Pearl of Wisdom

In my last blog I talked about combining my love for the weird with also my artwork instead of creating a separate blog for that purpose. Originally this blog was to be concerned with oddities on the web and such and a combining of the two may disappoint some, if so, my apologies. I am still on the hunt for the bizarre and will post my discoveries as well. Now that all that is out of the way.

Pearl of Wisdom was flawed yet it was also one of those pieces that I couldn't let go off. When I say flawed, I know the disproportions that are present in the piece and they stare at me like the pimple on the forehead of a high school prom queen. Yet, I had to finish it and in the end was pleased with the effect I was trying for. I have always had a love for Albrect Durer's art and his engraving Knight, Death and the Devil remains one of my favorite pieces of art. Though no where near his level, I did like the feel of Pearl when I finished it in pencil on bristol. Yet, I felt like there could be more to cultivate out of the piece. So, like the Mad Hatter I am, I set out to experiment with my Wacom table in Abode. Below is the result. (forgive the water mark but people love to pilfer)




It is a little different than the majority of my work which is primarily Dark Gothic Fantasy and it isn't black and white. But the piece seem to demand more than the black and white pencil version and I believe the color helped with the composition. I am frankly self taught when it comes to Adobe and sometimes it glaringly shows but I love to experiment and I decided to do the majority of the objects and items in layers and then set them to multiply. Items like the robe, face and hands, staff, etc where done on their own layer then the final layer set to normal to add details. Below is a montage of some of the details from Pearl of Wisdom.




Like I mention before this is different than my usual work, but I still consider it a tad like esoteric fantasy. The Hermit has been a symbol for many things including wisdom, solitude, inner knowledge etc. He is often a figure that haunts my subconscious imagery and like many of my renderings of the Grim Reaper, he seems to want me to set him down on paper. Perhaps Jung would have had a field day with me. Below is another depiction of the Hermit I did last summer based on a short story I wrote years ago. (The story needs much rework and editing so please be forgiving.)



This piece, The Hermit and the Elf, was done much the same as Pearl of Wisdom, a digital coloring of pencils, but I didn't take as much time as I did Pearl of Wisdom in setting separate layers for each item. Though I am not quite where I want to be in the digital rendering realm I feel that I am getting closer but I can not forsake my first love which is black and white art. I have to admit though color adds a dimension that I want to explore.

On another note, I have committed myself to a project that will have to be done by next October. It will be a compilation of short stories, poems and of course art and most likely will be self published online. It is called the October Book and I hope that it is done in time for next October.

Note: Pearl of Wisdom both the black and white and the color version prints can be purchased at Deviant Art here and here.