New Silk Painting finished: “Haleakala”

I was in the studio working on my new silk painting in between my campaigns regarding the Humpback Whales. The only way to stay sane is working, working, working on what I love most besides being outdoors or in the water.

The new painting is signed – so it is finished. As I already said, I used some old travel photography for inspiration yet the finished piece is not a photorealistic piece because I had to pack the magnificence of an area that covers hundreds of sqare miles into a space that is only approx. 6 sqare feet large.

To show the grandiosity of this landscape I increased the colour range and added a few more volcano craters than there are in reality. This is called artistic license:

Btw – be sure to click on the image – you will find some interesting detail images on my website, especially as I added some hikers to the painting (shown in the last detail painting) which I painted with a magnifying glass:

Haleakala, silk painting, 21″ x 40″ ©2007 Petra Voegtle

 

 

New Silk Painting “Haleakala” (wip)

I had to get away from my extreme sadness about what’s happening in the southern pacific today. I am trying to channel my rage and turn the energy into something positive. Not only was I writing to a lot of people with my pledge to make the humpback whale killing public I also went back into the studio to continue with my “Haleakala” painting. Ah – here we are again – the wonderful humpback whales from Maui…..I have to do another humpback whale painting! The only one that I have done so far is the one that’s currently on my homepage.

Okay – here are the next pictures – a bit blurry and because the painting is not varnished yet the colours are reflecting a lot – there is a hazy touch to the images that is not there in reality. But you get the drift…

~~~

~~~

Look closely at the above detail shot: I added a pair of hikers to the image as a narrative and humorous element – also to show the awesome dimensions of the Haleakala crater landscape – I painted them with a magnifying glass – see more details in the next picture.

 

How tiny they really are you will see in the whole picture again:

 

 

New Silk Painting from the Magic Landscapes Series “Haleakala” (wip)

As I already said – old travel photographs are sometimes a wonderful resource for inspiration. These are now the first photos of the new painting with the working title “Haleakala” – don’t know yet whether I will keep this title.

I have always been fascinated by volcanos and flowing lava, the process of creation in its most natural form. On my travels I have seen a few and always felt in awe about what this planet is all about: the circle of life and death.

When you stand at the edge of a crater or the caldera of a really huge volcano such as Lake Toba on Sumatra you realize how small you are as human and that you have no control over what happens deep below the surface of this planet besides destroying everything with a perfidious arsenal of weapons.

I can only hope that the beauty of this earth will be conserved and that there will be more insight in future for our responsibility to do something about it.

The ragged landscapes of areas of flowing lava are breathtaking in their roughness, sometimes with awsome sculptures. Where the winds have already done their part, polishing and sanding everything in their path, the colours of the earth’s treasures such as the minerals emerge and cover everything with a carpet in lilacs, reds, yellows, purples and more. It is a feast for the eyes when the sun is highlighting those hues and the clouds doing their part and playing with shadows.

I cannot really imitate Mother Nature but try my best to give a glimpse of her capabilities…

Step#1:

just the underpainting where I am layering the first colours and forms, also determining where the light will come from – which is a very important part in this painting:

~~~

Step#2:

starting to work on the backgrounds and the first details of the craters:

~~~

following photos are just the details of some of the details where I am determining the patterns of the craters:

~~~

~~~

Soon more…

 

Where do you find Inspiration? (4)

…from old travel photographs for example – as I did this week.

While the season currently is showing only the ugly face with cold rains that creep into your bones, strong winds and darkness throughout the day I am taking a break from low mood, simply stepping into past travels and thus uplifting heart and soul with wonderful memories and new inspirations and colours.

I can tell you nothing is more uplifting than digging out wonderful memories. It fully works – at least with me. And as I am on a virtual Hawaiian trip at the moment anyway why not using some old photos as inspiration for a colourful new work. But look at these colours first – don’t you think these would make up a great painting?

~~~

~~~

~~~

~~~

You can guess – it will be a volcano piece – with a landscape similar to above photos which are from the Haleakala crater on Maui, HI. But I have just started – I beg for some patience – mahalo – a hui hou kakou…

(Btw – if you like to see more of my Hawai’i photos – please check out my website, under the photography section.)

Travel photographs in general are an excellent source for inspiration. This does not mean that photos should be simply copied. I think of rather re-creating that special feeling when we enounter the atmosphere of a very special place. This means that memory can change due to our emotions and preferences. And this again allows us to create something absolutely original, not something simply copied from a piece of paper or a digital image. It may be similar to the images we see in our dreams…