Category: Business Stuff

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Big Boy Toys Miata Convertible and Ercoupe Airplane

These toys are shown here at the Salisbury-Ocean City-Wicomico Airport (SBY) in Salisbury, Maryland.

Big boy toys galore! Picture this: a sleek, dark green Miata convertible, parked with all the swagger of a peacock strutting its stuff. It’s sitting right in front of an open hangar, where a vintage 1946 Ercoupe aircraft rests like it’s waiting for its next thrilling adventure.

Celebrating a bit here, because…
The above photograph is the 2,000th photograph uploaded to my online Photography Gallery at Bill Swartwout Photography.

The scene unfolds at the Salisbury-Ocean City-Wicomico Airport (SBY) in sunny Salisbury, Maryland. It’s the perfect backdrop for a day filled with luxury and a dash of mischief.

The setting perfectly captures the essence of luxury and freedom, where the thrill of the open road meets the skies above. Can you hear the engines revving? Or is that just the sound of my dreams? This Miata isn’t just a car; it’s a ticket to freedom, and the Ercoupe is its high-flying cousin.

Together, they’re like Batman and Robin — if Batman were a convertible and Robin were a quirky little plane. Just imagine the weekend plans: cruising along the coast, then soaring above the waves. Now that’s what I call living the high life!

Note: While the above paragraphs are written in a “tongue-in-cheek” prose, the toys do exist. They are, however, not indicative of the “essence of luxury.” The 79 year old aircraft and 17 year old convertible are easily affordable for someone who does not own a fishing boat or go golfing twice a week most of the year.

Please visit my Photography Gallery to see the broad scope of my work. Click HERE.

To see the Miata/Ercoupe photograph, Click HERE.

—> I always appreciate feedback. Please drop a comment below. <—

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Popular Photographs at Bill Swartwout’s Galleries

10 years at Fine Art America and these are the most popular images.

I first joined Fine Art America/Pixels in late 2013 and with over 500 sales to date, here are some of the most popular photographs based on a mixture of sales, number of views, number of comments and people who have “favorited” and/or “liked” what they saw. Sales, however, are among the most prominent criteria. Each of the images below have been purchased more than twice, with some of them having been purchased more than a dozen times each.
Link to: Bill Swartwout Photography’s Gallery.

Is this my own arrangement of “popular” pieces? No, it is not. Fine Art America, one of my two main production companies, defined the selection algorithm, based on company criteria, for the image display order. It used to be solely up to the artist to determine the initial order and I formerly let the display order default to my most recent uploaded photographs. It remains that way in most of my separate collections. However, the change in general display order has had a positive impact on people viewing my gallery – they tend to browse longer and look at more photographs. I am also seeing an uptick in sales, which, of course, is a good thing.

I bill myself (yes, pun intended) as a landscape/seascape photographer, but it is easy to see that my seascapes win out over the landscape category. While I have sold something from each of the many collections in my FAA/Pixels private gallery, my most popular collections are 1) Indian River Inlet Bridge, 2) Ocean City Maryland and 3) Delmarva Peninsula Beauty. I am fortunate in that I live in coastal Delmarva (exactly two miles from the Atlantic Ocean) and in close proximity to both Ocean City, Maryland and The Indian River Inlet Bridge just north of Bethany Beach, Delaware.

I also live within a short drive to the Assateague Island National Seashore and the Wild Ponies of Assateague Island. My former home was in Baltimore, Maryland very close to Fort McHenry. These special places also give prominence to other collections relating to those destinations/topics – and have produced photographs purchased by many art collectors.

Thank You!

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported my art photography over all of these years. Y’all rock!

Link to: Bill Swartwout Photography’s Galley at Fine Art America

Link to: Bill Swartwout’s Gallery at Pictorem (Free Shipping)

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Dangerous Passage

Exploring a bit of artificial intelligence text-to-image creation…

The title may be a bit of double entendre considering that is also the title of the image used in this brief, introductory (teaser) article about the use of “AI” in the creation of art.

difficult passage - ships on a stormy sea
Dangerous Passage by ships on a stormy sea.

A possible “caption” for this image might be…

Sailing ships have always been a symbol of a bygone era. Ancient mariners faced the unpredictability of the sea each time they set sail, and this is particularly true off the coast of Cape Hatteras. With its strong winds and unpredictable currents, being caught in a storm off this notorious cape could spell disaster for even the most experienced sailor. The treacherous waters of Cape Hatteras have long been a challenge to sailors – especially in the age of old sailing ships.

Exploring Artificial Intelligence

I’ve been exploring a bit with AI image creation – but in the above piece, “Difficult Passage,” there was a good bit of post-processing involved. The original concept was text-to-image generation, for sure, but the final look and feel took extra work in Photoshop and Topaz Studio2 and the addition of the “torn apart” border framing the image.

dangerous passage framed sample
Here is how “Dangerous Passage” may look in a frame with a colored mat presentation.

Is it fair to use AI in the creation of art?

Some people claim that this is not art. At all! However, is this any different than a creative person wandering through an art museum and then going home and creating a piece from the inspiration acquired during his museum visit? Or how about a photographer visiting a popular scenic overlook and capturing a landscape or seascape similar to what he saw on a calendar? There are all sorts of “arguments” on both sides of the Artificial Intelligence issue but I believe it is up to the individual to decide…

  • Is it Art?
  • Is it not art?
  • Is it blasphemy?

Yes, it is up to the creator of the piece and each individual buyer/customer to decide.

Yes, “Dangerous Passage” is offered for sale as wall art and on a variety of home decor and apparel items. Click the image above or one of the links below to learn more and to begin shopping.

Link to: Dangerous Passage

Link to: Bill’s Gallery at Fine Art America/Pixels

What do you think about the “torn” edges? They would make it work better on a shirt design – but what about as wall art?

artificial intelligence art