Beyond These Shores

Back in May I became enamoured with this photo that popped up in my twitter feed, created by Paul Zizka.  (View the full image here!) The colours, the lines, the composition... they spoke to me in a special way.  I see a lot of amazing photographs in my social media feeds but they don't often stop me in my tracks like this one did.  And what made it extra special is that I immediately saw this image in other visual expressions.  My brain automatically transferred the photographic image into acrylic paint and watercolour and paper versions. I contacted Paul to inquire if he licenses his photographs to artists for reference usage and I was in luck - he does just that.  So, you can imagine how excited I was that he was willing to license his image to me to explore in different mediums!  (Thanks, Paul!) I decided to give myself a goal of 5 pieces for this image study. The first step was a digital drawing, extracting the lines and forms that I felt were necessary to tell the story of this image.  I worked and reworked it to find a balance between detail and minimalism - and I chose to keep the image as a square, since that is how I first viewed it.  

The next step was to explore these same lines and shapes using acrylic on wood panel.  After producing such clean and crisp lines in the digital painting, the acrylic version felt much looser, the texture of brush strokes creating a different feel for this second piece.  

The third piece required a loom and yarn.  I discovered that weaving is extremely addicting - I ended up binging in two sessions and 14 hours later the weaving was complete!  In this version I chose to make the iceberg larger so it wouldn't get lost in the other yarn textures, as well as eliminating some sections to give the weaving more lines that extended from edge to edge.  

Then I got lost in a sea of paper, using layers that were painted with watercolour techniques and cutting others from solid cardstock.  Each piece was cut and placed in various heights, venturing away from the simplified design I started with and adding more lines and colours for increased movement.  

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And the fifth study was a return to the original lines, with the iceberg enlarged and sculpted out of clay.  The mountains were also sculpted with the remaining sections left two-dimensional.  This series proved to be a wonderful study that, as an unexpected side bonus, gave me increased clarity on a number of elements within my art practice.  No matter the medium there's always a need to let go, trust the process and get to work!  ​

​ Beyond these shores
Into the darkness
Beyond these shores
This boat may sail
And if this is the way
Then there will be
A path across this sea

And if I sail beyond
The farthest ocean
Or lose myself in depths below
Wherever I may go
Your love surrounds me
For you have been before
Beyond these shores

​Iona