Angels in our Midst
I’ve always believed in angels. I’m certain that they are with us all the time…wandering among us and watching over us.
And, like a lot of artists before me, I’m captivated by angel art. From beginners to the Masters, they’re an endless source of fascination and inspiration. I imagine angels are right there as we create…whispering in our ear.
My latest artwork is titled Angels In Our Midst and it actually started life as quite a different image. I had been working on something completely different when I was suddenly inspired to change gears completely.
And where the creative muse wanders we are compelled to follow!
When starting a new piece, its rare that I start out with a clear vision. More often than not it begins with a photo that I randomly select from my Lightroom catalogue…and then just play around in Photoshop until something “clicks”.
A painter friend likes to apply paint to the canvas in a totally random way, using a wide variety of tools. Then she puts the painting on the floor and walks around it until something speaks to her….an image emerges from the abstract. From there she works to bring her vision out of the canvas. That way of working – being led by intuition – most closely resembles my own process. Its fun, sometimes chaotic with too many ideas appearing all at once….and always exciting because the destination is unknown.
The Editing Process
People sometimes ask how a piece is created so I’ve decided to try and get a bit more organized and document the process. To that end I’ve put together a short video showing the various components in this composite and how they come together. Of course, the actual process is not quite this simple! There is a lot of trial and error, as well as a myriad of adjustments within Photoshop. But I don’t want it to get too technical.
A piece like this takes me around two days of fairly solid work to create. But I never notice the time once I’ve fallen down the Photoshop rabbit hole. The biggest challenge of all is just getting started!
I hope you enjoy the video and always remember that the angels are with you.
