I present a Hälts short digital art film. Here in the East Kootenay, I am working on my peace dove painting during a period of war and chaos. This juxtaposed with peaceful garden moments and brief encounters with the feathered kingdom. Specifically the hummingbird in the double plum is a resident of my garden. I combine both, Time-lapse and video, and play with tempo in my editing process. Locations were travelled to by foot, and canoe. The intro is an old animation I found in the vault. Soundscape is ‘bees buzz’. All footage was shot on Fuji and ZCam. No wildlife was hurt in the making of.
Tag Archives: life
short sentences
The wind blows the willows, catkins dancing in a golden light.
The eagle circles, little adjustments to its wings, effortless from a novice flyer point of view.
Whispy clouds glowing, backlit, moving at a hundred miles an hour in the turbulent sky above.
The moon waxes, as cool air makes goose bumps on my dry skin, there is no one here.
And now fotos from the blue haze of the East Kootenay.
Due to a limited budget, and no time, I make short films into what I call micro-motions, ultra short sped up short films. They are usually one minute or shorter, and accompanied by a spontaneous soundscape I make on my computer using wild sounds, field recordings, and various ambient textures. What I like about motion picture is the ability to play with time. I am relating my experience of making art, in this case fleeting moments working on my painting ‘peace dove’ while living in this magical land we affectionately call, the East Koots. Without further adieu, here is my most recent creation eloquently titled ‘spring peace’
Also as I have pointed out in previous posts, I am now selling my ART in the NFT format. Currently I am exhibiting 16 freshly minted beauties featured on my https://opensea.io/collection/halts-art gallery.
spring peace
Seasons change, eagles still soar.
Introducing a new short mini-motion, ‘spring peace’ courtesy hälts. It features two things that I cherish most. One provides life, that is Earth. And the other one is the freedom to express inner spirit through the gift of Art. A formidable combo. Soundscape is ‘single peak’. All rights reserved. Shot, Directed, Scored, and Produced by Hälts. Copyright 2022. I bow to Earth.
I have jumped into the deep sea of the NFT market. I like to make digital art and hybrid art and I am down with another way to transmute the artwork. If you are interested in the NFT market, and you love my art, then it is your lucky day. I have a nice selection of work up along with the NFT Collective. View my NFT’s here on opensea. You can also check out the all of the NFT collective on Instagram at @the_nft_collectivve
little victories
Little victories, fleeting moments in space time, peaceful serenity, in an otherwise discombobulated world. Defragmentation in connecting with the unified field, once integrated, in tune with nature's rhythm...the little victories are the gold leaf on a painting.
This is a short digi-film I made, also known as a minimotion. It is the first signs of spring in the northern latitudes of Canada.
While the eagles soar, I continue to work on my painting for peace for places where there is chaos. This is my set up, a space where I embark on creative explorations. I keep my gnome close, when I found him he was in ruins. I re-plastered him and he awaits a paint job. I picked up a book that I am about to start, it is about the songlines of the Australian Aboriginals. Balance is key.
I have entered into a new age of NFT art, turning some of my work into digital hybrid art. This is my first launch in association with https://www.instagram.com/the_nft_collectivve/
This is SLO…
peace
My last post I wrote about the work of Maria Prymachenko,… a little update her work has not been destroyed in the war, turns out it was saved and her art has become a revived beacon of hope, a light on the path of dark times. And so I have decided to continue to work on what I started, my re-creation and homage to Prymachenko’s ‘a dove spreads her wings and asks for peace’. Working on it offers a small sliver of hope, and a gentle reminder that there must be light for there to be a shadow. This light is directed back to the Ukraine, and all places on this tiny blue dot that are inflicted with pain and suffering thanks to the brutality of ruthless war mongers. Someone once said to me, we all have the same colour of blood, yes we do. My heart is with all effected by this tragedy. This extends to all recent wars that are connected to this one, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so on. We must work to bring peace back into our lives, and find it in our hearts to heal all wounds.
2 short films of the work in progress, peace will take time, we must have hope.
eagleMOON
There are many things about life that I love. The moon, the eagles, and the art of the moving picture. I have developed a deep connection with my eagle friends. Many years of chasing them round and round, sometimes I get the shot, and more times than not they wait until I am set up and just about ready to hit the record button, only to look up and see they are gone from their perch. Once in the sky the real challenge begins. It is one thing to watch eagles with just my eyes, and truth be told, witnessing the acrobatics and aerodynamics of an eagle with just my eyes is a great gift that never gets old. It is the best show on Earth, free admission, no line ups, no hassles, just me and Nature bonding and celebrating the gift of life together. I have witnessed their cycle of life, from chicks to full blown adults, and round again. Over the last 2 years during the pandemic I took a bit of a step back from painting, putting my attention into learning digital cinematography. I put together a small one man filmmaking kit, and set out to learn the craft. Filmmaking has been an interest of mine for many years, in fact before I jumped on the painting band wagon, I had BIG aspirations to be a filmmaker. I wrote screenplays, I drew storyboards, I worked in the business as a grip for many years, and I made videos on my own time and mostly my own dime. For a good long while I shot on an iPhone, or a digital camcorder, and that was a good way to teach myself there art of filmmaking without breaking my budget. I was never fully satisfied with the iPhone as I could not use real lenses, however some companies out there started making lenses for iPhone and I jumped in with a passion. I started out making mini motions, which now I just call miniMO, a combination of time-lapse and video clips, with experimental soundscapes using available DAWs. I have shot stills on a film camera for many years, so I had a pretty solid foundation in terms of lenses, aperture, ISO and so on. I decided to eventually upgrade and now I am woking with some advanced equipment and starting to get the hang out of it, after countless hours behind the lens, experimenting with different types of shots, styles, colour grading, and so on. There is so much complexity to it, and never mind LIGHT, and how light works, painting with light, or leaning how to best use light in order to create the motion picture, and the mood. It is a beast to say the least. Add in the difficulty of capturing an eagle at full speed in flight from a distance with a long lens, well…. lets just say it is tricky business. So that brings me to this blog, and the short film I just completed called ‘EAGLEmoon’. I decided to throw out all conventions, just go out, shoot, I wasn’t thinking sharp focus, I want thinking perfect exposure, or even composition. I simply wanted to express the feeling of watching these beautiful creatures strut their stuff, and let go of control. I went out for one day and in about 2 hours I collected bits and pieces. Once in the editing suite I let myself have some fun with the cuts and colour grading. I know for some why would anyone want to not use this gear to the bst of it’s abilities… well often I have found it is more than ok to drop conventions and just go with the flow. I made a soundscape with some collected field recordings and licensed samples and using my little midi made a soundscape I thought fit the mood. It is a one human show, and I don’t say this as a ‘I am the man’ kine thing, I am saying this because it is actually really difficult doing it all, there is a lot of moving parts and having worked on sets where you get almost everything you need, including a large crew in some cases, all day coffee and free food, thats not happening here. It is a humble approach, me running around like a mad man, with a relatively heavy camera and sound (but not heavy by film industry standards), 100 % motivated by Aloha, all in the name of creating new art and motion picture experiences for you the audience to enjoy. And, give the Eagles the attention they also deserve. Nature is worth protecting and stewarding, we have a responsibility to care for our Earth, and treat her with respect and love. We have a responsibility to care for one another, that is the Aloha way, the Jah way, the God way, or whatever you believe in. I choose to believe in planet Earth, and all that it provides.
I would also like to take a moment to remember a helmet I painted many moons ago, which is in the Winter Olympics for the second time, worn by the incredible Canadian winter athlete Mirela Rahneva in the sport of skeleton. It is an honour to be on her helmet, and the union of sport and art is something I am very much appreciative of. Thank you Mimi and wishing you all the best.
free
I am free. I live in a free country. I live in a free country that has laws. I live in a country that has laws that inhibit my freedoms. The laws are there to protect citizens of this country. My freedom inhibits your freedom. Your freedom inhibits mine. People. People have opinions. It is just your opinion. It is not the people. It is the people. I am right.You are wrong. I am right. You are a wrong. I don’t know. I know. Who are you? Who are they? Who is Who? Who is right? Who is wrong? I don’t know. I know. I am right. False. I am wrong. Right. I am free. You are not free. Nothing is free. Free to choose. No. Yes. So…..where do we go from here?
Hello, my name is Shane Haltman. I am a Canadian artist, currently living the East Kootenay, British Columbia, Canada. I sign most of my work with Hälts, a nickname I adopted somewhere along the journey. As you have probably have noticed I have a new theme and name for my website. From this point forward haltsart.com will act as my art gallery, where I will showcase different projects and artworks. The content will range from short films/video art, drawings, hybrid art, and fine art paintings. For particular artworks there will be links available for you to go to. The links are there for those of you interested in collecting art, and for ordering prints. Currently links are set to take you to Saatchi Art, who I have been with since 2013. On my gallery you will find a small collection of watercolours, representing a fork in the road in terms of my artistic practice. I often refer to myself as a hybrid artist, amalgamating techniques and methods. While watercolour was a new medium for me, I also continued to work with acrylic and other media during the same period of time. Moving from one medium to another I adapt techniques, so they no longer are bound to one medium or another. Watercolour is a remarkable in terms of colour, and latitude. I found I was able to introduce some of my acrylic techniques, that proved to work quite well. I also felt watercolour pushed me into new territory, and new ways express. I found the series to be both, liberating and rewarding. It is one of my favourite periods, however I can say that about most of the art I have made in my life, each one unique and a celebration of my freedom to express my inner spirit. And, in doing so offering a sanctuary; a peaceful space for the viewer to enjoy. I will continue writing this blog and will cover a variety of areas as well as free writing, discussions on art, and so on. Thank you for joining me and I look forward to the path ahead.
In recent news my artwork ‘woven antler’ was selected to be showcased on Saatchi Art ‘New this Week’ follow this link and you will find it on the bottom of the page. It is also featured on my website gallery. It is not everyday my artwork gets worldwide exposure, it is an honour and I am thrilled to be part of an incredible global art scene.
‘woven antler’
watercolour on cold pressed paper c.2021
East Kootenay Street Art….well tree art….and raptors
I don’t when my fascination with the Eagle clan started. It has been ongoing since I can remember, likely the same amount of time I have had eyeballs to see. Perhaps it began with my curiosity with the sky, sitting on my soccer ball as a young boy, watching the storms roll in, and usually getting in trouble for putting myself in danger. Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction from him back. I can say with some certainty I haven’t been struck by lightening yet. By learning at an early age to look up, I have been gifted with some stunning moments, no doubt. Let’s get back to the eagle though…and a rather large raptor, the bald eagle, and the even larger variety, the golden eagle. Living in East Kootenay along the banks of the Columbia River, previously known by different names such as the Big River, Nchi wana (Upper Chinook), and Wimahl (Sahaptin). It is teaming with life, from angry man, okay they are not all angry… and his noisy machines, to the animal kingdom, in all it’s grace. I tend to focus my attention on the later, and I have made it a life long commitment to document it’s awe and wonder. The eagles are a tricky shot, unlike my grandfather who tended to carry a rifle, my choice of device is a camera, and sometimes a very big lens. In fact my one arm seems to be developing strange new muscles from holding my camera in position for extended periods of time. I started photography shooting black and film, mostly street art as the city was where I lived. It certainly developed my skill for photography, being quick, understanding exposure and light, an absolute must for shooting wild life. Unlike street photography shooting wildlife does call for a slightly different approach. I hang out with the eagles without my camera, and they learn that I am part of the ecosystem, mostly curious of my presence, and sometimes annoyed if I get too close for comfort. We tend to learn from each other and they remind me to be patient, appreciate, and be present. The eagles love to communicate with one another, in such mysterious ways, that I would never try to explain, or rationalise their behaviour. I am not so much studying them, I rather think of it as connecting with them, observing their ways, gaining their trust, and showing them that humans are capable of being quiet. I also tend to visit them by foot, this is the best way, as you can hear, and see, and one less polluting vehicle on the road is a good thing. They have put on shows that sent my jaw to the ground and left me invigorated and energised. I am both humbled and feel honoured in their presence, and the best shots are always with my eyes, and not with a camera. They call the shots, and that’s just the way it is.
Thank you for reading now for some recent images.
Side note: My hope is to release a short film on my feathered friends, in the not so distant future…
Copyright hälts 2022
Update: I am working on a new WordPress gallery and page, same address, that will be up before you know it, stay tuned. Thank you for your patience and Aloha, hälts
the DEER
Quite a bit of time has passed since my last post, depending on what kind of time you go by. I have changed my website name to haltsart.com which has been long overdue. Life changes and new developments have led to new directions and flow. It is a honour to be here and I look forward to this new path. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you are doing well wherever you may be. A reminder, take the time to be with Nature, if that means a small park in the cityscape, that will do. Take care of your being and in doing so life will reflect this back to you. And now Hälts presents an original new short ‘the DEER’ with soundscape ‘winter soul’. See you soon.
Produced, Directed, Scored and Filmed by Hälts
Copyright Hälts 2022
eagle inside out
Life in constant flux, moments flavoured by emotion and thought. It is in these moments I look to Nature. It is Nature that reminds me that there is nothing to hold onto, let feelings come and go, let thoughts come and go, natural mind. The sky does not hold onto clouds, they appear and disappear. When I look for the eagle I do not see the eagle. When I search for the answer I do not discover the truth. There is the fear that comes with LETTING GO, this is just a thought. I will see a different cloud than you, and yet we share the same experience of seeing a cloud, knowing it is a cloud, that comes, and goes.
on a side note Diane, the trees here are starting to wake up…
And now a minimotion short documentary style with dramatic accents titled, ‘inside out’.
Eagles come and go, so do pandemics.
Mahaloness 