How to trigger a ‘serious’ enthusiast…

[big jim]

So much to unpick in his ‘Wartime morning’ fever dream/acid trip

[Canal Digger]

2 hours ago, big jim said:

Posted 2 hours ago

So much to unpick in his ‘Wartime morning’ fever dream/acid trip

OK, I'll start off with the missing Headlight Masks ... 

[Jeremy Cumberland]

Well, obviously the engine number shouldn't be on the tender by then. However, as an engineer, I'm more concerned by how the weight of the locomotive is being supported.

[Nearholmer]

3 hours ago, big jim said:

So much to unpick in his ‘Wartime morning’ fever dream/acid trip

I just can’t stop laughing looking at that picture.

 

Forget the details, it’s the entire premise of Miss Marpleshire carrying on its business as usual, not even glancing up, while a flight of bombers pass overhead, and a dogfight takes places at chimney-pot level that gets me. The entire thing is beyond bizarre.

 

He’s clearly a very skilled artist at some level, unless he is indeed a load of software, but at every other level ………

[big jim]

His bio says he’s from Bradford and lives in Skipton 

 

can’t really tell if it’s digitally produced art, if it was when he noticed the perspective was wrong he could remedy it with a few clicks, some of his pics look like he’s committed a mistake to canvas and can’t press undo! 
 

 

[Steamport Southport]

15 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I just can’t stop laughing looking at that picture.

 

Forget the details, it’s the entire premise of Miss Marpleshire carrying on its business as usual, not even glancing up, while a flight of bombers pass overhead, and a dogfight takes places at chimney-pot level that gets me. The entire thing is beyond bizarre.

 

He’s clearly a very skilled artist at some level, unless he is indeed a load of software, but at every other level ………

 

Jigsaws made for people that don't "do" jigsaws. We get them in my charity shop all the time. Usually just after Christmas and often still in the wrapper.

 

Notice there is hardly any sky or areas which are similar. Almost every piece is identifiable in seconds. No real skill involved. A normal person could do one in under an hour whereas a proper jigsaw should take quite a few hours as they are a challenge.

 

 

Jason

Edited August 2, 2023 by Steamport Southport

[The Johnster]

The dogfight appears to be taking place between three Hurricanes l, one of which has it’s undercarriage down for a landing; if there were an airfield that close and a sky full of Heinkels, surely the siren would have gone off and everyone should have sought cover.  There is, I submit, a difference between keeping calm & carrying on and suicidal exposure to enemy action!

[AY Mod]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

a dogfight takes places at chimney-pot level

 

Maybe that's why one of the cottages has no chimney?

[Steamport Southport]

14 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

The dogfight appears to be taking place between three Hurricanes l, one of which has it’s undercarriage down for a landing; if there were an airfield that close and a sky full of Heinkels, surely the siren would have gone off and everyone should have sought cover.  There is, I submit, a difference between keeping calm & carrying on and suicidal exposure to enemy action!

 

Junkers rather than Heinkels in this story. The Hurricanes still had their wheels down as they had physically just taken off. I think some parts of the German plane are in Fort Perch Rock museum.

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/in-your-area/ju88-that-crashed-at-dock-10149758

 

 

Apologies for the awful website. Typical local newspaper.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Steamport Southport

[PMP]

The bombers due to their size in the image, are too low to be producing contrails. They need to be at 20,0000 ft or more, and should therefore be shown much smaller.

[AY Mod]

2 minutes ago, PMP said:

contrails

 

Chemtrails?

[kevinlms]

31 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Maybe that's why one of the cottages has no chimney?

Yes, I was thinking that the stone house would be rather cold in winter! Perhaps it's got modern central heating?

[Nearholmer]

43 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

The dogfight appears to be taking place between three Hurricanes

I gave him the benefit of te doubt on that, and assumed a flock of Me109 just out of view to the left.

[Nearholmer]

Maybe the core market for these puzzles is people far into their dotage, who have heads stuffed full of memories, many of which can be recalled, but which can’t be properly related one to another, so mix together as a sort of jumble of only very loosely related visual impressions. 
 

In short, maybe this is a view into mind of a person with early stage dementia.

 

Dark thought, eh?

[AY Mod]

Falcon seem to be cornering the market in junksaws.

 

 

"Can we have some more Spitfires in it?", "Erm, where?".

"A couple more cute farm animals?", "Like where?"

"Flying Scotsman? In yellow?', "#@&£, it's not even Dover!"

 

[woodenhead]

7 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

Falcon seem to be cornering the market in junksaws.

 

 

"Can we have some more Spitfires in it?", "Erm, where?".

"A couple more cute farm animals?", "Like where?"

"Flying Scotsman? In yellow?', "#@&£!"

 

In the near future, this is how our history will be told when using ChatGPT 🤣

[Nearholmer]

When you see the jigsaw puzzles they go for in the USA, I think ours, conveying a deluded. Image of previous conflict, are actually preferable.

 

 

[The Johnster]

Vapour trails, we used to call them, and I agree that the bombers are dangerously low over hostile territory where there are clearly Hurricanes about.  The Hurricane with it's wheels down has it's nose down a little, so is coming in for a landing rather than taking off; the other two are just p*ssing about for compostitional effect.  There is some dogfight action revealed by vapour trails top centre background, but on a calm day they could have been made an hour earlier...

 

It is of course a bit disingenuous to critique this sort of image for detail.  It is produced for commercial purposes to be printed on to greetings cards or jigsaws, and to a compositional formula and colour palette; something goes here, something another colour goes there.  I very much doubt that Victor McLinden is a real human being, but if he is I apologise; I would imagine that his backrgound is in scrapbooks from the scattergun approach.  The compostions consist of elements drawn from disparate (and desperate) sources put together by AI, which accounts for the acid trip feel; we know instantaneously before examining the detail that something is a bit off, because we are not looking at human artifice but something alien to our perception. 

 

These sort of 'works' are abstract, in the sense that they does not overly concern themselves with recreating reality as closely as possible or observing the rules of perspective, even if they think they do.  If one views them on their own terms as abstract and impressionist rather than representational and documentary, they are still rubbish but they are at least honest rubbish, less overtly offensive, in much the same way that Hornby Dublo layouts on green baseboards at exhibitions are acceptable in their own way.  AI imagery can be a lot better than this, and I foresee a time when it is a 'legitimate' category of art in it's own right, and honest about it's origins rather than a mendacious pretence of human authorship, because no self-respecting computer would want the blame for this carp, and would rather pass off the responibility to the meatbags.

 

The market is consumers who do not have, or think they need, a clear perception of what the subject was actually like but are satisfied with something that they can put on their wall, or make up as a jigsaw, or send on a greeting card, that evokes a period or location (in this case wartime England) sufficiently to induce a feeling that 'I am interested in the war, my grandad was in it you know, and I want to show my respect for that time by purchasing this rubbish high quality artwork...  I would like to think that as railway modellers, concerned with detail, period, and location, and a level of discernment to make our layouts believable, we are not this sort of customer.

[big jim]

He’s the gift that keeps on giving…..

 

and yes, he appears to be a real person too

 

https://www.advocate-art.com/victor-mclindon

 

A quote from him…..

 

 “When I joined Advocate, I suddenly started working on a much better class of project.” 

 

I’d love to see his lower class stuff 

Edited August 2, 2023 by big jim

[MrTea]

Our mate Victor certainly seems to have a penchant for Gresley Pacifics in Crimson Lake doesn’t he?

 

@AY Mod those Falcon jigsaws you’ve found are an abomination! I won’t be able to unsee them. 

[Nearholmer]

I’m beginning to think I understand his method now, that it is probably a blend of ‘compute art’, based on photos of things like cars, trains, spitfires, and possibly some of the buildings, which are somehow merged (not splendidly well in all cases). Into landscapes that are possibly hand-painted, or maybe hand-‘painted’ as in drawn on a tablet screen, the figures similarly being ‘hand work’.

 

If I’m right, that would account for the weird perspective mismatches, the cars that seem slightly the wrong size, shadows that don’t quite match across the pice, and the feel of objects floating above the scene.

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Steamport Southport]

3 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I’m beginning to think I understand his method now, that it is probably a blend of ‘compute art’, based on photos of things like cars, trains, spitfires, and possibly some of the buildings, which are somehow merged (not splendidly well in all cases). Into landscapes that are possibly hand-painted, or maybe hand-‘painted’ as in drawn on a tablet screen, the figures similarly being ‘hand work’.

 

If I’m right, that would account for the weird perspective mismatches, the cars that seem slightly the wrong size, and the feel of objects floating above the scene.

 

 

 

 

Look like airbrush to me.

 

Probably churns out quite a few in a short space of time.

[F-UnitMad]

5 hours ago, AY Mod said:

Falcon seem to be cornering the market in junksaws.

 

 

 

"Can we have some more Spitfires in it?", "Erm, where?".

"A couple more cute farm animals?", "Like where?"

"Flying Scotsman? In yellow?', "#@&£, it's not even Dover!"

 

Talking of perspective, the foreground figures certainly aren't looking at the BBMF roaring over behind them.

Maybe they're looking at Concorde, flying just outside the picture frame..??

Edited August 2, 2023 by F-UnitMad

[Nearholmer]

I thought I’d have a go myself.

 

Jigsaw puzzle anyone?

 

 

(He’s quite obviously ‘worked up’ a photo of the Seven Sisters as see from Seaforf Head as the basis for that one)

 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Nearholmer

[The Johnster]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

I thought I’d have a go myself.

 

Jigsaw puzzle anyone?

 

 

(He’s quite obviously ‘worked up’ a photo of the Seven Sisters as see from Seaforf Head as the basis for that one)

 

 

 

Indeed, thirty miles west of Dover in the next county.  It's not as if it's an obscure or unknown view; this must be one of the most photographed and painted vistas in England, and for good reason as it's a marvellous spot with all the composition done for you by geology and erosion.