abstract painting

[deb193redux]

I recently bought a small piece of Sonora Dendritic because I was captivated by the scene. It looked like a hillside with some brush, but viewed from under a tree that had some branches hanging down into the field of vision. (I actually have one or two other pieces with this hanging into the view effect.)

I knew Sonora Dendritic ran more towards dark magenta, so I suspected the vendor's colors were off - BUT if the pattern was there, I would be happy with it in almost any color pallet.

Here is the ebay pic:


The slab was more purple/plum and less red/orange than shown on ebay. But as I suspected, I still loved it.

The 1st thought had been to make a crop of the top right area (just the scene) to make a scenic display cab. But, the more I looked at it, I liked that effect of 4 quadrants created by the horizontal and vertical bands on left and bottom - two bluish, and 2 reddish. I have a painting I like a lot that has this 4 quadrant effect to render an abstract landscape.

So I plan to trim out a rectangle that includes some of the left and bottom area too.

I did a damp scan and a dry scan on my cheap home scanner. It way over-saturated and I had to adjust down. I also took a scan at work which cot closer, but still had to be adjusted to get closer t the actual look in the hand. (at least on my work monitor.)

Here is a mock-up based on the best scan I could get. Dry brought out too many white surface grains and messed with the contrast. So, damp gets closest. All the scans put too much contrast between the light and dark bits of sky, and it was tricky to get close to the right shade of golden-red for the ribbons.



Here is the mock-up based on the scan at work, which may have the plum tone a little closer, but the sky is not as close.


I think I desaturated the colors a little too much because some of the cyan blue is too pale, but whenever I let in more blue, the plum would go to purple. Better adjustment was just beyond my photoshop skills. (and who knows how it would look on each of yall's monitors anyway.)

So I will make this piece and put a black edging on it just like I show in my mock-up.


BTW, here is a shot showing the picture I mentioned.


it is a 2-panel piece, and each panel actually has 4 quadrants. Anyway The painting and the stone call each other to mind because of the quadrant effect (and both are landscapes too) - at least in my mind's eye.

[Toad]

Nice looking slab

[rockjunquie]

I totally see what your talking about. I have a nice sonoran dendrite, so I know the plum you are talking about and the grey/blue. Thanks for sharing your "view" of these.

[helens]

That's a real beauty Daniel!! Love the colors in it!! I agree with the quadrants you see. In most cases, I tend to like the unfinished edges of stones with a great picture, because there's apparently less manipulation of the rock. Closest to "how nature painted it".

That's a wonderful painting too:).

[Deleted]

I love it. The tree branch is something that I looked for in my photography a lot of the time when I was in college.
Jim

[deb193redux]

Mar 26, 2012 13:51:05 GMT -5 helens said:

That's a real beauty Daniel!! Love the colors in it!! I agree with the quadrants you see. In most cases, I tend to like the unfinished edges of stones with a great picture, because there's apparently less manipulation of the rock. Closest to "how nature painted it".

That's a wonderful painting too:).

I can see the rustic aesthetic of unfinished edges, but it risks leaving out my level of making. I found the phrase "levels of making" in a book on Chinese Viewing Stones, although the picture/item being discussed was some sort of carved wooden bowl.

The making of the wood (rings, grain) was a level not mentioned.
The 1st level of making visual elements of the finished piece was bioturbation by ancient worms that has bored through the burl of wood used for the bowl, leaving interesting tracks.

The 2nd level of making was some sort of wind/water smoothing as occurs with some driftwood. Some grain was raised, and some contours carved out or highlighted and smoothed.

The 3rd level of making (other than cutting the bowl out of the burl and scooping it out) was deliberate carving the artist put on the surface of the bowl.

I guess here I see nature making the 3-D pattern in the rock, but it was the intersection of Nature and somebody's slab saw that made the 2-D scene - and even the exact shape of the slab outline.

Also the outer rough edges of the slab do say "real rock" but to my mind they are more the product of the miner's pick-axe than Nature, except that the axe might break out rock along already weakened fractures, which might even be related to some color/pattern. But, I am not inclined to give nature a lot of credit for the rough edges of most slabs.

For me, a distinct level of making the final piece, is cropping the scene. With this act I enter the making process and say this is in, that is out. Here is the vision. I have thought about leaving the slab more complete and making the frame an inlay of black jade or even sterling square wire - but this is harder to do than simple intarsia. Also here the "scene" is about 90% of the slab, but in some cases it may only be a small percentage.

[deb193redux]

Mar 26, 2012 14:52:21 GMT -5 @wampidy said:

I love it. The tree branch is something that I looked for in my photography a lot of the time when I was in college.
Jim

One of my favorite scenes in a piece of Desert Sage Jasper has the effect of tree branches hanging down into the view, giving the impression one is standing under the tree, or in the woods, looking out into the clearing.




Here the scene is >95% of the slab, and there is no rectangular (or other symmetrical, e.g., oval) cropping that would not cut out something vital. This is definitely one to leave the existing edge.

[helens]

Hey Daniel, I learned something today. I had to look up your reference: Chinese Viewing Stones . I found this site: www.ystones.com/

Fascinating!!!

Their collection is all whole stones... but I'll bet if they could have sliced them in antiquity, they'd have appreciated picture stone slabs even more.

But what an incredible display:


Anyway.... about the edges... you are absolutely right. The only time the rough edges are really natural is when you have a thunder egg or large round or petrified wood log. I guess what I mean by 'natural edge' is a jagged rough edge, even if you created that rough edge. It has it's own asthetic appeal, even though it's manmade. I guess like torn edges on handmade paper is more impressive than a cut edge, but cut edges are much better on manufactured paper.

An example of this on paper is say, handmade paper wedding invitations or cards... where the folded over super heavy stock envelopes are torn edges (which cost way more than cut edges).

I have a visceral appreciation for picture rocks now... still haven't quite figured out exactly how to incorporate them into either my work, or how to display.

I also agree with you that shaping the edges to produce the best possible picture that is most pleasing to the eye is better than leaving something that includes so much distraction that you can't even 'see' the picture itself.

Your scene slab is breathtaking. I especially like the unusual peach shade of the background. You have a LOT of incredible pieces!!

[adrian65]

I like the slab you posted in the beginning of the thread, but I can see why that 2nd one is your favorite: it is simply gorgeous and unbelievably realistic. That would definetely deserve a nice frame.

Adrian