Yesterday with both the sun and tide rising there seemed little to catch my eye. A low misty cloud drifted across the sun. No chance of a colourful image or interesting reflections on wet sand.
As I walked to the point strong contrasts appeared with
Dawn seascape photograph Forces of Nature 1
Photograph of seascape at dawn
Photograph of seascape at dawn, Forces of Nature 3
back-lit clouds and rock and ocean spray silhouetted against the sky. As if a ritual site of a sacred landscape I enjoyed juxtaposing the rising sun with a specific rock.
Etching technique consisting of intaglio and chine -colle enabled me to express and evoke a feeling of mystery and the sense of the sublime when confronted with the age of rocks and their significance. When in Dales Gorge in Karijini National Park I felt awed by the depth of the rock-forming steep gorge. On the gorge floor strata within the rocks alternate from pink brown and red purple. This layering caused by oxidation of the iron laden ocean when oxygen produced from stromatolites photosynthesis gradually entered the Earth’s atmosphere. The striped pattern built up from the ocean floor as early as three billion years ago. Water cut through the gorge over millions of years as land gradually uplifted.
Several etchings are artist’s proof and require fine tuning before I print an edition. I print small editions because I prefer to change the plate and produce one off images because it enables me to see the subject in many different ways.
….…and then the Ocean Rusted 4, 2013, etching and chine – colle 25×12 cm
...and then the Ocean Rusted 3, 2013, viscosity technique and chine – colle 25×12 cm
…...and the the Ocean Rusted 2, 2013, etching and chine – colle 25×12 cm
An artist’s proof in the series titled .….andthen the Ocean Rusted, 2013, intaglio, 25×12 cm
Artist’s Proof titled, ….and then the OceanRusted’, 2013, etching and chine – colle 25×12 cm
……and then the the Ocean Rusted, A/P, 2013, etching and chine- colle 25×12 cm
AP for ...and then the OceanRusted series
Landscape artist’s proof 4 for…...and then the Ocean Rusted
My trip to the Pilbara in April this year can be read and viewed with photographs and frottages done on sight in my first posts on this blog.
This week I tried more proofs on different textured paper – rice paper, a thickly textured but porous spongy handmade paper as well as Fabriano.
I think line crispness suffered due to too much texture and the second last one looks too scrubby.
I love the intensity of black and my idea was that it would evoke a sense of mystery regarding this 3 billion year old clue to a momentous moment in Earth’s history.
I discovered a blog titled geo-aesthetics which sounded more accurate a description to my imagery than the term contemporary landscape because the content as well as the form is central.
My expectation and anticipation yesterday as I quickly drove to the beach was to capture the image of the rising sun seen through a colourful and gradual burnt off low cloud and sea mist. I was sure that if I hurried along the edge of Point Roadknight toward the point I would arrive at the rock edge as the sun rose. Not this time.
As the minutes passed not a glimmer of light or faint glow could be conjured from an opaque wall of cloud.
View from the beach
Cloud at Point Roadknight
Cloud at Point Roadknight
Return to the beach
I thought it a wasted effort and with rising tide I returned to the beach, however the rock profile in the foreground echoed the misty distance. When I momentarily glanced back I noticed how at the same time cloudy mist obscured and revealed different aspects of the rock formation.
Rising tide
Rising tide and thicker cloud
White line of foam flows over reflection
Illusion of merged tide line and foggy cloud veil-like appearance
About to leave when the sun made a feeble attempt to disperse the cloud. Approximately half an hour had passed witnessed by the sun’s position above the horizon line.
Sun and cloud
Sun, cloud and wave
Before I left the beach two hooded plovers scurried across damp sand and came into view. Moody tonal type of imagery is quite hard to chance upon and was a rewarding experience when I had expected bright pink/ orange almost chocolate box-like misty atmosphere.
Hooded plovers
Many artworks including etchings were inspired by forces of nature at Point Roadknight. Some of them are for sale and can be viewed at etsy.com/shop/elainedesterre
At this stage I built up paint layers as an attempt to suggest shallow water on the left side of the composition. However still required is more structure and clarity of focus. Simplification of the colour with more tone might strengthen and give more solidity to the land form. A balancing of the form and the process of its disintegration through erosion needs more attention.
Untitled companion oil and mixed media
Untitled companion to Commission 1
Untitled companion painting, detail
This composition also needs the structure strengthened and more tone to the left. A little more warmth in colour on the left and getting some overly busy areas consolidated are my next stage in the process. The image of the detail is the busy area under scrutiny.
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