3 dominates π

14 March 20151 November 2024 by Theo

Significance of pi, Digital image

This work attempts to show the significance of the starting digits of pi. [If you download the SVG file and zoom in hundreds of times you can see all nine of the circles]. Over short distances, it is the 3 that dominates.

C = π2r

So for a small circle you can roughly approximate the relationship between the circumference and the diameter (2r) as three. You will be wrong, but only .14159265359… wrong. Round it to 3.1 and you are less wrong (.04159265359… wrong).

Pi is irrational, not like a two year old having a tantrum, but in the mathematical sense where it cannot be represented by a ratio (fraction) because it has a infinite non-repeating decimal expansion. With infinite digits after the decimal point, the best we can do is approximate pi to the number of digits we know. [Currently pi to about 12 trillion digits has been calculated].

For calculating the distances and sizes of far off galaxies, the decimals of pi take on more significance and more precise estimates of pi are needed.

So how much pi is necessary? In Scientific American’s blog: How Much Pi Do You Need?, the answer is 32 significant digits for use with the fundamental constants of the universe and 15 or 16 for everyday things like space station and GPS navigation.

Happy pi day!

Peaces of pie

14 March 201512 February 2020 by Theo

To celebrate pi day (3.14.15), I have created a couple of pie related images – Peaces of pie and 3 dominates π.

Later today I will make a lemon meringue pie.

Happy pi day!

Fifteen Hastings

4 March 201512 February 2020 by Theo

Continuing the Land of Confusion collection, here is Fifteen Hastings, dedicated to my sister and her family who currently live in one of the Hastings.

The Land of Confusion - 15 Hastings — *The Land of Confusion – 15 Hastings*, digital image

Thirty Seven Woodvilles

3 March 201516 October 2021 by Theo

The Land of Confusion - 37 Woodvilles — The Land of Confusion – 37 Woodvilles, digital image

I grew up in the town of Woodville, in New Zealand where my ancestors were some of the first settlers. They had emigrated from County Tipperary in Ireland where there is also a Woodville.

My Woodville is a junction town, and there are many road signs around the North Island of New Zealand pointing to it. My father would often say that all roads lead to Woodville. With at least thirty seven places named Woodville globally he has a good chance of being correct.

Shop open

21 February 201528 September 2019 by Theo

Prints of 40 Most Mentioned are now available from our Society6 shop in various formats including framed and canvas prints, stationery cards, and phone/tablet/laptop skins.

Making of 40 Most Mentioned

15 February 201512 February 2020 by Theo

Acquiring the 40 famous paintings for 40 Most Mentioned was the hard part. Slicing and splicing was simple.

Creation of 40 Most Mentioned - Son of Man — *Creation of 40 Most Mentioned – Son of Man*, digital image

Creation of 40 Most Mentioned – Mona Lisa is based on Visitors of Louvre in front of Mona Lisa by Edal Anton Lefterov, available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mona-lisa_in_the_Louvre.jpg, and is likewise licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Disclaimer: No physical paintings were harmed in the production of 40 Most Mentioned. The Mona Lisa was intact when I visited the Louvre in July 2013. If any of the paintings have been stolen or damaged, it wasn’t me.

Rosist #1

14 February 201523 January 2022 by Theo

Not all roses are red,
I prefer them blue.
Flowers discriminated
by colorism too?

Happy Valentines Day

40 Most Mentioned

10 February 201512 February 2020 by Theo

Featuring slices of the following works:

Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci, 1517)
The Scream (Edvard Munch, 1893)
The Starry Night (Vincent van Gogh, 1889)
The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci, 1498)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Johannes Vermeer, 1665)
The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo, 1512)
The Persistence of Memory (Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1931)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Georges Seurat, 1886)
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Hokusai, 1832)
Guernica (Pablo Picasso, 1937)
Starry Night Over the Rhone (Vincent van Gogh, 1888)
The Night Watch (Rembrandt, 1642)
The School of Athens (Raphael, 1509)
The Son of Man (René Magritte, 1964)
The Kiss (Gustav Klimt, 1908)
American Gothic (Grant Wood, 1930)
The Birth of Venus (1486)
Cafe Terrace at Night (Vincent van Gogh, 1888)
Nighthawks (Edward Hopper, 1942)
Bal du moulin de la Galette (Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876)
Christina’s World (Andrew Wyeth)
Lady with an Ermine (Leonardo da Vinci, 1490)
The Garden of Earthly Delights (Hieronymus Bosch, 1504)
Irises (Vincent van Gogh, 1889)
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Gustav Klimt, 1907)
Las Meninas (Diego Velázquez, 1656)
Vitruvian Man (Leonardo da Vinci, 1490)
Whistler’s Mother (James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1871)
The Potato Eaters (Vincent van Gogh, 1885)
The Last Judgment (Michelangelo, 1541)
Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Édouard Manet, 1863)
Ginevra de’ Benci (Leonardo da Vinci, 1478)
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (Caspar David Friedrich, 1818)
The Torment of Saint Anthony (Michelangelo, 1488)
Liberty Leading the People (Eugène Delacroix, 1830)
Fortitude (1470)
The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (El Greco, 1588)
The Art of Painting (Johannes Vermeer, 1666)
Impression, Sunrise (Claude Monet, 1872)
Head of a Woman (Leonardo da Vinci, 1508)

Why did I choose the name Theo Heartist?

9 February 201512 February 2020 by Theo

Theo is the short form of THEODORE, THEOBALD, and other names that begin with Theo.

Theodore comes from the Greek name Θεοδωρος (Theodoros), which meant “gift of god” from Greek θεος (theos) “god” and δωρον (doron)“gift”.

Theobald is derived from the Germanic elements theud “people” and bald “bold”.

Heartist is a made up word. The suffix -ist has several meanings:

a person with a particular creative or academic role; eg. guitarist, one who plays guitar
one who proscribes to a particular theological doctrine or religious denomination; eg. deist
one who owns or manages something; eg. industrialist
one who has a certain political tendency; eg. environmentalist
a person who holds bigoted, partial views. eg. heightist

Hopefully only the first three meanings apply to Theo.

The prefix heart also has many meanings. In Theo’s case heart is courage, kindness and love, the center, the core, the essence, and the source or seat of emotions.

Therefore the name Theo Heartist can mean:

a bold courageous person (Theo is bolder than me)
a gift of God (Theo is the genius)
one who interacts with the heart of God
a communicator of his own and God’s emotions

Waiting for creation

3 February 201512 February 2020 by Theo

I occasionally try to imagine what it would have been like before everything. Prior to creation, there was no time, no space, no matter. No light. No dark. No past. But all of the future. It is hard to get my head around it. Even harder to express in a work of art.