original digital art
In May, 2020, I decided to look into digital painting. I can't draw, though I've tried to develop the skill periodically. However, I have discovered in digital art a different way to express myself, using the tools, brushes and techniques available to me in this kind of art. Below are some of my digital paintings.
sketch on black
Sunshine
This was my first effort at digital painting. I started out just testing different brush and tool options. Then I decided to try adding the trees and some light at the top. Looking at the picture at that point, I realized it needed the sun, too.
BATTLING TRIANGLES
FLIGHT OF FANCY
FLIGHT OF FANCY
shofar, sho good?
It didn't start out that way, but by time I finished this piece, I realized it reminded me of shofars. And since 7 is one of several significant numbers in Judaism, I made sure that the painting includes 7 shofars, That's why I'm calling this "Shofar, Sho Good?"—at least for the time being. I may or may not decide to change the title later.
TRANSFORMATIONS
CHURNING THE WATERS
ATOMIC EGGS
sadness
STOP THE WORLD!
Hot off the Drawing board
All Tied up
(Thanks to Linda Freund for suggesting this title.)
DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK
Friendship Bouquet
Colors of Perception
I believe our perceptions of the world around us--and even within ourselves--are influenced ("colored") by our moods, experiences, expectations and pre-conceptions. Although, as is usuall with me, I didn't start out with the intention of painting about anything in particular, the image evolved into what I see as a visual representation of that concept.
High Holy Days 2020
Untitled
Currently untitled. Have a suggestions? Contact me at lrm@socal.rr.com.
Galaxy Fusion
Fight Back! VOTE!!!
After almost 4 years of Donald Trump, I truly fear for the future of democracy in America. The 2020 presidential election is bringing much of this into sharp focus as Trump has sought ways to undermine and/or discourage voting by groups likely to oppose him. This painting reflects my feelings about the situation.
Any Way You Like It
(4-way)
I believe that art is created in at least two different times. One is when the artist conceives and paints the painting or sculpts the sculpture or produces any other form or art. The other point of artistic creation is when the work is perceived. And the the more people who perceive the work, the more points of creation. And, of course, what is perceived may or may not be what the artist had in mind. This applies not only to the visual arts but also to literature, music and any other creative endeavor. The following works are the same image, arranged differently. First is a single image on a black background to help brighten the colors by contrast. It can also be printed on a white background or, in digital media, with a transparent background so that it can be superimposed on any background. In the second picture, I have put the image on a graded orange background going in each of four different directions. The inspiration for this was that my husband loves to take my abstract pieces and immediately turn them upside down! Then, of course, there's also the old comment that people sometimes make about not knowing which side of a picture is the top. The 4-way version of this composition is my way of saying that *all* of these ways are "right." What is in a picture--or in life--remains now as ever very much in the eye of the beholder. I hope I can remember that when I try to communicate with others.
Any Way You Like It
(black background)
Contemplating the "Is-ness"
This piece of digi-pix came as a surprise to me. It's very different from most of my pictures and not at all what I started to paint! However, at some point along the way, the process seemed to guide me to this image. The title, Contemplating the "Is-ness," is a phrase one of my dearest friends used to say, and somehow, it seemed to announce itself to me as the right title.
Rocks and Frisbees in the Sky with diamonds
Just a fun picture with a title homage to the Beatles.
Driftwood
THE CHILD'S PLAY COLLECTION
When I was child, I used to love an arts-and-crafts activity that involved covering a sheet of paper with bright patches of color, coloring over the page with black crayon and then using toothpicks or popsicle sticks or other implements to scratch off the black, exposing the bright colors underneath. For some reason, I was thinking about that a while ago and decided to update the technique to the digital era. Below are some of the pieces from what I call my "Child's Play" collection.
CHILD'S PLAY NO. 1
child's play nO. 2
child's play No. 4
child's play No. 4-g
CHILD'S PLAY NO. 5
CHILD'S PLAY NO. 6
CHILD'S PLAY NO.7 -
PURPLE REFLECTIONS
GOLDEN DREAMS
PICKUP STICKS
FLORAL IMPRESSIONS
Time Tracks
Holocaust
Hammerschlag's Treasure
This picture started out as a silly line drawing I made using Autodesk Sketchbook. I decided to add color and try giving the figure some depth. I'm not sure where the idea for the treasure cave came from. The figure obviously is not intended to be a realistic representation of a human being. I think it looks kinda like an illustration for a children's story. Hmm. Maybe some day I'll write one.
Primordial Soup
A Secret Place
Fractical Experience
I used three programs and two devices to create this picture, which consists of several different fractal images. I'm very new to fractal art, and I have a lot to learn, but I like the way this turned out.
Enchantment
This piece also uses two fractal images. The fractals were created using an Android-based program called Fractal Eye, then combined into this picture using my digital art program, Autodesk Sketchbook.
Flamebikes and Sunclouds
This piece also combines two fractal images (which I called "Flamebike" and "Sunclouds"). The fractals were created using a Windows-based program called Apothysis, which I find more challenging to use than the app I use on my tablet. I used Autodesk Sketchbook to combine the fractal images into a single picture.
In a Fractal Garden
This picture also uses different fractals (four of them) generated using Apothysis and combined using Sketchbook.
ELEGANT TITLE
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Fractal Fantasy
Golden Flames
I used fractal image generating software as well as Autodesk Sketchbook to produce this fractal picture. "Flames" are one type of fractal (the kind my software uses), but there are other types of fractal art as well. I'm new at this; so I'm just learning as I go.
Heart of the Matter
This is my first post of a fractal I made using the Chaotica fractal-generating program. (I usually use Apophysis in Windows and/or Fractal Eye on my Android tablet.) I call the picture "Heart of the Matter."
Chaotic Dreamz
Here's another of my fractal efforts using the Chaotica program. I call this one "Chaotic Dreamz." Not very inspired, but that's what I think of when I look at the picture.
Fractal Choir
Quiet Moments
Weeping Web
My Fractal Birthstone
Intersectors
Here's anotherof my Chaotica fractals. I call it "Intersectors." For me, this represents multiple realities that co-exist and occasionally intersect, sometimes even influencing one another.The three fractal images in this picture were made using the Chaotica program. The final result was created using Autodesk Sketchbook.
fractical genie
birth of an idea
I made this fractal picture primarily using Chaotica, with some tweaking in Autodesk Sketchbook. The image made me think of an egg cracked by a chick recently born, or of the way new growth might break out of a seed, both suggestive of birth. But I also see signs here of electical (neural?) activity, which switched my feeling about this image from the physical to more of a metaphysical concept. Hence the title "Birth of an Idea." As with all art, though, everyone who looks at the picture may see something different.
Exploring Fanta Seas
Wooden It Be Nice...?
The Forever Clock
Shana Tovah 2021
Much Ado About Nothing
Planetscape Guardian
A Twist in Time
This image brings back mhappy memories of watching flamework glass artistsat Disneyland and a few other places as they created magical, delicate figures with rods of glass and a flame to melt it.
Web of Pearls
Pearly Night
A Candle for Humanity
The Purple Rose of Fractal City
Alternities of the Is-ness
"Alternities" are alternate realities. The "Is-ness" refers to all that exists. This is my vision of the "Alternities of the Is-ness." I used two programs to create the fractal images used here and another to combine them into this final image.
Toothy Spins
Although I've been using Chaotica for most of my fractals lately, I went back to Apophysis for this one. I was much happier with the result this time than when I was using Apophysis earlier. I also used Autodesk Sketchbook in putting this together.
Galactic Dance
For this piece, I used the Chaotica fractal program and Autodesk Sketchbook for editing and playing with the fractal images to produce the effect I was looking for.
A Life Force Flows Through It
I used the Chaotica program to create this fractal picture and Autodesk Sketchbook to add a suitable background. The title refers not only to the water you can see but to a spiritual life force.
Ice Scope
Habitat
A Time to Reflect
With Thanksgiving nearly upon us here in the U.S.A., it seems like a good time to think about the positives in our lives. So here's a fractal, visual representation. I call this "A Time to Reflect."
Artifacts
Here's a new fractal. I call it "Artifacts." It could depict the remains of creatures on an alien planet, or items once used by some unknown civilization--or just a the result of a glitch in the technology that made the picture!
For Madelyn
In honor of my dear friend Madelyn's birthday.
Silly Scope
This abstract is a combination of two different fractal images. I call it "Silly Scope" because one of the transforms/variations I used was "oscilloscope." Pretty lame, I know, but it felt like the right name when I came up with it!
Contra-Terra: Night GloBes and Hibernation Pods
This Chaotica fractal may be the start of a Contra:Terra series. I'm not sure yet, but as I worked on this piece, a whole science-fiction concept started to form in my mind. "Contra-Terra" is my name for Earth's twin-planet on the opposite side of the sun. The night globes are a life form on Contra-Terra. During the day, the night globes hibernate in the brightly colored pods on the ground. The pods draw energy from the planet to re-charge the light-emitting capacity of the night globes when they emerge from the pods after sundown.... And if you don't go for the story, I hope you still can enjoy the picture.
Contra-Terra: The Bridge
Spiral Orb
Contra-Terra: Lightsnakes and Spiroller
This is another in my ContraTerra series. I call it "Light Snakes and Spiroller." ("Spiroller" is short for "spiral roller.") These are life forms on ContraTerra, Earth's twin planet on the far side of the sun. The spiroller is the object that looks like a flower. It's not. It "rolls" on its "petals" to get from one place to another. It also uses the "petals" to grasp objects. From the pictures I've been posting lately, you can see that Earth and ContraTerra are *fraternal* -- *not* identical--twins!
Happy 2022
This is my first fractal of 2022, and I haven't found a suitable title yet. So "Happy 2022" will have to do for a while.
Cosmic Iris
Barren Branches Through Stained Glass
Contra-Terra: Sunshine Plants
These Contra-Terra "Sunshine Plants" absorb sunlight during the day and emit some of it at night.
Into Infinity
Balancing Act
Contra-Terra: Rainbow Cliffs
These colorful formations are a result of unusual mineral deposits in the rocks of Contr-Terra.
Contra-Terra: Trans-dimensional Moment
Contra-Terra is Earth's fraternal twin planet on the opposite side of the sun. Contra-Terra is hard to spot because it has a trans-dimensional orbit and can be seen only when our dimensions cross paths. This image captures such a "Trans-Dimensional Moment."
Nostalgia
This image reminds me of old-fashioned broaches and pins, hence the title "Nostalgia."
contra-Terra: Global View
Contra-Terra, Earth's fraternal twin planet on the opposite side of the sun, as observed from space. Contra-Terra's orbit crosses membranes separating different dimensions of reality. The colored patterns over the globe are distortions of light as it passes through the dimensional membranes and the planetary atmosphere. These patterns can be observed only via a specialized scanning mechanism.
Fractalblot
For this fractal image, I used only a single "iterator," one of the elements used in creating fractal art with the Chaotica program. I also left the iterator in its orignal position, creating the design only by combining various "transforms." That may seem confusing if you aren’t familiar with fractal art generation, but suffice it to say that most of my pieces use multiple iterators and changes in iterator position. I call this piece "Fractalblot," as it reminds me of an ink blot used in Rorschach psychological tests.
Contra-Terra: Singing Stone and Dancing Diaphenes
The "Singing Stone" of the title is one of the most unusual creatures on Contra-Terra. Named for its characteristic transformation of purified sunlight into sound waves, it really isn't a stone at all. It is a seed pod, and while it requires sunlight to survive, it also is very sensitive to some of the sun's more harmful rays. Eventually, the seeds that the "stone" protects develop into "diaphenes" (DYE-uh-feens)—the transluscent curtains surrounding the stone. The diaphenes convert the stone's sound waves into the nourishment they need, and in turn, they protect the stone and send it filtered sunlight. The graceful movement of the diaphenes as they capture and filter the sunlight and as they sway in response to the sounds of the singing stone has given them their name--"Dancing Diaphenes."
Contra-Terra: Tree Weavers
This Contra-Terra fractal, titled "Tree Weaver," depicts more of the planet's flora and fauna. The tree weaver ingests tree bark, small twigs and bits of leaves, then "weaves" them into fabric.
Contra-Terra: Z-Shrooms
These mushroom-like organisms are a source of Z-factor, the substance that makes it possible for living things to pass safely through the membranes that separate dimensions. Like the "Z-shrooms," all Contra-Terra life forms studied by earth scientists so far have a special genetic marker--a "Z" chromosome--that is responsible for production of the Z-factor. Still unknown is why evolution led to the Z-chromosome on Contra-Terra but not on earth.
Trans-Shift Game Board
This transdimensional game board--for a game called "Trans-Shift"--is made of substances that have been infused with Z-factor. Some experts believe that the colorful object you can see behind the open spaces of the board emits energy that allows players to share the board across dimensional separations.
Something Different
This fractal has nothing to do with Contra-Terra! I was just playing around and experimenting with different transforms, combinations and colors, and I came up with something a little different from most of what I've been posting recently.
So, of course, I call this piece..."Something Different."
Good Evening
Like "Something Different" (above), this fractal is unrelated to my Contra-Terra series. I call it "Good Evening" because the central image reminds me of old-fashioned street lamps.
Happy Passover 2022
Circles of the Mind
I like to think of the intersections between the circles as the birthplace of new ideas, and of the glowing areas as places where those ideas havare growing and developing and growing.
Prelude to a Dream
Contra-Terra:
Metalla-Glass Cave
This is a Contra-Terra metalla-glass cave. Ore from this cave can be fashioned into metal strips as well as a wide variety of other metallic items. In addition, when metalla-glass ore is heated in a "tempering pit" infused with a solution including some form of Z-factor, metalla-glass becomes transparent and malleable enough to form glass-like items. Unlike earth glass, however, metalla-glass is flexible, and both the metalla-glass and objects made with it retain the metallic strength and other properties of the original ore.
Barren Trees Through Stained Glass
I call this "Barren Trees Through Stained Glass." Not much back story to this one. It just makes me think of the way barren trees must look through stained glass windows. I think it also sends a message: Sometimes even the most barren of scenes can be beautiful when seen from the right vantage point. Yeah, I know it sounds hokey and all "look on the bright side," but when things get tough, it's good to have something to hang onto. And whether things get better or worse can depend as much on how you feel about life as it does on what happens to and/or around you.
Fractal on the Half-Shell
Whirlpool Dancer
I was fooling around with my fractal art program and came up with this image. To me, it looks like a woman in a tall hat and flowing skirt dancing at the edge of a magical whirlpool--and becoming part of the whirlpool herself! So, of course, I call the picture "Whirlpool Dancer." The image of the woman is from the back and at a slightly left-to-right angle.
On the other hand, I guess you could also see this as just a picture of a big hole devouring everything. As usual, it's all in the eye of the beholder.
ShredBlur Spiral
At frst, this fractal double spiral may look like a mirror image, but if you look closely, you'll see that these actually are different spirals. One is based on a "shredrad" transform, and the other is based on a "blur" transform, hence the name "Shredblur Spiral."
ShredBlur Spiral
Pug-Tut: Uncommon
This is a combination of several tweaks I made from tutorials by Pugnacious One (Pug), long-time member of Deviant Art--a website where I often post my work. Pug is a tutor par excellence, and I want to thank him for helping me learn more about fractal art in general and about Chaotica in particular. I made my fractal tweaks using Chaotica and assembled several of them into this single image using Autodesk Sketchbook software.
Behold, the Fractal Eye!
I like to say that art is created not only at the time that the artisan conceives and gives observable life to a piece or project but also when the observer perceives it. In other words, as the old saying goes, art is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, I thought it might be fun to turn things around and behold the eye! I call this, "Behold, the Fractal Eye!"
Contra-Terra: Spiral Flora
I've been trying to learn more about making fractal spirals lately, and this is one of my recent efforts. It's actually a combination of two spiral fractals superimposed on one another. I haven't quite decided how best to describe this one, but at this point I'm reminded of how much it resembles some plant life on Contra-Terra--plants whose growth patterns have been skewed into unusual patterns because of planetary weather conditions and because of trans-dimensional instabilities.
Shredrad-Julia Tight Spiral
This is one of my favorite fractal spirals. It's pretty basic, but I get a kick out of it. I used it as a starter for several variations, some of which I may post here later. I hope that one of these days, I'll have the time and energy to learn how to animate this (and other) fractals.
