Cosmic Transfiguration

In 1987-1988 I did a lot of cut-paper religious images. They are the "orthodox" version of my Kabbalistic angels. I would airbrush the background, draw the figure and colored pieces, trace and cut them out, and affix them to the background with glue. This was a laborious process but I wanted the smooth color blends and the sharp edges and flat colors of the cut paper. But none of this was permanent. The color coating of the paper wore off or flaked off when bent or scraped. And the iridescent paint I used did not keep its metallic shine, but tarnished. I tried making some larger versions of these in cut and glued felt, but that, too, faded and disintegrated. So when digital art came around, in the form of CorelDraw, I was thrilled because I could do these shapes and blends without having to precision-cut paper. But I didn't have a computer in 1988, and I wouldn't have one till 1991.

This piece is a modernist version of the Transfiguration of Jesus, which is recounted in the Gospels (for instance, Luke 9:28). I eliminated the figures of Moses and Elijah, and dressed Jesus in a spacesuit instead of robes. The transfigured Christ is a white silhouette, more abstract than usual representations, standing on a planet about to be redeemed. A star-halo (restored by Photoshop) is behind his head.

"Cosmic Transfiguration" is cut paper on an airbrushed illustration board background, 9" x 12", January 1988.

Face Study

I did a digital face study. My model is from one of the excellent "Art Models" series of books which are full of draw-able people posing in interesting positions. This is the first time I've done a face in Photoshop. Original resolution is 300 dpi. I worked carefully on the eyes, nose, and mouth, trying to get the drawing and modeling right. I didn't draw it in pencil first and I did not trace, I copied by eye drawing on my tablet, from the model photo on the screen. I know that this drawing is rather flat and doesn't have enough shadow and light, but I am going to work on that. The next model photo collection from "Art Models" will be "The Female Figure in Shadow and Light." Which sounds a bit mystical but it is just what I need.

Paper Cherubim

Here's another of my occult angels from the Highfield book. This one is a Cherubim, or more accurately, a Cherub though the word "cherub" is now used to describe those pudgy baby angels with tiny wings. A "real" or mythologically correct Cherub has a flaming sword and guards the way back to Eden, among other biblical guardianships. This one follows the image making instructions in the book. Since a majority of its body parts were deemed "masculine," I made this a male figure. He still has the grey-green legs and olive-green feet of any angel whose name ends in "-im."

I've done a little Photoshop work to this piece. The flaming sword was made from red foil and the metallic glint did not show up in the photograph. So I improvised a red flaming texture and re-created the sword. I also added a few little whitish specks, or stars, to the dark lower background.

"Cherubim" is cut paper and foil paper on an acrylic-painted background, 7" x 10", January-February 1987.

Revisiting Enlil and Ramparts

Some of you may remember Enlil, the master techno-mage from my imaginary Noantri World. I have been working on a graphic novel starring Enlil for more than 10 years. I leave it, come back, do some work on it, go away again, and then come back. This upcoming year I am determined to make some serious progress on it. The story is fairly simple: the Techno-mage (or in my terminology, "nouergist" or "theophore,") has been working with geologists on a restless volcano that shows signs of being about to erupt. But the geologists mistrust him and reject him after an accident on the volcano's summit. Enlil uses his powers to secretly teleport a geologist to the site for further observation. Here, he is mustering the interdimensional energies which will create a teleportation gateway.

The title of the tale is "The Flaming Ramparts." I currently have 41 pages of the story done and have just started on page 42. I expect the whole thing to be about 80 pages; graphic novel size. These three panels are from page 37. Art is ink and watercolor on Fabriano illustration board, about 4 1/4" x 9 " altogether. I think that after this chapter is done I will continue to draw the art by hand with ink pens, but will color it with Photoshop. The option will remain for me to color it with watercolor later.

Tibetan Master

Ever since the British colonialists "discovered" Tibet and fought for it in the "Great Game" of Central Asian geopolitics, Tibet has been a mystical and mythical resource for occultists in the West. The Theosophists of the late 19th century based a lot of their teachings on what they thought was esoteric Buddhism from Tibet. Madame Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, claimed to have traveled in Tibet and learned from Tibetan Masters. Alice Bailey, another occult leader in the Theosophical tradition, derived her doctrines from an astral connection to a person known as "The Tibetan," later named "Djwal Khul." Tibetan Masters are part of the Theosophical corps of World Masters who live in inaccessible places but nevertheless send forth their influence into the world. The explorer Alexandra David-Neel wrote fascinating tales of her travels in real Tibet. And later on, there were the writings of life in "Mystic Tibet" of the irrepressible "Lobsang Rampa," actually an Englishman who had never been to Tibet at all.

As an esotericist I was naturally fascinated by Mystic Tibet, since I was also fantasizing about psychic powers which were supposed to be part of the lives of lamas and devotees, even of the general public in that remote land. I wanted there to be Masters, both in the East and the West. Since I hadn't found any real Masters, I made them up. This one is a portrait of an idealized Tibetan Master. There are some authentic details in the picture that I copied from old photos of Tibetan lamas and devotional spaces. I added the halo and the light around the hands, to show that Tibetans could have special powers.

Many years later I met and observed real Tibetans when a number of Tibetan families moved into my neighborhood. Though Grandma wore colorful native dress, I did not detect any psychic abilities among my neighbors. They just seemed like one more of the myriad ethnicities who populate my general area. They adapted quickly to the new country. One driver, referencing a Tibetan beast of burden, had a vanity plate on his SUV that said "MY YAK."

"Tibetan Master" is watercolor and ink on illustration board, 9" x 11", January 1988.

Christmas Puppy

He isn't my puppy, I didn't receive him for Christmas. But my friends did (actually, a week before Christmas), and when I went over their house on Christmas Day they asked me to bring my sketchbook so I could sketch the new member of their family. The dog's name is "Buster Brown" and he is a pitbull-boxer-other mix. He was abandoned in southern Virginia and my friends adopted him from a shelter. The brown and white pup is full of energy but enjoys cuddling with his people, which is where I drew him. He'll grow into a big dog soon enough.

I didn't have a bad Christmas Day, though I thought I was going to. There were friends and pets and lots of food. Now comes the snow.

Solstice Eclipse

I had nothing to give my friends for Christmas. They have everything and it just seems ordinary to give them goodies from Trader Joe's. But they like my art, so why not give them art. I didn't have any art that I could give them, so I made some. Originally I thought to make three different "artist trading cards," these miniature paintings on little 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" cards. But then I thought, why not make one piece that is 3 of these cards together, and divide it up after I'm done? So I did this geometric abstraction, based on recent astronomical events. On the Winter Solstice we had a total lunar eclipse. This piece features the big round Earth, in light blue, shadowing the Moon which is dark red, to the right of center.

After I did the long piece, which is 10 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches, I decided not to cut up the original into three parts. Instead I scanned it, cleaned it up in Photoshop, and printed it in three sections corresponding to the size of three artist trading cards. I'll trim those to size, and that is what I will give for a holiday gift...along with the original for their own collection.

Here's one of the trading card sections:

"Solstice Eclipse" is 10 1/2 " x 2 1/2", mixed media on Fabriano illustration board, December 24-25, 2010.