Rebirth

I created this image using all the precedent works about Regrowth and the Burnt forest. This is the first attempt in terms of composition.

Even though this image has its beauty, I find too much complexity in it. I would like to simplify it, meaning more abstraction, perhaps in the style of John Coburn's works. The challenge in not to imitate but to create your own expression. This could be another line of work. Actually, an exciting one,

I also tried to make a tryptich with it, slightly changing the composition but it did not really work. I think I'll leave this aside

Other versions of Regrowth

These are 2 other versions of Regrowth. The first one is the black version of the digitalised image published previously and the second one is the original image  that I did using Watercolour and Collage. It ia a different one from the Watercolour image published in the post a couple of days ago.

The intention behind the creation of these images was to express the energy going at the centre of the burnt tree where the green starts to grow again.

It would be interesting now to create an image using the above and also the Burnt Forest but in an abstract way. It will take a while until this is completed and I'll have several attempts before reaching something satisfying. But I have always used this blog as a witness of a creative process, not deleting unsuccesful attempts but keeping them as steps towards an achievement.

Burnt Forest

 This collage was made prior to the image of Regrowth but the theme is the same. The medium is significantly different here.

Digitalised version of Regrowth

This version is a little bit dark. I have nearly finished the Watercolour version. I'll put it on my blog as soon as is it completed. The above image had been created from the first drawing of Regrowth and I had used the Liquify filter to help me go further in the creation of this image.

A few thoughts and feelings

I realise that my last publishing was already 4 weeks ago...I have not abandonned my blog though...but spent more time at looking at others blogs and sometimes commenting. Also very impressed by Michael's work on his Blog.

I am also aware as I hope all of us are, of the significance of the times: the walk against Global Warming on the 12th , walk that I'll miss, because you know why...my sadness about the hopelessness of our goverment leaders, blinded by short term views and victims of powerful corporative lobbies... the division of people about these issues ..etc..etc...

I do not know if you have read the documents that David indicated to us in his "farewell" address on our 'caachisholm.blogspot.com' blog. I find it challenging to read but I concentrated on the addend to the Manifesto: 'Strategies to implement the Evolution Manifesto' where practical views are presented.. It would be interesting to have a group discussion about this even though I find it to be very new grounds of thoughts and also of opinion that, as David pointed out, not everyone would share.

I remember him saying that he considered to give these ideas as a base for the Creative thinking module next year. A challenging task David...I assume you would consider the realm of Art to apply the fundamental idea of a new direction to evolution. To do this, I think you would have to explore with your students not only the cognitive realm but also that other realm, still elusive: consciousness. John Stewart mentions meditation, living in the present moment, thus opening the door to the intelligence of the heart and a quality of vision that could be transcribed as a work of Art. This common search could also lead to find new ideas to give direction to the future.

On a more personal basis, I am working on a watercolour painting about  regrowth after bushfire. It is not easy and it will take another week or so to finish it. Doing it just connects me again with art work and its difficult process and I wish we could still be altogether to share our efforts, ideals and warm support.

Christmas time is not conducing to this and I know everyone is involved in their specific activities which may not be amenable  to creativity. I am looking forward to the 4th January and I hope all of us can make the most of the present time

Mireille

Nostalgia2 digitalised

This is the digitalised version of Nostalgia2. Nostalgia can be understood in different ways. It can also be an aspiration to something different, a dreamlike place that does not exist except in the imagination and thus provide a kind of liberation from an alienated state.

Nostalgia:a digital interpretation

This is a transformation of the collage/painting Nostalgia1. Even though  we did not have to do this, I wanted to create another Nostalgia image from the original hand work. I like the mode of this one. It suits the theme quite well I think. 

Nostalgia2

Nostalgia 2 is  kind of abstract landscape.

I produced it in a time of despair.

There is not much more I can say about it.

Nostalgia 1

This represent the Nostalgia for infinity. The heart of the picture is at the top left hand corner where the sky line evokes desert immensity. Other mountains are half hidden in the image. I have emphasised the horizontality to reinforce the concept of an endless journey towards a kind of purified desertic land that I cannot reach anymore.

Cathedrals grouped revised

This is a better composition I think, than the previous one.

Possible composition for Group cathedrals

This is a possible composition for the group cathedrals. Only 5 cathedrals are included (Yvonne, Annie, Mireille, Michael and Quan) since that is all we have at present. I prefer to compose something as if it was final and when we have all the cathedrals I'll do a different composition with all of them.

About Video Encounters

This video was the result of a long search for expressing my feelings and thoughts about the Animal Kingdom. I had failed in doing it with a picture that is still in my blog. Conversations with Animals.
The Video process gave me a much better access to that expression. I did not create it all by myself and the assistance of Michael at the Zoo and of David for the Music track and guidance for the effects were of major significance.
It is a piece of work with a philosophic trend but that is what I wanted to do and I think I have succeeded.

I also think that group work and support amongst students this year and in this course, have been essential contributors to outcomes of quality. The personal transformations we all have undergone during the creative processes required by the course, have also been qualitative. And quality of work as well as quality of being are never acquired with a magic wand but only with effort and perseverence. Sometimes with selfdoubt but always with the will to overcome it.

I hope you all had a good working holidays and are ready for what remains to be done.

Sea Cathedral: manipulated version

This is the Photoshoped version of the Cathedral. I tried to keep the character of the Sea Cathedral and emphasise it. The quality of the image here is very poor and the image itself seems to be out of focus but it remains true to the design.

Face and cubism continued

This is the same face in cubism style but completed with more contrast, ink and collage.

Face and cubism

In a previous blog mail I put some faces and since I have worked more on them to bring, either abstraction, impressionism or cubism.

The Cubism face is more challenging since it involves the understanding of what Cubism is. The explanation that David gave us last Tuesday were most useful. Here is a face that I think is closer to Cubism, even though not totally Cubist, than the ones I had made before.

Street

This image is not completely resolved but I am thrilled that I could get to the stage where is it now. For the first time, I have created a semi abstract piece, bringing in images I have realised in the past.

This digital painting evokes first an old mediaval village street on the lest and finishes up on the right handside with an abstraction of a modern street. In the middle part, a young man face creates the link between them in his own thoughts. Two blocks isolate him from the reality of both streets but the red stings repeated all along operate the link between two types of interpretation of a civilisation.

Once printed on canvas, the colours need uplifting but I am looking forward to paint this image, give it some shine and reveal the central part more.

Picture your own life.

This is the panel of the 9 images for the competition "Picture your own life"
Each image represents an aspect of my life:
The Double Viewer, The Traveller, The Discoverer, The Artist, The Teacher, The Teenager I have never been, The Child in me, The Gypsy, The Surviver.
Two of them were selected : The Traveller and The Artist.
This outcome was the result of an intense collaborative work between teacher and students. It was a most enjoyable and unique experience.

The scream

This is the image of the cooperative assignment we had to do last term. I worked with Annie and Quan. The chosen famous piece was the Scream. Then each of us created our own version of it.

Drawings merged

The image is the result of the merging of a portrait drawn in class and of the photo of the same person. I am aware that the picture has more drawing quality than photographic quality. I made another one that was the opposite and I deleted it from the blog. I still prefer that one because it has more character.

Medieval village in disguise...

This is one of the 4 images after transformation of the Dry point print, which was originally a Medieval village. It had been transformed on Photoshop and printed on fine art paper.

Unfortunately I haven't kept a record of the print. I repainted over it and this is the result. The aim of repainting in water colour over the computer print was to overcome the flatness of the image. The paper took the water colour very well and the printer ink did not dissolve.

This image gives a totally different feeling from that of the original and evokes a Spring garden party more than the rather mysterious aura of the old houses in the other pictures.

I enjoyed the repainting of the image. It was a totally new experience since I have never retouched a digital print. It was like creating my own painting and unifying the image with my own colours.

Friday's excursion

Friday's excursion was a lovely group experience and I am sure everyone thinks the same.

The weather was perfect.

The highlight of the day for me was our visit to Abbotsford Convent: lunch, gallery, warm welcome from the artist R Roman (I cannot spell her first name properly) and our exploration of the place itself. R's talk was both moving and inspiring.

The Convent had a kind of exotic quality. I thought at times that I was back in certain parts of France. The height and strength of the architecture were probably responsible for this.

It also reminded me of a place in Western Australia called New Norcia where a Convent was built by Spanish monks in 1836. New Norcia is situated 140kms north of Perth. It is still inhabited by Benedictine monks and worth visiting. The Spanish architecture there is classical and rather severe. There is also an Art Gallery with old paintings.

The feeling at Abotsford Convent was somewhat similar.

About collages

I enjoy the process of collage because it is ongoing and offers opportunity for discovery in the making of images.

Even though we have been so busy in other fields lately, I came back to my previous collages and added more to them. It was like a little recreation.

The background of the above image was dull. It had already been transformd from collograph to Photoshop. Even the semi gloss paper did not redeem it. So I added coloured tear out papers from different collages and created a kind of a new weird landscape with patches of yellow and pink and darker blacks.

I call it "Strange world"

Collages

Paysage 2 (close up version of Paysage one)

(I found it was an interesting cropping)

Collages

Paysage 1 (landscape)

Incorparating elements from Touch and Landscape

Collages

Black and white version of Tree and Sun

realised from 2 different collographs: Touch and Landscape

Collages

Tree and Sun (coloured version)

Collages realised from Collographs