MARC SCHEFF

ILLUSTRATION

The one issue with Lightbox portfolios is that as you scroll through, there’s no unique URL to appear at the top. So the thousands of art directors (…) who are looking at my site can’t send each other a link.

Until now.

With a few code tweaks, you can now scroll through my portfolio and see a unique url at the top to send off to a friend.

Here are the steps:

1. Install Lightbox
2. In your header html, paste the following code directly above the tag. (thanks to Bram.us)

   
   
   
   
   <script type="text/javascript">
   
       // < ![CDATA[
   
           // Automagically load Lightbox on Page Load - by Bramus! (http://www.bram.us/)
   
           // Code modded from http://www.huddletogether.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=1269&page=1#Item_0
   
           function autoFireLightbox() {
   
               //Check if location.hash matches a lightbox-anchor. If so, trigger popup of image.
   
               setTimeout(function() {
   
                   if(document.location.hash && $(document.location.hash.substr(1)).rel.indexOf('lightbox')!=-1) {
   
                       myLightbox.start($(document.location.hash.substr(1)));
   
                   }},
   
                   250
   
               );
   
           }
   
           Event.observe(window, 'load', autoFireLightbox, false);
   
       // ]]>
   
   </script>
   
   
   
   

3. On your page with images make sure to put an id attribute on every anchor tag that has a lightboxed link, so you might now have:

   <a href="foo.jpg" rel="lightbox" id="UniqueName"><img src="foo_thumbnail.jpg"/></a>

4. In lightbox.js

   CHANGE

   • imageArray.push(new Array(imageLink.getAttribute('href'), stimuli_image_title));
   • TO
   • imageArray.push(new Array(imageLink.getAttribute('href'), stimuli_image_title, imageLink.getAttribute('id')));

   CHANGE

   • imageArray.push(new Array(anchor.getAttribute('href'), stimuli_image_title));
   • TO
   • imageArray.push(new Array(anchor.getAttribute('href'), stimuli_image_title, imageLink.getAttribute('id')));

   FIND the function changeImage: function(imageNum), and:

   ADD

   • document.location.hash=imageArray[activeImage][2];
     
       window.scroll(0,0);

   • AFTER
   • imgPreloader.src = imageArray[activeImage][0];
5. If you want to be able to drag images to the desktop, you basically have to get in the css. A few simple changes get you most of the way there:

   ADD

   • height: 100px !important;
   • TO
   • #stimuli_hoverNav a

   ADD

   • height: 100px !important; top:350px;
   • TO
   • #stimuli_hoverNav

   Tweak as you see fit.

Get ready to update your twitter, facebook, and rss feeds…

I’ve been thinking a lot about my identity as an artist, and for a while I’ve had separate accounts for “me” and “my art.” It’s clear to me now that I am my art and my art is me. Given that these identities are inseparable, it’s time to move past the ways of youth and put dangermarc aside. Alas, we knew him well.

You can now reach me in the following places:

email: marc@marcscheff.com
web: http://www.marcscheff.com
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marcscheff
facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/marcscheffillustration
facebook (I typically friend people I’ve actually met. I make exceptions for artists): http://www.facebook.com/marcscheff
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/marcscheff

These are quick studies I did during a week-long workshop with master painter Max Ginsburg. Between the demos and breaks, each of these took a little over two hours to paint in oil.

It was a great joy to sit next to Max and watch him work. The images above are in chronological order, and I think you can see improvement over the course of the week. Here are some more images from the week, including a portrait done by another artist in the workshop, Ed, and a demo of how Max gets creative when helping the taller students.

Last weekend, Valentine’s day weekend, I went to Boston for Boskone. I also, coincidentally, was taking down my solo show at Roxbury Latin. This worked out well since the con ended up with some extra space in the art show, and there I was with a car full of framed art. Thanks to John Picacio and Gay Ellen for making that happen for me.

Boskone is a sci-fi/fantasy fan con. While it’s not the most costumed con, the people there have a lot of heart. I was impressed with the more or less equal footing was given to exhibitors and artists. These are some fans who really appreciate the artists who vision these worlds. The programming was also exceptional, with great readings and some serious art demos. Michael Whelen, Bob Eggleton, John Picacio, Alan Beck and Jean Pierre Normand did demos. It was great to see how different they all were. Whelan started by giving an 8 year-old a brush and a piece of masonite, then he took the scribbles and made a great painting. Jean Pierre did a big pen drawing of a spaceship with sharpie on a post-it board. Eggleton did a quick study out of his head. Alan Beck did a commission, Sigmouse Freud, and John Picacio did a demo of his detailed pencil stage. If nothing else, I got to really get the lesson that it doesn’t matter what tools you use, and you should probably use whatever tool is handy. Whelan was grabbing sheets of manuscript for masks, and the holes in the sheets to place impressionistic flowers on his study.

The art show was good with 40 Whelan paintings, one for each year of his career. John Picacio, Bob Eggleton, Rick Berry, Marc Robinson, Kelly Kotulak, and many other artists were also there. I won an art show award, which was quite an honor. Marc Robinson had a piece that I loved too (pictured here).

There were not a lot of ADs there that I saw. Irene, of course, was there, and it was fun to hang with her and meet some new artists. I didn’t make it to Berry’s post-con studio wine and cheese, I had to drive West, but next year I’m going to make that a priority.

All in all, it was a great con and I expect I’ll be back next year.

Below are some iPhone shots from the con.

I’m not a New Year’s resolution kind of guy, and I probably won’t get you anything on your birthday. If I see something you should have, I’ll probably get it for you, happy unbirthday! Similarly, I decided that this year I’d participate in online art challenges. ArtOrder is arguably the grand pooh-bah of online challenges for fantasy artists. Usually, ArtOrder gives out an actual or simulated assignment. To kick off the new year they gave us nothing but a line of poetry. This left a lot of creative room.

I wrote a short story about a future divided into two classes, and what happens when two exiles stumble upon a secret even deeper than the technology they seek. Here is the line, and my submission.

“A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust”
          ~ James Stephens
             Irish poet and storyteller, 1882-1950