The work is coming to an end, and so is our pre-release offer. As of November 1st, we will release and begin selling the Artists’ Essentials DVDs at full price. Soooo, get them while they’re hot! Pull out your credit card and head over to www.artistsessentials.com to snatch up a full set at a whole $30 off the retail price! The Pre-release orders have been flowing in.

You may still order the Set at the Pre-release Discount of $149.95 through October 31, 2005.  Beginning November 1, 2005 the price for the Set will be $159.95 plus shipping of $5.50 in the USA.  Single Volumes are $59.95 plus shipping.

Order through:

            www.artistsessentials.com

or mail checks with shipping address, phone and email address to:

            Artists’ Essentials / Donna Aldridge
            7503 West 54th Terrace
           Overland Park, KS  66202-1127

We’ve had wonderful feedback from those who have had previews of the rough cuts in September. Here is one comment we recently received.

After watching your new 3 DVD set I felt like it had covered essential information not covered in other artist videos I had seen. Instead of just showing us how to paint one or two paintings, it helps us with every piece of art that we will ever do again.

It does this by teaching us how to see better and really bring out the color in our subject better. The information about the different colors of cast shadows was very  informative. I have taught quite a few classes myself and I noticed the problems students were having continuously were the ones artists were taught to solve in the video.

I also appreciate the professional job of video-taping. Not once was I frustrated because I was unable to see the illustrations because the camera was not zoomed in enough to see well.

The way you explain things is a beautiful use of the English language. Your use of illustrations to help us understand what you mean is excellent. I have never heard these abstract concepts explained in such an easy to understand way. Good job Donna!! I will watch the videos over and over!!

         — Audrey Lechuga, Award-winning Fine Artist, Colorado, USA

We learned yesterday that our beloved Aardman Studios caught fire, losing their "whole history," as Nick Parks depressingly said. That means years of Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run,
and other characters have melted into the plasticine from which they
were formed. And on the same weekend that the reports have come in
saying that The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was the top movie in theaters this weekend.

We
had some guests over during the weekend who hadn’t seen any Wallace and
Gromit shorts. So I drug the old VHS tapes (remember those?) out of the
closet for back-to-back showings of The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. 
It reminded me just how much I enjoyed these movies in college. I’ve
been looking forward to their first feature film ever since I heard
they had begun planning three years ago. Following on the heels of The Corpse Bride, this looks to be a terrific time for claymation. It’s nice to see a bit of the organic amidst the CGI nowadays.

But how depressing that so much has been lost. Still, even  Nick Parks put the loss into its proper perspective:

"Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to
the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn’t a big deal," he
said.

Send an Aardcard
to the studio to console them on their loss, or just to a friend for
fun. Tonight, my wife and I are driving 30 miles to see Wallace and
Gromit on the big screen for the first time ever. We’ll let you know
how it is.

Last week, I attended a mini film fest on our campus (Truman State University).
It was a cool event. The Residential Living office gave 7 video cameras
to seven teams and sent them off. They had 3 weeks to shoot a 3-8
minute short. They premiered last Friday night to a group of mostly
students (and me) at the late-late hour of 11pm. I struck up a
conversation with folks around me, who happened to be one of the
filmmakers who later won the award. His name is Brian Rose.

Anyway,
it was a great idea. Most of these were edited, a number had some
interesting special effects. Brian’s piece – a sort of expose to music
about the prices of items on campus and the spending of the Student
Senate – actually had some stop-motion animation in it. All in all, I
felt all the pieces were a couple notches higher than what I expected.
One was a strange, surreal piece in mostly German with English
subtitles. They all seemed to focus around making fun of the typical
elements of college life — demanding professors, getting to class on
time, turning in papers late, etc. But it was obvious a lot of heart
went into it.

I’ve been dialoguing with Brian since then. I
learned he finished shooting his first feature and is currently editing
it. The concept sounds interesting, and it’s a silent movie, so not
having the sound issue should make editing a bit easier. But he also
shot a number of elements in 16mm and Super 8, so it’s a bit more than
your average miniDV movie. Keep tuned here for details. Maybe I can
convince him to throw up a trailer or some shots for you.

Anyway,
it’s good to see the independent film spirit alive and well on campus.
There are a few more resources now than when I was a student a short 5
years ago. Better equipment, a film club, and events like this. It’s
pretty exciting, and I’m hoping there’s still room for an old guy like
me (27? I sure don’t FEEL old yet…) can still tap into the system and
make some positive contributions.

If you’re interested in what I
was up to in my college days, you might want to search around the site
for Dumping Jenny, our first feature film back in 2000.