Wednesday, May 28, 2014

MIMULUX


Short Bio: I create all types of art, traditional fine art, digital art and photography. .. and these styles change rapidly.  It might be a bit "hectic" and seemingly chaotic for my followers on my blogs, FB, Twitter and Google+ and friends on various art sites but that's me. Spontaneous, following my feelings , my muse.  I have lived in many different countries, on different continents, speak several languages, have enjoyed living in various cultures – so I see myself as a kind of meltingpot for all the different flavours  I have been exposed to! I have integrated them in to my Self, all this has joined and has formed me – all this IS me.

I am self-taught. As a child I spent hours drawing and painting.. then lost my artsy connection for many years.. and during my long reconvalesence after a serious car accident, I re-discovered art - or it me. Starting with "traditional" art.. moving on to digital art.. and also re-connecting with photography.

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You have asked me how I create my art. Actually... I don't know. Or should I say.. i go with the flow. Sometimes I work on several pieces of art more or less at the same time. In any case what is important is to follow my feelings. The moment my mind starts trying to take over by "guiding" me, that's it. You can bet on it that I will botch it..

The piece I have chosen for this blog is "Stormrider" .. a Digital Art creation, one that could be called a photo-manipulation, which is not quite correct though, as I did not work with a photo. So let's call it.. image-manip(ulation). For this kind of digital art it is important to have stock - photos, textures, brushes... all this is available on the net.. some for free.. some you pay for. I make a point though of using mostly my own stock.. I make my own textures, brushes, backgrounds.. and use my photos that are too good to be thrown out.. but not good enough to be uploaded into one of my photo art galleries.

However, Stormrider was  a bit different. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam - https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio -  has opened its internet gates to artists.. they allow you to use their art to create new art. A fascinating project and a great oportunity. I have visited their site several times already and have downloaded images for further use. One of them is "A Ship on the High Seas Caught by a Squall" known as "The Gust" by Willem van de Velde (II) c. 1680 - https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-1848 .

Now I am not really into "marine" images but I saw this and liked it.. and not being "into" something art-wise offers a nice challenge. So i downloaded it, and opened up the image in my graphic program.

And then the muse took over.. i made a cut-out from the ship.. so that it would be more prominent, flipped it, so that it was travelling from left to right.. and then started using my graphic program.. changing the background, adding a different colour, making it more into a ghostly ship - The Flying Dutchman comes to mind. But the title changed when i started hearing "Riders on the Storm" by the Doors in the back of my mind. See, another go with the flow thing. Finding titles can be real tough... and music can be very helpful.

Well basically, that's it.

I do not have an image in mind when I start on something new - that goes for all my art. I just start and see where I am being taken. The whole process is "trying out" ... what filter to use, what hue, what texture - it is experimenting and playing to a certain extent. The most difficult part for me is to know, when to stop. Often there is a feeling of insecurity.. is it done, should i tweak a bit more, add something, change something.. or is it good as it is? If that happens, I turn to something else.. minimize the graphic program ... take my dog for a walk, read for a while.. anything to let go of the image.. Getting too involved in the image can cause this kind of blindness.. insecurity.. When I come back to the pc .. and open it again, my mind is clear and there is that inner voice that can say yes.. it's done.. or.. no, continue.

The last act is to sign the image.. once that is done.. that's it. No more changes.. only size adjustments to upload to my various galleries.

Stormrider is available as prints in my Fine Art America gallery http://mimulux.artistwebsites.com/featured/stormrider-mimulux-patricia-no-.html ... but also in my Society6 store on tote-bags and mugs etc. http://society6.com/mimulux/STORMRIDER_Print#1=45

If you want to stay up-to-date with my art... I suggest following my blog on WordPress http://artbymimulux.wordpress.com/ .. or my Twitter @mimuluxArt or FB accounts https://www.facebook.com/the.art.of.mimulux?ref=hl - or my homepage at http://mimulux.com and/or subscribe to my newsletter.