Tuesday, August 24, 2021

The Collapsing Edifice of a Dream

 Another one of my more intricate drawings, done today, using soluble carbon instead of ink. In some ways it's a bit easier to use. 

The Collapsing Edifice of a Dream, 2021, soluble carbon on paper, 17" x 11"


Sunday, August 22, 2021

The Non-Human

 This is a little head I sculpted today in Blender. It's quite a simple artwork. However I was experimenting with lighting & textures, which gave the piece a lot more depth & interest than just the bare sculpture. These are various versions of the piece...the red one was more post-processed than the others.





The sculpture without texturing


Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Digital Medusa

 As part of a series of mythological figures that I've worked on over the years (drawings & paintings mostly), here is a digital sculpture done in Blender. I'll probably be reworking some of my other themes in coming days & weeks...\

Digital Medusa, 2021, sculpted & rendered in Blender


The Dream Wings of Night

 An important thing about the Blender 3D digital sculptures that I make is that they can be almost endlessly recomposed, textured, lit, post-processed and so on. Like a photographer or painter with a favorite subject, there are infinite variations to be discovered and displayed. (See previous posting for another version of this one.)

The Dream Wings of Night, 2021, digital Blender image



Tuesday, August 10, 2021

The Mists of Time

 A new variation on the "winged head" theme...going back to classical mythology (Hypnos, Morpheus) & Symbolists like Fernand Khnopff...post-processed with noise & reducing of contrast.

The Mists of Time, 2021, digital image


Monday, August 09, 2021

Monochrome Melancholy

The good thing about sculpting in Blender (& sculpting in general), is that with a 3D object you should ideally have a multitude of angles from which to view the piece & appreciate the interplay of forms.

With Blender's texturing, lighting, coloring etc., options, the possibilities are multiplied. Add to that the ability to insert a background image or objects, & then post-process (I set the image levels to "auto" & added noise), & you can almost endlessly recycle the images and find something new to present.

I also like the way the exposed mesh structure of the piece in places can resemble chisel marks, giving the work a handmade quality of sorts, whilst still maintaining its digital origins.

Monochrome Melancholy, digital Blender image


The Pact

This is a 3D rendered image created in Blender of 2 angels (of the somewhat terrifying, Rilkean variety) coming to an agreement of how to share the mundane world, perhaps. That's what seems to be happening here, but I never really know. I prefer to allude to narratives and let the viewer fill in the rest, which makes the piece more interactive, I think.

The Pact, digital Blender image


The Chaos Series

 I've been working on a series of around 20 (currently 18 done as of this writing) drawings that I've entitled The Chaos Series, as the intention was to do something more intense, improvised & chaotic than my usual work (which can often also be described in the foregoing terms to some extent). So, these are taken to some kind of an extreme & with little forethought, which might be a good recipe for disaster, but so far I'm liking the results. Here is one example, the rest are in an album on my Flickr.

A Head for Figures (Chaos Series), 2021, brush & soluble carbon on paper, 17" x 14".


Sunday, August 08, 2021

Head for a Pietà

 This is a 3D digital sculpture done in Blender. It seems to have a quite strong emotional resonance.

Head for a Pietà, Blender digital image