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November 1, 2007
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SONY
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10/400 second
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9 mm
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Oct 30, 2007, 6:26:32 AM
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:icondenis-peterson:
Painting Title: Alice in Wonderland
Medium: Latex housepaint and watercolor pencils
Ground: Canvas
Process: Airbrush
Size: 23"x57"
Date Completed: 2007

To set up the reference shots, I got as close to the sidewalk as I could. The surrounding scene was chaotic and detached, with frantic commuters hurriedly making their way into the train station that she was sleeping in front of in an evident abyss of loss and isolation..

These rushed shots still took in quite a larger area which I needed to crop out to highlight her against the background: plain steel security gates and rough concrete sidewalks with no shadows or direct lighting.

When I enlarged the reduced image area, details became fragmented jpg pixelations, dots and dashes which I painted in to define form, lighting and depth with considerably more precision.

I applied watercolor pencils- drawing and shading each pixelation that I could distinguish. I then airbrushed subtle pathways of little designs, swirls, and patterns, turning the work into an intricate jigsaw puzzle amongst the shadows. This underscored an alienated equilibrium where her dreaming would appear temporarily free from life's physical and emotional troubles.

I experimented with the illusion of ethereal lighting, corroded rust, night-like shading, and surface reflections; and then coordinated various areas throughout the painting with unadulterated multicolored applications, thereby creating optical mixtures.

The painting was coalesced with an intricate graffiti mural as a metaphor: the dark and grotesque fantasy realm of escape from the futility of life.

In reality however, when she awakens, she will be left on a grimy cold gray city sidewalk in front of a plain gray metal security gate.... and she will continue being passed unnoticed by hundreds of uncaring commuters with loving families, hot meals and soft beds waiting for them in the uncompromised comfort of their homes.

From The Wall

I don't need no arms
around me
and I don’t need no drugs
to calm me

I have seen
the writing
on the Wall

Don't think I
need anything
at all
- Pink Floyd
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:icongiselle-m:
*Giselle-M Apr 7, 2013  Professional Traditional Artist
Amazing work and very interesting description. 'The Wall' really added that final "oompf" to it ;)
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:icondenis-peterson:
`Denis-Peterson Apr 8, 2013
Thanks very much Giselle. This was one of those unusual pieces that sort of morphed as i worked on it. :slow:
Graffiti was an afterthought that impacted the composition and emphasized the hyperreality of her condition.
Once added, it set the stage to introduce some lighting to transform the whole scene into a dreamlike state.
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:iconjhtriune:
=JHTriune Sep 7, 2011  Hobbyist Digital Artist
I was looking at the texture on the jeans, and thought "how did you DO that?" Did you use the texture of the canvas and the watercolor pencils to mimic the texture jeans have? Or am I just crazy?
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:icondenis-peterson:
`Denis-Peterson Sep 7, 2011
Yes, that's it exactly ~ then I overpainted with layers of transparent acrylics by airbrush .. Thanks for looking.
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:iconjhtriune:
=JHTriune Sep 7, 2011  Hobbyist Digital Artist
No problem, but Transparent acrylics? I'm not familiar with those; if I had to guess would it be like diluted paint? Almost like the color is stretched through the (water)?
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:icondenis-peterson:
`Denis-Peterson Sep 8, 2011
Acrylics can be extended into a translucent state with various mediums and water. Most airbrush paints are inherently transparent out of the bottle, as are acrylic inks and certain acrylic paint brands that are transparent.
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:iconjhtriune:
=JHTriune Sep 8, 2011  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Thanks for the info!
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:iconfractalhead:
*fractalhead Jun 19, 2010
well done indeed
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:icondenis-peterson:
`Denis-Peterson Jun 22, 2010
thanks, one of the more painterly in the series
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:iconfractalhead:
*fractalhead Jun 22, 2010
most welcome
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