Check out these excellent art-related articles to help any artist- no matter their skill level- broaden their thinking & horizons.
I know it's not easy; believe me I know as an artist you're always wanting to create and run with an idea. I don't know about you but for me it gets even more so when I have a creative block and I'm trying to get a spark going but take it from me, the name of this article fits perfectly for such situations- STOP IT! When you run into a creative block, stop what you're doing and take a break; go for a walk or play a game or go running or whatever you enjoy doing this is the time to do it. If you are in the midst of a creation you've envisioned but are getting stuck or feeling like you have to push the idea further-STOP IT! Put your paintbrush, pencil or whatever you are using to create with down, step away and play with your dog or your children, take your spouse to a movie.
I've been in this boat many a time and believe me, your creative vision will look much better to you and everyone else if you don't push yourself to continue on the project when you are getting to an area that just isn't flowing naturally. What do I mean by this? What I mean is say you have an idea to paint a beautiful river and you have been working on it for a couple of hours now and you're at the point where you have to give the water it's feeling, it's sense of movement but you're looking at the entire image and you just can't decide where to start, what shades of color to use, etc. Should you keep pushing yourself til you figure it out? I say emphatically "NO!" and trust me, I know it's easier said than done but at this point you need to walk away and grab a new perspective. When you come back to it you should have a better idea of how to continue with the painting. Am I saying that after one break you'll come back and be able to complete the painting? No I'm not because sometimes you'll come back and you'll be just as stuck as you were before your break and you'll get frustrated & maybe even angry. How do I know this? Because I've been in those shoes more times than I can count. There've been times I've had to literally take a dozen breaks before I was able to get the painting flowing again.
I think one of the hardest things during these break sessions is to wipe the idea of laziness from the mind. What do I mean by this? I don't know about you but I'm the type who's always got to be busy and preferably doing things I love and that I am making money in such as painting so when I have to take these breaks it's very difficult for me to not feel like I'm wasting my time, or fear getting lazy. A dear friend of mine recently gave me a good perspective on this thought process and it's this: "Don't think of it as being lazy; think of it as recharging your creative energy." And you know what? She's exactly right! When you take a break from your painting,sketch,carving or whatever form of art you're working in, you're not being lazy; what you're doing is giving your mind a chance to re-energize itself, to work out the chaos in your mind that are a bunch of great ideas but you can't organize them into a flowing thought and hence it'll show up in your work as well. For example, as I write this article, I'm taking a break from my latest painting because I became stuck on what to add to it, if anything, where to add a bit more shadow, etc. I have several, what to me are "good ideas" in my head but I can't get them organized and flowing so instead of wasting my time or risking destroying the very integrity of my work, I'm taking a breather and I will return to it later and hopefully it'll flow again.
If you're anything like me- a workaholic, driven to succeed, intense, passionate about your work-will it be easy to take breaks when you get stuck or to take a breather from art all together when you have a creative block? Maybe but more than likely it won't be an easy transition because more than likely you've had this same mindset for your entire life; rarely do you develop such characteristics overnight. You're going to find yourself stuck on a project you're working on or maybe driven to think up a new project because one isn't coming to you automatically. Sound familiar? And you know what? You're going to find yourself still trying to work through it, you're going to find yourself still thinking about what your next project could possibly be. How do I know that? Because after three years as a professional artist I still find myself doing the exact same thing at times. Changing the way you handle art, especially when it's your livelihood isn't going to come over night and for many it won't even come within a few months but it WILL come.
In conclusion, when you see yourself getting aggravated with your artwork or you are having a creative block just try these two simple words that will make all the difference in the end-STOP IT!
Author : Mike"Birdman"Sexton
Copyright -2008
All Rights Reserved
Please do NOT reprint this article unless you have my permission, thank you.
Please understand here, that no one person can speak for all those blind artists out there and tell exactly how they go about creating a work. I can say something about my own self and I’m sure it would pretty well relate to many other blind or partially sighted artists and their ways of creating art.
Let’s start here, It is said, Literature is the means by which the world attempts to understand itself. Art is the means by which mankind attempts to express itself. Inspiration is the spark by which expression is inflamed. And creativity is the light or result of the flame of inspiration.Now, everything worth its thought must have a foundation . This simply means that every idea springs from a source and if one were to trace that idea back, it would most likely lead to an original source or starting point. A work of art emerges forth from a source and flows into the imagination generator, where it is energized into a plan or possible creation.
This entire process might be called inspiration, but even this spark of inspiration must come from somewhere.
Every human mind has the sparks of inspiration flying around within its existence but sparks do not always start fires. It takes something more than sparks to set the action of creativity into motion. This ability to take a spark and turn it into a light admitting fire and bring warmth and light into the life of others is the summation of an artists work.
The artists mind is always on the prowl for insight, inspiration and ideas. He is familiar and alert to the sparks of inspiration and in some cases its the flash of a great falling star. But the creative energy begins with some kind of awareness working within an artist mind.
An artist is a hunter, an explorer, a scientist and an inventor all tied up into one being.
Creative minds do not let events or circumstances pass them by without reaching into them, and grabbing something from them. The artist's mind works in a very different manner and is always working and searching out, and probing into, you might say, things, for the sake of inspiration.
The difference between a creative mind and just a mind that works is difficult to measure. Why would some children on a beach just dig a hole while another builds a very nice sand castle? Of course the sand castle takes a lot more thinking, planning and imagination. And these two different efforts would indicate a different mind set; and so to with the mind of a creative person verses just an ordinary get along mind.
I will begin this question of creativity using a process that is now going on with one of my very own works. I recently stretched and prepared a 6 foot square canvas and laid out a basic pattern of shapes using a black masking tape. This tape is highly contrasted against my white canvas and I use this as a guiding reference point to help me see the different areas of the canvas. Within these heavy dark lines I lay out an entire work, having the picture first formed in my mind. It is now broken down into individual sections so to better manage the area I am working in. These smaller areas are then crisscrossed with thicker lines of acrylic glue, strings and threads, and certain things might be set off with tacks or pins. The picture is generalized up to a point and once I begin my creative process, the powers of mind, imagination, inspiration, ability and challenge will begin to insert themselves into my core idea and slowly force direction and alter perceptions and a new work will come into existence.
However, as I was finishing up another larger painting I kept walking by this prepared canvas and within a week or so, I decided or saw something else. My ideas slowly began to rearrange those tapes and lines, and just a few days later I completely changed them to fit an entire new picture.
The original picture was going to be 7 water falls, falling into one deep canyon but this canvas will now be a background of brilliant blues with a center point of light. Then over laying this entire canvas will be one giant oak tree. Why one giant oak tree, I do not really know. But what changed my mind from seven waterfalls to one giant oak?
I really cannot say. Maybe it was just the size of the canvas and somehow my minds eye saw a great oak filling it up. But I think it was a conversation about family from long ago while we were driving and someone pointed out and made comment about a giant oak standing up with the sunset blazing behind it. They described it as silhouetted in the haze and this might have over ridden the water fall idea. I’m thinking right now, why did I decide to go blue on background?Well, one reason might be that I love the color blue and I so happen to have a lot of containers of blue, in all shades. But somehow in my minds eye, I see a brilliant blue with many shades forcing this giant oak to stand its ground and obscure the blue and allow the oak to dominate the entire canvas.
I will say that as I begin this work, it might just change again as I begin laying down the paint.
For me the ideas are not the greatest troubles. For my mind is constantly working and creating new pictures and creations but the trouble is that I will not have enough time to ever transfer those ideas into reality by placing them onto canvas.
Ideas are not the problem for me but sorting through those multi levels of sparks and choosing an inspiration that is strong enough to endure my level of impatience and limited ability and that is my greatest challenge. I must be sure that I begin a work that I will both enjoy and fully give myself over to. I am always trying to collect idea kindling so that when inspiration strikes, I have prepared myself to turn it into a roaring blaze.
Direction here is significant, for I have a saying, “One Degree in the beginning makes all the difference in the end!”
Therefore in my experience of blind order, its best to have a plan based and a vision to guide your creative powers into a harbor of completion. It is like taking a journey on a sail boat without knowing where your going. The boat is your desire, ability and power, while the wind is as if inspiration. And that wind can take you to many places but you just might end up somewhere you didn’t want to be and its very difficult to get back to home port.
An artist must exercise some control over his own inspirations and use his creative abilities wisely. In other words an artist must learn to harness his creative powers and focus them onto or into a work. For time can wear a mind ragged and then abandone it unfulfilled because inspiration drove the artist off his course while his creative powers kept on changing his direction until he was lost and out of paint!
The worst thing to do to a real inspiration is to let the fire of creativity die half way to dawn.
To have your kindling struck by the spark of inspiration and burst into a flame is wonderful but to be able to make that fire burn until the dawn of completion arrives takes a lot of work. This effort is what makes inspiration and creativity join forces and blend and become a work of art.
A blind artist faces a very different problem in this process of creativity. For often it might be a lack of confidence and the thought of humiliation and rejection of his or her efforts. Again, if a blind or partially sighted person is just using art as a hobby or creative past time, hey, no problem. But if that person ever seeks approval or validation from others, that person enters a whole other realm of challenges.
Having a creative mind is one thing but doing something with it is another thing. Some creative minds had no intention of ever becoming famous or recognized but through a chain of circumstances their work became recognized and in this recognition came the title of, Artist!
Ok now, a week has past since I wrote down my ideas on the blue background. Well, I have begun the work but guess what folks, it has turned into a full green background with a huge full moon set into all these shades of green. What happened you might ask?
It's spring here in Oregon, I actually got out of the house a few days back between rain storms, and was struck with green light. Green shades and light glaring from everywhere. And the season of change hit me and instead of having a general source of rising light I thought a full golden, green butter yellow moon shining through the entangled branches of the oak might help me in setting off the giant oak with greater contrasts.So was I inspired to a new level or just simply changed my mind? Whatever it was, this blind artist must get back to exercising his creative ability, so for now, get going and do something with your creative powers before the fire of inspiration dies and you never see the dawn of satisfaction!
Author: Michael M. Michaelson MMM
www.outofsightcreations.net
Email Michael At: insightart@juno.com
Are you a budding artist or perhaps someone who just dabbles in art- whether it's painting,drawing,sketching, sculpting or any other avenue of art? Or perhaps you're someone who's been involved in art for a while but are still frustrated at times and think of giving up on art as a hobby or professional venture. If you are such a person or just someone who loves art in general I have a few key concepts you should keep in mind when it comes to your work that might help you from getting burnt out or quit altogether.
1-Passion!
The First Key Concept I'd like to discuss is passion. Without passion or desire your art won't mean too much & will really be just another drawing,painting or what have you. Also, without passion you won't want to stick with art, not only as a professional but also as a fun hobby! If you are into art and really love it you're going to want to create things that you're passionate about; that can be anything from a cause such as endangered wildlife, historical love like a specific time period or perhaps you just love people and want to catch them on paper,canvas or sculpture. Whatever you are passionate about you need to tap into to create really great art- without passion art is very boring just like anything else in life and let's face it, art isn't a hum drum area- you want to give it some zest, some life and when you're passionate about something it shows in your artwork.
2-PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
The next item I wish to discuss is something that's very obvious yet often overlooked and that is PRACTICE. You have to practice each day if you want to get better and get to where you want to be. That's true whether you sketch, paint or sculpt. I'm not saying you have to practice 4-5 hrs each day- the time amount is not as important as sticking with it is. For example, practicing 5 hrs one day and then maybe 20 mins the next and then no practice for a couple of days will NOT get you as far as simply practicing an hour each day faithfully. If you want to practice 5 hrs each day that's fantastic but just be sure you can stick to it and make it a reasonable time allotment or you will not get as far as you want to go.
3-Knowing When to Stop
This is just as IF NOT more important than practicing because trust me, I've been there- you get frustrated with your sketch or painting and if you have a stubborn streak like I have, you want to keep going til you get it JUST RIGHT. Yet the more you keep going, the more frustrated you get & the sketch or painting or what have you, goes no where. I know it's hard for some of us to do this but when you get frustrated or are losing focus it's time to take a break. That could mean 5 mins, 2 hrs or a couple of days; whatever it takes for you to get back in the positive mind set. Trust me, I've been in this boat many times and I'm not one to just sit idle; it drives me crazy BUT I know that working further on a piece that's frustrating me at the time will get me no where but wasting my time and blood pressure. There is no time limit on your creative process ( unless it's for a class or commission project) So please just take your time & when you feel yourself getting angry & frustrated- take a break and do something else.
4-Keep at It!
This is where many people also get into trouble. They have the desire to draw, paint or sculpt and so they give it a go and in the end the piece doesn't look anything like they wanted it to and after a couple more tries or sometimes even after the 1st try they give up completely. I'm here to tell you YOU CANNOT LET YOURSELF GIVE UP! That's the worst thing you can do. There are very few natural artists out there who can whip up a perfect image the first go at it & take a look at your life, very few things have you accomplished on the first try that mean anything of importance; whether that's learning to ride your bicycle, driving,math, acing tests, etc- it all came to you after practice and trial/error so don't think that art is any different because it's not. Stick with it and you will improve.
5-Don't Do the Comparison Project
By this I mean we all tend to compare our talents or the lack thereof with other people, whether that's our friends, family or professionals. It's only natural to do this but it's also a superb hindrance! Everyone is different, that doesn't just mean how we look & act but also our skills and talent and vision. You will never paint like da Vinci or Rembrandt no matter how hard you try so please don't put a pressure on yourself that you'll never be able to live up to. You have to the BEST YOU you can be; not a copy of someone else. The sooner you realize this, the happier you'll be and the more confident you'll become and that too will show in your work.
6-Final Key- atleast for now- Have Fun
I'm sure I'll be adding a few more keys as time goes on but for now this is my last one and it's absolutely THE MOST IMPORTANT- have fun! It won't do you any good if you're not happy with sketching or painting & just do it cause it's expected of you. If you don't have fun at it you may as well find a different hobby or career choice because you'll become miserable and it'll show in your work too; you can't hide such a mindset.
Author : Mike"Birdman"Sexton
Copyright -2008
All Rights Reserved
Please do NOT reprint this article unless you have my permission, thank you.
Printing companies offer lots of options so you can realize your designs no matter the complexity or even the size. With large format printing, you can go beyond the paper stocks and the card stocks. You can have canvas prints as your medium if you want and blow it up to the size you need.
Large format printing offers more than canvas prints, you can have vinyl banners or scrim banners, static clings which are also known as window clings, adhesive back posters, and of course semi-gloss and high gloss posters.
Canvas prints is just one, again, among the many prints which you can use to function according to your plans. Here are some ways you can maximize your canvas prints and just how it can perform to its optimum conditions.
Try toning your canvas with acrylic paint first before applying your oil paint. I find starting a landscape with toned ground makes it easier to judge values. You can also let some of that underpainting show through in some areas of your painting for an interesting effect.
Key Condition for Optimum Canvas Prints
Use these ideas on how you can fully wield the potential of canvas prints. From design to execution and usage, you can see just how canvas prints can be fashioned to your liking and perform according to your demands.
1. Texture
If you want to achieve distinct texture for your designs, artist canvas can work according to your liking. For an added character to your prints, canvas prints will work to give your designs a different dimension.2. Art-like Reproductions
Gain the same feel and look of original artworks just by merely reproducing them. Canvas prints are an ideal medium for replicating artworks. It is also suitable for large portraits and enlarged group photos.
The canvas print has low glare too. To this, you can closely imitate original artworks. You can even enjoy it better as it does not producing such eye strain. You can gain a better view of your design without any distractions or reflections.
3. Versatility
Canvas prints can be placed indoors or outdoors. It can fully engage the viewers or audiences with full color printing that blends or stands out within an area effortlessly.
The canvas prints is made with UV-protected archival inks. Your prints are made with high-grade inks that resist fading. It will last long as it is protected from the damaging rays of the sun. However, you can prolong your canvas prints life and enjoy it more by using them more indoors.
4. Hardy
The canvas print is resistant to many harmful elements but this does not make it waterproof or even dustproof. Maintenance must be made so your canvas prints can last for as long as it can.
Free your prints from dust that may build up and cause your prints to dull. Do not expose to water or to prolonged and direct sunlight.
5. Canvas Prints 2-Inch Border
You can have your canvas prints prepped up by including a 2-inch border when you need them to be stretched and mounted later on. There are printing companies who stretches and mounts canvas but it is truly not advisable especially when you are going to have them shipped.
All sorts of things can happen to your prints during shipping. You may not want to risk having your artist canvas prints arrive in its not-so prime conditions. Other than this, while your printer may or may not replace it, you risk running late for your project.
You have to send back the damaged print and you have to wait for it to be printed again and shipped again. That can be double the time and the trouble it takes to have your designs printed – and this is most certainly something you don’t need. Decide well on your canvas prints and enjoy one that will perform and last a long time.
Article Source: Art Symmetry
Have you ever stored files on a CD so you have a back up in case something goes haywire with your computer? If you have, have you ever gone back to that CD to get something off of it only to find out that the disc is no longer good and the files you had on it are no longer readable or visible? If so, then join the club that has millions of members my friend because it sure has happened to me several times over the years. I event went to the lengths of having a copy of the CD in case the original corrupts only to find out that the copy is also corrupt! Talk about wanting to scream! Times like that really make you curse technology doesn't it?
Well have no fear because I'm going to give you a few different storage methods you can use for your important files and pictures. Now none of these are foolproof but in my eyes the more of these you use together, the better your chances of at least ONE working when you need it. There are many different methods of course such as using an external hard drive, a backup program, DVD's, online storage websites, etc. I'm going to talk about the ones I've tried which includes the external hard drive, DVD & online storage solutions & give you a few pointers on each. Now, as I stated, none of these will guarantee your files are totally safe & retrievable but at least they're options to consider.
Let's start with the external hard drive. There are many different brands on the market, different storage sizes to solve many different computer users' needs. You can get them from as small as 20 GB all the way to 300GB and I'm sure there are even larger ones out there but you get the idea; if you have a lot of files you need to store or just a few, there's an external hard drive to fit your needs and that are reasonably priced as well; many sell for under $60 for the smaller sizes; I think I paid around $90 for an 80 GB external drive. Most are extremely simple to connect using a USB port and you're ready to go. They really do a beautiful job for storing your important files & pictures. For example, since I'm a digital artist & graphic designer, naturally I have a lot of images I need to safely store and I always transfer my work to my external hard drive after I stop working; even if I know I'll work on it again later the same day. Naturally you don't have to go this far but I've had my share of bad experiences with losing work over the years and I like to play it cautious.
Next are recordable DVD's which also come in many different brands as well as "R" & "RW" which just means that the DVD-R you can only record on once; whereas, the DVD-RW disc you can rewrite over it several hundred times in many cases. Ok, now for the obvious bit of information: to record onto a DVD of ANY kind you have to have a DVD recorder drive; if you have one that records onto CD's it doesn't mean you can also record onto a DVD using the same drive so please, before you buy a pack of blank DVD's make sure your computer can write files to them. The beauty of using a blank DVD is the size of information they can store; you can fit roughly 4-5 CD's worth of files onto 1 DVD! I'm not kidding you; it's a beautiful thing; as I said, I'm a graphic designer and artist & I have a LOT of images to save which naturally take up quite a bit of space so it's wonderful to record onto a disc that stores up to 4 GB of information/images because it definitely lightens up the amount of space I need to have to store the discs; and trust me, having one stack of DVD's beats ten stacks of CD's any day of the week.
What happens if you don't have the cash for an external hard drive and your computer can't write to DVD discs? You can always go another route and choose an online storage website to store your important files & images. There really are a ton of them out there, some are expensive, some are cheap and some are even free. Each one has their own level of how safe they keep your files & account so be sure to check such things BEFORE you get an account with them. Also, check how long they've been in business; you generally don't want to go with a new start-up business because who knows, they could go out of business tomorrow and then where would you be? The best thing to do is to check on several different companies & check their reputation for safety, length of time in business, customer service, etc. The beauty of using an online storage website is you don't have to worry about recording onto a disc every few days or weeks as the case may be or paying for an external drive. Say for instance your PC crashes- I know-major panic mode isn't it? I know I always go a bit off the end when my PC takes a powder & I have to spend all day re-installing the entire system and programs. Well if this happens and you have your files saved online, once you get the PC reformatted and are able to get back online you just go to the website where you stored your files and you're back in business again!
For all of you out there who are like me, a digital artist and create your masterpieces on the computer I have an additional tip to give you that I've been using for the past year or so now. I created a special email account that I use strictly for images that I'm in the process of creating; in other words, unfinished masterpieces. Here's how I use it, say I'm working on a painting and have just begun the outline sketch of it but I need to leave for an appointment or just want to take a break. I save the file and then I email myself a copy of it to that email account; this way if something happens in the meantime I could download the file from the email and start right back where I left off. I do this every time I stop painting. Naturally you'll need a rather large email account but that's alright; there are many out there today that are free and give you a ton of storage space. Then once you're done with your painting or whatever it is you're working on, go into your email account and delete the oldest copies & maybe keep the last 2 or 3 files just in case you wish to make some changes later on but don't want to touch the already finished image.
I personally and professionally use all of these methods I've described-the external hard drive, the DVD, the online storage site as well as the email idea. Does that mean you have to use all of them too? Of course not! But I will give you one final piece of advice and that is, whatever method you choose, the more options you use, the better chance you have of having at least one of the storage sources be there for you when you need them. THERE'S NO FOOLPROOF STORAGE METHOD , no matter which you choose it can go crazy on you and not work but that doesn't mean you shouldn't seriously consider storing your important data; everyone's going to have a PC go bonkers on them, unfortunately that's just how life is; technology is only as infallible as the humans who create it and let's face it, I have yet to meet a PERFECT human, have you?
***I wrote this article to give readers an idea of what's available out there in storage solutions. I in NO MANNER RECOMMEND ANY PARTICULAR STORAGE METHOD . Whichever method you choose be sure to weigh the pros and cons & I take ZERO RESPONSIBILITY in case something happens to your stored material. Just like anything else out there, the storage method you use you are using at your OWN RISK!***
Author : Mike"Birdman"Sexton
Copyright -2007
All Rights Reserved
Please do NOT reprint this article unless you have my permission, thank you.
Most kids I've come across including when I was a kid love to draw, doodle or paint; it seems like we're all born with this love for the most part and as we grow up, sometimes that love dwindles, goes away all together or remains with us. The reasons for the different aspects of art leaving our lives as we grow up are many and varied; they can range from just plain losing interest, becoming frustrated enough as we get older that we're not happy with our work and we move onto something else that we're better at and sometimes it's simply due to lack of encouragement by the grown-ups around us including parents.
I will tell you though why I think it's so important to keep encouraging a child's artwork, whether it's painting, fingerpainting,drawing,doodling, etc. It's a huge boost to their self-esteem; you don't have to be great at art and let's face it, there's only so many child prodigies out there that are exceptionally gifted from the onset; art is about so much more than having something you can tell what it is or define in a nice little niche. Art is about the soul; it's where a person's creativity sparks and is allowed to express itself without any hindrance or fast set rules.
Another wonderful reason to encourage a child is something we might overlook on occasion. Children, no matter their age, have a hard time expressing themselves verbally- let's face it MOST adults aren't exactly great in this area either; hence why so many arguments are started, divorces happen, etc. Now if something is really bothering the child or is worrying them, how do you think they might express it? You guessed it right!! with their Art! Art is a wonderful way to express your emotions and children do this all the time; now am I suggesting that you start to analyze each piece your child draws, paints or sculpts out of play-dough? Of course not! What I am saying though is that if a child is open to art, enjoys creating, this is another outlet for them to use when they're troubled about something rather than locking it up inside where it can do real damage. Personally, I think that's something a lot of adults need or should realize as well.
Personally, I like to use myself for an example on this sort of situation; I always enjoyed drawing & doodling for most of my life but was never into it enough to pursue it passionately till a few years ago; this wasn't due to my parents lack of encouragement; they always thought my work was the greatest even when it really wasn't. I hate to say it but I just was never interested enough in it to pursue it continously although I always did add a touch of art to most things I did, whether it was designing my folders I used for school to even one time painting a pair of my shoes partly gold to make them unique hehe. Look at me now, I'm a graphic designer/digital painter and rarely go an entire day without trying my hand at something creative unless I'm in a tremendous creative block in which case I do take a breather so as to keep the frustration from building up.
Naturally, not every child who dabbles in art will become an artist, writer or what have you but by allowing them the opportunity to explore their creativity, their imagination throughout their life through art, no matter the form, you will be helping to raise a human being who will be open to new ideas, explore new paths, never lose their sense of wonder and no matter what career they pursue as they grow up these sorts of qualities will be of a tremendous boom to them and will give them both an edge & an outlet for when things get tough and seem overwhelming.
Author : Mike"Birdman"Sexton
Copyright -2007
All Rights Reserved
Please do NOT reprint this article unless you have my permission, thank you.
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