not terribly potent in the realm of help is as frustrating as being in the middle of major life issues and having no clue what to do. But Dawn just keeps putting one foot in front of the other.

I guess the important thing to remember in those instances is that, because of the nature of the Universe and it's own healing mechanisms, these are the times when the thoughts count the most. A good thought sent to a hurting friend will find them eventually.... like that laugh that comes out when no one has told a joke. It might be a delayed reaction. But it is a reaction. And it helps. Just because I want to be able to do more, as do all of her friends, doesn't mean that what we are actually able to do doesn't count. And that is where we get stuck as the support team.

And even if you don't know Dawn, or read her blog, when you see this post, think of her and wish her strength, energy and a safe place in her emotional cycle to let out some of the tears that get stuck when you try to stay strong and downplay the stress/grief/etc...

Thanks.

Making Memes

It's a thing. It is officially a thing... the crafting of a meme, to put words to pictures that might or might not belong together that may or may not get a laugh but is always intended as an homage to a person, place, thing, concept. Grumpy Cat, a.k.a Tardar is the number one meme on the webs. I can not begin to guess who comes second. Who's on first, What's on second. And cue the Doctor's music......

Ear worms used to be comedy sketches as well as music (like the afore-referenced "Who's on First" routine from Abbott & Costello (see "Before our Time" in your parents book of things kids don't understand) That is not a real thing but should be. It used to be if someone was whistling the Andy Griffith theme, you'd catch a snippet and that would make your brain playback the opening credits in your head. You had it to yourself and then that would release a flood of memories from the show. And it happened with any show tune that someone came up with. You had some happy little memories dancing in your head. These days rather than just let the accompanying imagery from an audio memory trigger dance around in our heads, we clip, cut & paste, disassemble and reassemble then photo edit those snippets and post them on the web.

I thought you could only do this with photoshop. And then web pages started hosting editing functions. It is like having your own little Scrapbook fest. Except there aren't 30 women gathered around talking about layouts and inspiring each other. It is you and the music of choice and the only inspiration comes from the other memes you've seen floating around. And I got to thinking, after seeing some very good Sherlock memes lately...

Are memes art? Are they craft?
Some, undoubtedly, are literary to be certain. The word play, more than pun and as sophisticated in logic & humor as a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip qualify as word art. But is it graphic art? Not always. Not unless you are talking about the "Keep______ &"... meme. It has a very strict graphic layout and set up for it's execution. Oh... and that would be meme #2. My personal favorite is the new firefly Keep________& meme. So while literary because it is composed almost entirely of words it is graphic because the words are the thing.

To be sure, I have seen a lot of things that are just slapped together. And then some that are just breath-takingly composed and executed. So I thought I would give it a go using picmonkey.  And this is what I came up with:



obviously the photo credits belong to the original photographer and the
graphics belong to Picmonkey. My only contribution is the composition
 & the wit.

About choices: the memes I like best have photos that reflect the idea of the chosen text. Since it is a question and the question follows a basic "if/then" statement with references to time elapsing I wanted a picture that was "current" as I already had the Edwardian era picture as an end goal. And let's face it, this is my favorite look on him. The expression seems to say: "How thick are you?" or, my most hoped for interpretation of the top photo, we think that Richard has asked a rhetorical question and is waiting for the answer to sink in.

The second photo reflects deep concentration. That rhetorical question is being considered and answered and about 30 nanoseconds after the shutter clicks a mental "D'oh" will register. My hope with this composition is that the elements all blend to lead the viewer through the same thought process I had in trying to answer the question for myself.

The whole thing reminds me of the format that we used to use to make hand stamped cards back in the day. Which is essentially how my scrapbooking style developed. It is similar to ad layouts I've seen recently. And there is not too much to think about. Picmonkey did all the math, and suffered the headaches of trying to figure out what the optimal layout options should be. You just chose based on the number of photos you are working with.

The color scheme is analogous because I wanted something elegant that did not distract from answering the circular question or from such well crafted stills. Not to mention that the focus is more on Richard Armitage than on the humor. Though both were essential in cheering my friend up.

And yes. It did cheer my friend up. It has been submitted to an RA fan site. And I am hoping they will share it with the world. If not.... I share with a handful of my friends around the world and hope some RA fans will find it and enjoy.

And....... I just remembered I have some thoughts in draft that I wanted to share for his birthday last month. Don't feel bad RA, most of my friends didn't get theirs this year either.

Digital Art is Quick Success

It's like my mom always used to say, "You can't do for one without the others screaming." So instead of going to bed when I got home, which would be the smart thing to do. I made a banner for this blog. With luck I can show you the progression before I dump the scraps from the computer. Keep your fingers crossed that I kept a good record of my work.

You were supposed to keep your fingers crossed. Of course I only saved twice.

Well, at least you can still see what I did. After cropping out all the background crap from the watercolor, I added some filter layers which put a wee bit of a spotlight focus on the forward most plum.

Then I added some overlays from picmonkey's postal collection. Each "stamp" was hand tinted to color match the plums, faded and the eraser tool removed the marks that fell across the plums so that the fruits would continue to stand out. Then a layer of blood splatters tinted to look like spilled paint because that is the idiotic thing that I did in the original painting which I've not known exactly how to work around. So... play up the mistake. And since the blog is called "spilt paint" it seems to make a lot of sense.

After that the corners and the text were the only things to do. Except... I wasn't exactly happy with the flatness. So I added a drop shadow and fiddled with it. Picmonkey lets you adjust all of the shadow elements just like a regular photoshop program. With the color picker tool I was able to keep a harmonious color scheme. Because of the choices I made I was able to make it look like the kind of hand stamped cards I used to do, using double sided foam to add depth. This gave the effect of the stamped postal images being stamped off onto the "scrap" which instead of being thrown away became the matte for the main image. That was a framing trick we employed at work to avoid the waste that otherwise might pile up while making sample cards to send to clients.

I even thought this would be a cool print without all the officious poop that has to compose a blog header. I was quite happy with it at that point. More than I have ever been with the original. Though I do think that I am being quite hard on myself. And should probably stop.

Creating in new Media

You all know I don't do digital. I have this thing about getting my hands dirty. It doesn't really seem like artwork if it isn't messy. Well today I discovered that you can make a right fine mess with the computer. While checking out blogs for things that I was missing out on (hilarity ensues without my constant attention) I found some interesting computer advice. And then I went bat shit crazy.

Four hours, three whiney comments on various forums and two snotty "stupid technology" rants on Facebook late I was rockin' a new header. And the more I looked at this fabulous new creation the more I thought to myself "Houston. We have a problem." That is after the problem of not knowing how to get it onto my blogger blog. Guess what. They make that easy for 5 year olds like me without the patience to dig through forums full of opinions from people who know of what they speak. The real problem came when I got done.... it was awful once it was on the site.

I started with this

and got this

I thought about it for a couple of hours, listened to Sting's new album (AWESOME!!!!!) and it hit me. When I resized it to fit across the space that blogger allows for a header I did it when I was done adding special effects. So when I resized it to stretch it out the typography stretched along with all the design elements. Oy! I ended up starting over.

Thankfully the site, picmonkey, is really easy to learn, easy to use and fairly simple to remember where everything is. So I uploaded the picture again and went to work. And then I crashed the site. Well I crashed my page. I did not save frequently so the pic monkey in the barrel had a conniption fit like someone said its brain would be chilled for dessert. So that makes take five. Annnnnnnnnnnnd cut!

If you use any software editor to make a banner for your website size your first layer (the picture you chose to edit) according to what fits with blogger. I ended up using 3900x1800 or something like that. Your first number (at least in picmonkey) is the length (duh! but it took me a while to remember that) and that is the key. Then you size the height so that your picture doesn't look too squishy. Then you can add all the frills & furbelows you like without worries.

The final result is soooooo much better than the crap that was up for a couple of hours. I could not have done it without http://www.blogguidebook.com and a very helpful gent at blogger forums who granted me my request and talked to me like I was five.

and this is the new header over on the geek blog.

 

 

So much better this way. And I decided to add a copyright to the banner this time around. Of course now that I have played with a digital version I am anxious to go back and finish the canvas. The only problem is that the canvas is much taller and the base photo is only the bottom 5th of the panel.

B-dazzled?

Nope. Not a B. It is the infamous German typographic symbol ß done in with a formal hand and highly influenced by my architectural interests. The exemplars list this as a Gothic style. I am not sure that I agree, but we will go with it and not argue with the powers that be.

Watercolor, pigment ink pen and sticky gems... you know, because I am getting to the age where women want to bedazzled their clothes and anything else that will hold still long enough to be emblazoned with colorful facets.

I like the top of this style the best because it looks like an arched lintel of a door or colonnade.... hmmm, maybe it needs a lion-head knocker in the bottom bowl. You know... for effect.

Coming Soon: ezsett typograohic project

Of course now that I have gotten set up to work in my little room there is an opportunity to move back into a house with enough space for a studio of the caliber I've had in the past. So, while I am packing and moving and unpacking and stocking the new studio, I leave you with a teaser for the mini project that I am working on.



Water color on 96#/160g weight Royal & Langnickel paper

Eszett: illuminated typography.... sort of

Watercolor on Strathmore
 

This is a gothic styled eszett created by combining the scharfes S  with a z. The Scharfes S is called a long S. In early American typography it resembled an F without the cross bar. And I don't mind telling you that it was very confusing to see George Washington's name written with a "goofy" F.

It is, as I may have mentioned before, a German calligraphic device that either stands in place of two esses or an ess and a zee. Modern writing standards have been challenged in recent years with the influence of the world wide web. German print standards are trying to get rid of the eszett. I hope that doesn't happen.

This is  beautiful special character. I especially like this gothic version. For one it uses a funky Z shape that you don't find very often instead of being a zig zig, it zigs and when the line comes down it dips below the base line with a half bowl extender... that's why this shape looks like a B. But trust me, it is a z.

The reason that I like this form the best is that it looks like a sword with a fancy quillon & guard.  Instead of a round pommel and button there is a tongue shaped flourish. And when I was sketching out this form, there were a couple of versions that reminded me a little of Van Helsing's silhouette.

Just like Starting Over....

When it isn't working it isn't working. You just have to suck it up and start over. Take the good, ditch the bad and have faith that you learned enough last time around to do better this time. Art skills and life skills really are not that much different from concept to execution.


first attempt

2nd attempt



Water colors: fantasy pomegranates

So I started working on some cool toned watercolors. It was a rather abrupt shift from the fall colors. But once the cool weather set and the snow fell... well it was time to whip out the frosty blues and greens with a bit of purple. I wanted some really quick projects so that I could crank these things out and start working the cafepress angle. No, it won't be ready for this year. I'll  have to plan a year out I guess.

And I want to get better at using the liquid masking fluid. So here it the first few steps:

• the drawing
• lay down some liquid mask. I used Windsor & Newton
• while that is drying prepare you color palette. This one is Cobalt, Cerulean, Antwerp & Indanthrene blues, gamboge yellow, Permanent Violet, Dioxizine Purple, Phtalo violet an Purple Lake.
• Next lay down the colors.

The unfortunate thing about this photograph is that the lighting is so bad right now (it's 11:45pm) that it took a lot of editing to get it to look anything but yellow. But you get the idea.

This is the second interpretation. The first one I did I liked a lot. But it was more realistic than I wanted for something that is totally colored in an unrealistic palette. I did like the first one. And because the layout was exactly what I wanted, and I knew that I would want to do several variations, I made a carbon of it so that you could see them side beside when I am done. And here is a peak at the previous fantasy pomegranate portrait.

water color on Strathmore paper with Tim Holtz tissue tape, gold foil pen
 

I think you can see that they are the same composition. The colors are brighter below because I took those photos in the daylight. Natural light is wonderful! I have some Michelle Ward stuff coming soon. And I think that I want to use some of that in with this set up too. Also contemplating a totally overboard canvas with a transfer of this watercolor and an onslaught of scrapbooking/rubberstamp tricks that I love. And maybe something will finally go back to Somerset Studio.

I can't believe it's been 7 years since I last submitted work.

They're HERE!

 

My cafepress order came in. So now I know what I should and shouldn't do. Still learning the ropes over there. When I do the shop will be up an running. Keep you posted!

Wolkenreiter

It is not a "winter" album. Not like Sting's winter album was a winter album. And not like his Hounds of Winter was a get through seasonal affective disorder was a love 'em and leave 'em panacea. I've been listening to Wolkenreiter on a constant loop today. I woke up late with even intention to do so. It was a long and painful weekend at work and I know my body needs the rest. So I've had it playing. It is the one that I leave home because it is reflective and not the adrenaline rush you need to fold laundry for 8 hours. And I have to say... I think it is my favorite winter album.

Wolkenreiter means "Cloud Rider". Now perhaps that is more a Summer thing since there are so many beautiful clouds that look like you could ride them somewhere wonderful on a fantastic voyage. Granted under these titian white skies with an uber faint wash of indanthrene blue (and I mean really faint!) there are no discernable cloud formations. The sky is flat and uninteresting where there are not scraggly tree tops piercing into the dome. A smattering of snowfall flocks everything that isn't road. The road is nothing more than a well spilled slushie of dubious flavor. It is one of those days evocative of a Dickens classic, all bleak and lonesome and junk. I half expect a raggedy wolf to wander aimlessly across the once grassy quad outside my window. Or a ghost of Christmas Whenever.... I've been painting in autumnal colors, pomegrantes in clusters and cascades. But today I want to paint in frosty blue, sage, violet and perhaps just a little quinacridone violet... nothing too red. And it is all due to the perfect pairing of this album as soundtrack to our first Winter day in Northern Michigan.

Wolkenreiter really is the best album for a day like today. Not soley a collection of ballads, and the ballads are not the depressing kind that you expect from our side of the pond. For whatever reason, artists here have an idea that a slow song means you have to be brooding and ponder the dark complexities of the sole of human existence and its relationships to other souls. But with this album, it is a positive relfection. In the song I just finished listening to, Matze offers the very thing that I needed and wanted to hear two years ago. He offers the thing that Sir Knight (psuedomymn, obviously) did and with no more expectation than to be a help to someone in need. Here it is in English: (my own translation. Not exactly word for word)

Come take me with you, I take a piece of you with me

until you're standing on your own feet

Come take me with you, I take a piece of you with me

Then you go on your own way

Come take me with you, I take a piece of you with me

off to the big fairground, the roller coaster of life

as it goes up and down constantly.

There is  not only cotton candy(joy), but also the ghost train(sorrow)

But whatever will happen, as life always happens

I'm here

come into my arms

This is comfort music. It is reflective but it doesn't wallow in self pity. In many of the songs you have the feeling that this is a man who can stop and smell the roses and doesn't care if anyone thinks less of him for it. These songs freeze a moment for observation and say "It's okay. In this moment I feel ____ and then in the next moment I will feel something else". It is the exact thing that I need to to help me keep from getting stuck in moments that serve no good purpose.

In another song Matze states that his heart is not a hotel that the one room in it is reserved for someone special, and only for that one person. And "on the door hangs a sign which applies to the others 'entry forbidden'."

And in Vermiss dich
where are you?
where are you?
I've often thought to tell you that we went a wrong way
i miss you
pleae miss me too
i believe very firmly that we can turn back time
come with me an we will start from the beginning.


American music tends to want to trash the other person in the relationship. Matze is always looking for a way to peace, either in the relationship itself or in his heart when reflecting on a relationship. We go all first wives club on someone. That is not the mature or helpful thing to do. Of course he is not perfect. And there is that song on Manner sind Krieger in which he says he'd like to flip off her new boyfriend when next they meet out on the street. But that is not the same as setting clothes on fire and blowing shit up. Rosenkrieg was for that.... I am digresing. Again....

No,Wolkenreiter is a very reflective, calming album and I am now in the mood to frost my sorrows with a little bit of sugar... and do some watercolors with sparkling H2Os. Laundry can wait another day.