Friday, December 17, 2010

Standing Still

Photograph of autumn tree textured with macro shot of rust on metal

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Painted Door

Photography of several doors merged together. Photo of graffiti. Illustration and color manipulation

Monday, December 13, 2010

Bahia Strips

Photography of the Baha'i Temple in Evanston Illinois, two shots overlapping with slivers removed from the top image.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Leaf Falls

Macro photography of a fallen leaf with illustration

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Tears of the Sun

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In Egyptian mythology, bees grew from the tears of the sun god Ra when they landed on the desert sand: Photography with digital manipulation and illustration

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Geometry of Flowers

Macro shots of tile from a Gaudi work in Barcelona, Painting from Musee de Beaux Art, Montreal, and flower

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Branch Weave


Photography and illustrator design work, finished in Photoshop

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Amrita Tree

Amrita is a Sanskrit term for an elixir that grants immortality. In Hindu mythology the ambrosia comes from the churning of the sea, not from a tree. We are fortunate here since this implies it grows on trees.

Even more fortunate are those in Chicagoland, where this tree grows, in a tranquil and secluded park. The background was entirely digitally created and morphed over time. Mostly unseen in the background, but still affecting the image, is a photo of a valley shot from atop a mountain temple in Thailand.

Temple Guardians

This temple guardian is from one of the many temples in Chiang Mai Thailand.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Equinox


Equinox refers to when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, a point of perfect balance.

The energetic lines in the sky ironically come from an image of destruction; a shot of the movie of the day after the 1906 giant earthquake in San Francisco. Further texture in the landscape is provided by a close up photo of draped red cloth.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Animus


In Jungian psychology there is a concept called the Animus and Anima that states that each male has an inner female and each female has an inner male. Simply put, our goal is to connect with and develop our relationship to this ephemeral part of ourselves. Depending on our relationship, Jung wrote, "they can bring life-giving development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause petrification and physical death".
The Animus image is a photo of a sculpture of a Roman Emperor on Via dei Fori Imperiali, on the way to the Colosseum superimposed with a photo of the artist. The texture in the very background is macro close up photo of rust and paint on a metal grate. The design was digitally created in several programs.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Anima


In Jungian psychology there is a concept called the Animus and Anima that states that each male has an inner female and each female has an inner male. Simply put, our goal is to connect with and develop our relationship to this ephemeral part of ourselves. Depending on our relationship, Jung wrote, "they can bring life-giving development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause petrification and physical death".

Several images that provide texture for "Anima" are photos taken from tv and movies, some still shots and some moving. The background 'headpiece' is a macro close up shot of an orchid from the Montreal botanic garden. The woman's face is reminiscent of one of my favorite Vermeer paintings, The Girl With The Pearl Earring.

Roman Construct


I am enamored with architecture. One gorgeous place for this love affair was in Rome. The black cobble stones beneath your feet force awareness with every step as you walk down the corridors to the next cappuccino. And you are pressed in on both sides by the old but formidably built structures which exude their wisdom into the street and you. You cannot leave without this alchemical experience changing you.

The photography of the street is from Rome. The textured sky is tile from a Gaudi building in Barcelona. The 'construct' was created digitally.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Gemini


Twins are pervasive in Mythology. In fact, noted mythologist Joseph Campbell has found this and other myths to be transcultural. Perhaps the metaphor of the twin speaks to the dualistic nature of our experience in which is always a disconnect with what we think and what we actually experience. Good and bad, two sides of the same coin. There is some reason we as a culture are interested in twins. Maybe to help explain this mystery.

The image here is a photograph I took from a reverse bas relief on a building in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The actual sculpture is concave, creating the illusion of a face protruding from the building as you walk by, an optical illusion. Even though the faces are identical, the way the color falls on them makes each seem slightly different.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Point of View

The mirrored photo of the woman is from a bas relief wall at the entrance of Chinatown in Montreal. The building is also a photo from Montreal. The texture comes from still shots of images from tv and movies. The design was created and manipulated in several programs.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Treeconstruction


There is a 3D element to this image created in a vector based program and manipulated further in a pixel based program. The photo of the tree was taken just after the leaves fell in fall. If you follow the lines of the 'construction' you can see that there is not just a 3D feeling but also an optical illusion.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Urban Jungle


Marina Day


The photograph is of the Marina Towers in Chicago. The texture and clouds are from macro photo close ups of three separate paintings from the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago. The perspective to the image comes from the digital replication of tilt shift photography.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Blue Ghost Flower



Blue Ghost flower is a reference to Adaptation a movie by Charlie Kaufman. In it the characters search for the Ghost orchid. The image here is originally a photograph of a flower, then printed and painted on, and brought back into the digital realm where it was manipulated further. The yellow leaves in front of the flower were wholly made digitally and never existed in the outside world. The two now exist weaved together in harmony.

Thou Art That



Tat Tvam Asi, from the Sanskrit meaning That thou art.

The photo of the male and female are the same, taken from a black and white movie still. The paint drips and graffiti are from Montreal in one of the public parks. The birds reference the Animus and Anima, a Jungian concept. The writing is left handed (right brained) stream of consciousness.


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Strongman

What happened to the circus strongmen? Where did that archetype go?

The photo is from a fence guarding construction in Montreal. The dots are a close up shot of braille and the repeated design is from a Turkish food stall in the main outdoor market in Montreal. Strongman mustache added.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Bird Ribbon


The background photograph is from Patagonia Argentina, with manipulated texture superimposed. The streaming ribbon and bird added. Tilt shift photographic effect added.

Untitled


Caran d'ache on posterboard using automatic drawing to begin the process and find the image within. Work from the early 1990's.

Ghost Tree


In that quicksilver moment before recognition, what do you see?

The photo here is from Patagonia, Argentina. Both trees are the same tree. The texture is from photo of a ripped alley poster as well as digital manipulation.