Tag: Nature

Lenticel #1

For this weeks kick about on Red’s Kingdom I resurrected a previous series for the painting Tannenwald by Gustav Klimt. I’ve always been fascinated by the detailed scratchings of birch trees, like little beady eyes amongst the white trunks. Back home in Ireland, down a picturesque route swarmed by sleepy sheep, there is a gorgeous forest of sitka spruces and birch trees. My neighbours don’t bat an eyelash when I hop over the fence with my camera in hand. I took a bunch of these photos at different times of the year and made an impressionistic mixed media series a while ago called Lenticels, where I painted over the photos, mimicking the same textures to encapsulate my impressions of this magical place. I loved this series and happened to take more photos this past winter and made a few more to add to the series for this week’s Klimt prompt.

Plastic Forest #1

This weeks Kick About over on Red’s Kingdom is the perplexing art of Christo & Jeanne- Cluade. I wanted to make a miniature version of Christo & Jeanne- Cluade’s impressive uncanny installation art, but attempt to make it look larger as if I had the resources to produce something of that scale. So I did some deadheading of branches and flora around my garden, wrapped clingfilm around them and stuck the encapsulated snipings into styrofoam to keep them steady as I photographed the results. I loved how in certain shots of Christo & Claude’s pieces the sun shone through – it reminds me of poppy seed pods or Chinese lanterns. As I was taking photos, in spurts the sun broke through the clouds of the dreary sky and lit the tombs of these plants in spots and lines, another treat was after a slight sprinkling of rain, which made me focus more on the intrinsics of the composition rather than its initial scale”   

The Dirt Road #2 – Summer (2022)

A second darker and more ominous cluster of images from the trailing dirt road in a nestled and secluded spot in Ireland. More ominous indeed, as a recent shower saturated the flora and darkened the landscape in a midnight blue, the sun rays only slightly visible when peaking through certain patches and glittering selected treetops and overgrowth.

The Dirt Road #1 – Summer (2022)

A recent trip back home saw me exploring new landscapes, one being a road covered in quick sand like mud, my usual companion prince – our golden lab now pretty much fully blind and with arthritis creeping in decided to abandon me and wobble back home, I can’t blame him, as this particular area of shrub where these photos were taken is pretty hazardous. Even with my lanky legs up to the knee in my wellies the shite was still pretty close to spilling in over the top. I’m glad I continued as the greenery of this solemn place creating untouched tunnels of overgrowth.

Chawan #3

A third and final set of textures created in response to this weeks Chawans Kick About. I definitely prefer the lighter more milky variations of these experiments, but none the less I wanted to experiment and create darker tones to reflect some other Chawans I used as reference with more terra cotta and midnight blues throughout.

Chawan #2

A second set of textures deriving from a plethora of sources inspired by the glazed finishes of the tea drinking vessel – Chawans. I would love to have a proper whirl of pottery at some stage, the last feeble attempts being gaudy ashtrays in primary school for chain smoking aunties and uncles. The feel and smell of the clay as well as the amazing coloured intricacies that can be produced from barrel or smoke firing is definitely one for the creative bucket list!

Chawan #1

The decorative tea drinking vessels – Chawans are this weeks kick about over on Red’s Kingdom. I was instantly drawn to the textures of these gorgeous Chawans, I can only imagine the craftsmanship that goes into creating those intricate glazes. I am a bit of a hunter gatherer of textures myself and enjoy capturing the small things that make something whole so I decided to cherry pick from the mountain of textures I have stored in a number of hard drives and superimpose them in a way that might look like some of those details that make up Chawans. Some textures in there include; dirt, mold, water, rust, snow, moss, plants, and a hefty amount of ice. It is always a pleasure creating in this way as there is always a heir of mystery as I never know how they will turn out.

Marks of Nature #3

Another group of impressionistic images inspired by the paintings of Monet. There was so many densely populated birch trees stretching across certain areas it felt as though my eyes were attempting to cherry pick on specific elements, instead giving way to the coloured blotchy static and welcoming it as a whole.