We finally got a chance to play with a Les Paul for the first time, and although it wasn’t yer actual Gibson Les Paul, it was an Epiphone, which is a Gibson brand and highly respected in its own right.

Your First Les Paul?

Yeah, I know. Well, we’ve only been into this guitar lark for the better part of a year, and as we started out with a Squier Strat, it took us a while to take a look at the LPs. Now we have, opinion is somewhat divided. I loved this model, it looks and feels and sounds wonderful. Michael however, while enjoying the sound, doesn’t get on with the look and the feel of them – he didn’t get on with them so well, as he feels more comfortable with the Strat style (so the “Lester” setting on the Variax was ideal for him.)

Someone recommended Les Pauls to me as a guitar suitable for people who don’t have long fingers, so on a recent visit to Fox’s Music I took the opportunity to grab the Gold Top and take it off to a practice room.

Look and Feel

Wow. It played like a dream. Sounded great through a Line 6 Spider Amp, especially on the “Metal” setting (“for songs like Enter Sandman!” as it usefully suggested on its label). It felt dangerously good, dangerous in a “here’s my credit card” kind of way. It felt so much more accessible – it was easy to play, the neck was nice and thin and seemed somewhat shorter than the guitars I’ve been used to playing. As much as I love the Strat-shaped guitars we currently have, I can see a Les Paul joining the family at some point in the future. However, for looks, I’d have to go for a model in Alpine White rather than the Goldtop. The gold finish is pretty, but I personally think the white finish is a lot nicer.

Les Paul Links

• The Epiphone Les Paul 1956 Goldtop at Guitar Amp Keyboard

• Epiphone Guitars

• Gibson

• Rosetti – UK distributors for Epiphone, Gibson, Rickenbacker and more

ArtRage is finally available for MacOS X. You’ll need a graphics tablet to get the best out of it, as the pressure sensitive stuff is what gives ArtRage its feel.

(ArtRage? Simulates paints, pencils and crayons on the computer. Great fun.)

(Thanks to Lance Tracey.)

• This article is out of date now – see ArtRage 2 for information about the current version.

ArtRage is fun. And it’s free. What more do you want?

Visit their web site, download, and install. It runs under Windows or MacOS X. Works ok with a mouse, but for best results you’ll really want a graphics tablet or a tablet PC.

So what is it?

It’s a painting program that acts like real painting tools – oil paints, pencils, crayons, and such like. If you’ve ever used Corel’s Painter Classic, it’s pretty similar. It’s quite splendidly easy to get started, and fun to use. There’s a Gallery on their site to give you an idea of what it can do, or you can see the work of Larry Larsen at GreenJem.

So you had a play?

Yes, I had a play. My first creation…

(Sorry, image lost whilst moving systems)

…is no great work of art, but it gives you an idea of what it can do. If you want to see anything good check out the gallery and GreenJem mentioned above

Mentioned today in Danny Gregory’s blog, The Drawing Club is a blog by artist Michael Nobbs about drawing and a has a club you can join where regular exercises and lessons are posted for download by members. At only £7.50 a quarter, it sounds like good value and since I’m learning to draw and could use something just like this, I think I’ll join up.

Update 2005-11-01: The Drawing Club is now free to join – even better.

Seven months ago, Slashdot got an interview with Wil Wheaton. They sent him their questions. He’s only just got around to replying – he’s been a bit on the busy side recently. Anyway, the whole thing is well worth a read – funny, smart, and full of tips, stories and humour. He has some great comments on getting your creative stuff out there to the world – some snips…

Create something, and release it yourself. You don’t need anyone’s permission, and the traditional rules about distribution just don’t apply anymore.

The long answer to you question is: First, create something for yourself. You asked about acting, but this applies to a book, a ‘zine, a website, a web-comic, a short film . . . whatever. Don’t wait for someone else to give you something to do, or give you permission to do it. Just create something that you are passionate about.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Here is the most important thing I can tell you: You do not need the so-called traditional channels of distribution to get your work to an audience, and you’ll probably be happier and more successful by not going through those channels. I’ve done it both ways, and self-publishing and distributing was more fun, more creatively satisfying, and much more financially rewarding than the indescribably frustrating process of doing it the other way.