Posted on January 31, 2012

I would just like to say thanks to everyone for the kind words posted here and on my Facebook account regarding the recent sudden loss of my father. I am still reeling from all of this but it helps that my four brothers and my sister are all together now sharing stories and laughing/crying through our memories.

The hardest part of all of this, for me, is thinking about what my two boys are going to miss out on. I feel like I am greiving for the three us. Seven years ago my wife and I made the decision to move our family from sunny San Diego back to my hometown in Illinois so my kids could grow up with two grandparents around. Rather than rue the past however, I will try to be thankful for the few years we did have together.

One thing that I always knew about my Dad was that he loved to make things, whether it be music, painting, or Christmas presents for his grandkids. He loved telling stories.

I would like to think that his creative spirit will live on in my work. I am looking forward to sharing some of his paintings with you in the weeks ahead.

I’ve added “The Floating Garden” to the Members Gallery today. I’ve been working on this project for the past week or so and the render finally finished yesterday. Now I haven’t decided if I am truly finished with it or not, but I thought it looked nice enough to post as is. I am not sure when I will be able to pick up work on it again.

I had thought to dedicate this to my father, but decided against it. I will create something more fitting in the future. Thanks again to everyone for the condolenses and prayers. They have helped more than you can possibly know.

Posted on January 29, 2012

I just learned this morning that my father, Thurman Bliss, had an accident at his house last night and is gone. He was 66 years old. I am thankful that my last words to him (a few days ago over the phone) was “I Love You Dad”.

My Dad was a farmer, a musician, an artist, and a great friend to his grown children. I know he was extremely proud of DB and the fact that so many people around the world enjoy my work.

I know he wouldn’t have wanted anyone to be sad at his untimely passing, but then he doesn’t get to make that call.

 

 

Posted on January 25, 2012

I’ve added “The Unveiling” to the Members Gallery this morning. This is a sequel of sorts to Enshrouded which I have put together to test out Vue d’Esprit 10’s “Advanced Cloud Modulation” techniques.

Basically it allows me to contour the cloud layer to the curve of the terrain, so they appear to drape naturally over the landscape. It’s a tricky procedure which I hope will be made simpler in future versions of Vue (so I don’t have to edit height maps in Photoshop hopefully). To be honest I’m not even sure the effect is all that noticable in this render.

It is a powerful tool however, and one which I hope will bear more fruit in the future.

Your thoughts?

Posted on January 17, 2012

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in Lifehacker’s “Top 5 Wallpaper Sites” poll! The poll closed late last night with DB leading Wallbase by 544 votes. You are now reading the web’s “Most Popular Wallpaper Site“, according to the readers of Lifehacker.

It’s pretty amazing that a site with only 12 free wallpapers and a creaky interface can win out over over ones with the latest designs and millions of free files.

As a token of my appreciation please enjoy “The Fisherman”, my first release from 2011 in the Free Gallery. If you would like to become a Member then please use the coupon code “lifehacker” to save 25% off all Memberships and Renewals until midnight tomorrow!

As a show of support my friends at DecalGirl are offering 38% (my the percentage of the vote) off my entire skin collection. Use coupon code “LIFEHACKER” to get the discount.

Thanks again for all the support!

Posted on January 15, 2012

The readers of Lifehacker have selected DB as one of the top 5 wallpaper sites online. It now comes down to a simple poll question to decide “the best”.

I’m in some pretty good company so I hope you will have a look at the competition and then vote for your favorite!

As for me, I’m just thrilled to be in the top 5 given that my site is Member supported and I am the only “single artist” on the list.

Thanks for all the nominations!