Beautiful piece of music...

This is a soundtrack I recently found. It is very inspiring.

An Update...

Life moves along...time passes so quickly. And yet it seems like ages.
As of late my life has been caught up in ideas and planning for future endeavors. Myself and a few friends have been exploring, more seriously, the"medium" of film. I don't know where this will all end up in the future...we'll see what God has in store.
Been busy with work mostly. I enjoy what I do. God has been good.
My personal music creation continues to be a distraction for me. Can not seem to keep new tunes from popping into my head. I keep telling myself I should do something with it...just got a lot going on.
I need to get back into painting again too. It's almost been 2 year's. I keep thinking, "One of these days when I have some time, I'll pick up a brush again." But...as a friend of mine once said, "You never find time to do something...you have to make it."

Coral Painter test...

Concept art for a new painting.

I have been off work this week so I decided to work on some ideas for a new painting. I did this concept in photo shop. This is my 3rd attempt. I lost the other two due to program difficulties. I think I am pretty happy with the direction it is going. Hopefully I can began the actual painting soon.

Copyright 2011 Benjamin Iocco Studios

The Gettysburg Address.

This is a video I put together a while ago. I thought it would be fitting to post on the 4th.

East West's Complete Composers Collection

I just got the EW/QL Complete Composers Collection.  I have been testing it last few days.  I will try to post some rough sample demos sometime in the near future.

Moving to Kentucky...

I recently accepted a job at the Creation Museum as a museum artist. I will be moving in a few weeks. Life is going to change a lot. I am hoping to continue with my painting as I have time. A new adventure is beginning! May God's will be done.

Coral Painter 11

I downloaded the trail version of Coral Painter 11 on Monday. I've been testing it out and it is a pretty incredible software. The tools take a little bit to get used to, but once you get the hang of it you can do some pretty amazing stuff. It would also be helpful if I had a graphics tablet... someday!

Here are a few rough samples of what I have done.

A was kind of going after the "disney animation" look.

.

.

This software would be very useful for creating animation backgrounds.

Finished!

I completed my fishing painting. Below is the finished product. I have also included a few "close ups" of some of the details.

(Due to size reduction the colors and picture quality may not be very good).

Now all that remains is to have the painting scanned and then varnish it. I need to order a frame for it too. This piece is going to be in a show from March-April.

Painting Progress.

As you can see the painting is starting to take shape. Once again, this piece has strong influence of the "early american" style.

Fishing Painting!

This is a new piece that I am working on for a spring "Fishing" show. I did another painting for the show already. To see click HERE

Canon EOS Rebel T1i

I got a new camera a few weeks ago. My Canon powershot S70 died a long time ago and I had been borrowing my family members cameras to get by. I wanted to upgrade to the SLRs when I got a new one. I finally decided to take the plunge and go with Canon's T1i. Costco was having a special sale on the T1i kit which included the EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS lens(regularly $250-$300.00 by itself) along with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens and several other accessories. I got the entire package for a very good price.

I am very happy with it. It is a 15.1 mp and takes very clear images. I haven't done a whole lot with it yet but compared to the powershots I have been used to, there is no comparison. The shutter sound alone is enough to make you want to take pictures. There are so many photo taking modes, it will take some time to figure it all out. It should be a very helpful tool for my art.

Finished painting.

Here is the complete Family Portrait.

'Jensen Family Portrait'

By Benjamin Iocco

18x24 Acrylic on canvas.

Myself and Peter Jensen. (The happy owner)

Mr. Jensen had an antique frame that he cut down to fit the painting.

Mr. Jensen is a very talented woodworker.

.

This painting is based on the Jensen's home which also serves as an inn in the summer. It is a very beautiful place.

http://www.barsenhouseinn.com/

Ethno World 4!

I recently got Best Service's Ethno World 4 Professional. What is Ethno World 4? It is a large sample library of ethnic instruments from all over the world.

.(Screen shot)

.Best Service had a "year end" sale, so I got it for a very good deal. I am very pleased with the sound samples. I will try to post some tests in the future.

Music Test!

I sat down a couple days ago and wrote this little piece of music. This is my first composition test with EastWest's samples. The sound quality may not be the best due to file reduction to fit this blog.

Note: This music is copyrighted by Benjamin Iocco Studios. No portion of this music may be reproduced or copied in any way, shape, or form, without permission from it's owner.

Nativity Photos

Shepherds

.

Angels

.

Wisemen

.

Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus.

.

The "cross scene" cast in costume.

.

The Roman.

Kevin O'Connell drove all the way up from Pennsylvania to help out in the performance.

The entire Nativity cast.

Practice.

.

.

.

Raising the cross

.

People starting to arrive.
.
Shepherds waiting to perform.

.
The crowd.
We had over 200 people attend this year.

The census booth.
.
We thank God for His help and mercy with this years presentation and are looking forward to what He has in store for next year.

Beautiful Music!

In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful soundtracks. It was written by Danny Elfman. This music is very hard to come by. I had to post this!

Family Portrait!

I haven't had a lot of time for my artwork in the last month or so. The live nativity took a lot of my time. I am finishing up the painting that I posted awhile back. It is pretty close to being complete. I have a few more days of work to go into it.

After Christmas, when things slow down a bit, I'm hoping to get at my art again.

The Live Nativity is over for the year!

Here is a picture of some of the cast last night, at the end.

I will post more photos later.

Nativity Rehearsing!

Rehearsing the "stable" and shepherds scene.

Building props for the set.

We have one more rehearsal before the presentation this weekend.

For More info on the Nativity visit; http://www.livenativity2009.blogspot.com/