DIVINE GRACE DIVINE
This is one of my most favorite pieces. I feel like I achieved levels of beauty and whimsy and dynamism here that are not easily matched. The creation of this piece set the needle for my future achievements off richter. It is one of my "go to" pieces when people ask to see my work because it is striking at first glance and reveals increasing levels of richness the more you explore. To me, this scaling engagement is key in creating high quality artworks.
My intention in laying out this detailed "behind-the scenes" is to provide you with insight into the vulnerable creation process and inspire you to pursue your dreams and push your self beyond the goals that you set, ever upward. I am very proud of each and every one of my works and it is my belief that a work can not be called complete until it satisfies all of the artist's expectations. Care for and pride in your craft should be of paramount importance with each and every manifestation. The Spirit of Creation is all we really have once everything else is stripped away and so the level of investment we place in our work should reflect the love that we have for Creativity itself and dare I say, for God.
Patrick Bernard's Divine Grace Divine Album Cover
The image was originally commissioned by musician, Patrick Bernard on Devi Communications Inc. Music Records and Mastered and distributed by Altar Records.
"Mr. Bernard's recordings of 'well being' music have consistently achieved high status, winning awards, achieving Gold status and even landing him on the Billboard charts (he was the first Canadian to climb Billboard's New Age chart). Patrick has remained a best seller in his category for many years. Atlantis Angelis touched the heart of more than half of million people around the World! Since 1986 he has been a full-time producer/composer of devotional music, inspiring audiences everywhere with his sweet and profound music of divine love. Adding to his music collection of 12 records, Patrick recently release a new book called 'Music As Yoga, Discover the Healing Power of Sound'."
"In 1974 Patrick came in contact with his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who initiated him in Mantra-Yoga or chanting of the Holy Sound Vibrations. In 1986, receiving Gayatri Mantra in Nabawip, India, from the great saint Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja, Patrick was initiated into the Gaudiya Vaisnavas School of bhakti-yoga propagated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the 15th Century master of devotional ecstasy. Since then, he has been a full-time producer/composer of devotional music, inspiring all listeners with his sweet & profound music of divine love." -http://patrickbernard.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=124
You can listen and purchase the Album here
http://patrickbernard.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117:divine-grace-divine-en&catid=10:music-english&Itemid=486
and here
https://altar.bandcamp.com/album/divine-grace-divine
Creation Process
Below you will find the exact series of updates that I sent to Mr. Bernard over the course of 2 months. As you will notice, the image starts as a simple photo mashup of reference provided to me by Patrick. I normally begin with a painting that I create from the ground up but because we were attempting to achieve 50/50 light/dark split down the center of the face I chose to start with an "underpainting" composed of photographs.
Reference
In addition to the Hindu and Vedic inspiration I was tasked to infuse the image with Fairie Magic, "Flower Power" and Platonic Philosophy.
Start to Finish
1
The image starts rather drab and uninteresting. There is a primary focus on composition and general idea rather than beauty.
2
The second image is where the painting starts. This is a very awkward intermediary image as the eyes begin to change appearance from the kind of "dead" photo reference toward the abundant life that shines through them in the final.
3 to 7
Now we are rolling. The Goddess' face is beginning to betray her innocence while building towards the ultimate confidence exemplary of a Divine Female. I begin to create color adjustments and open up the background while using the framework of the outer yantra to guide the placement of my created assets. I relied heavily on Corel Painter through these phases to lay in the flowers and swooping patterns using the Pattern Pen tool. These segments were very playful and focused more on creating the dynamic energies that surge through the final. You will notice the addition of two little naked women that became the winged fairies at the bottom corners. The left woman was initially painted without reference but I wasn't super keen on her to begin with. I then went and retrieved a black and white reference of a nude model and painted from that. The right woman was painted in without reference and gives you a good grasp of my understanding of traditional principles that I apply to my digital work.
8 to 10
As the image enters its final phases I begin to play around with some fonts for the title. We ended up going with a tweaked version of the first option that you see in image 8. During these periods you notice a high focus on balance. Plenty of attention is paid to lighting and contrast and there is a major emphasis on building up the crown with additional painted assets. A keystone of my artwork is the well balanced overload of variety. I am hugely inspired by my inner, visionary journeys through the aid of plant medicines and so I strive to make my imagery as convincing and contiguous as those spaces.
FINAL
As always, I worked in large format so that the image could be printed at various sizes upon completion. Below you will find several detail images demonstrating the patience and love that I devoted to each and every element. You may notice the inclusion of 3D assets here and there as I utilize both Groboto and ZBrush frequently. But the overall technique is meant to remain a mystery (even to me) because there is no way to document each stroke and subtle emotion nudging my pen this way or the other. I absolutely strive to inspire you in the highest way:)
The Album in Print
So after all that we come to the intended function of the image, the CD Sleeve. Upon completion of Divine Grace I was acquainted with Catherine Maroussis. For 11 years Catherine was the Design Director for Retail and Licensing with Cirque Du Soleil. I must say, this was quite an honor indeed. After our introduction I provided her with the full resolution image and she designed the layout for the Album sleeve. I was highly impressed by the results as she employed principles and techniques that I would not have thought of. Let me know what you think in the comments below:)
If you appreciate this work and feel the love that went into it, please consider investing in a Limited Edition Print here
https://elohprojects.com/eloh-projects-store/#!/Divine-Grace/c/25771102/offset=0&sort=normal
If you appreciate high quality content focused intently on raising the bar for my fellow Steemians please give me a follow @elohprojects.
You may view my body of work at https://elohprojects.com/
And see lists of other great Visionary Artists here
https://steemit.com/art/@elohprojects/new-rennaissance-10-unbelievable-artists-you-ve-never-heard-of-part-1
Thank You for viewing. I pour myself into every one of my posts so Upvotes and Resteems are kindly appreciated.
I hope your day is amazing and see you soon!
Kindest Regards,
Sean
~ A M A Z E B A L L Z ~
Hahaha. Thanks dooood! Are you still grinding here? Hardcore getting past some of these ranks and getting posts seen eh?. I haven't figured out if deploying bots is kosher or not so I am exploring other ways to climb. I am thinking about doing some type of contest in a couple months after I build up a more substantial following. Something like "25 SBD to bring a Visionary Artist to Steemit". If we can build a community and build our presence we can create a feedback loop that helps everyone. I am finding out this is very tribal.
Recently started engaging with some game creators building a decentralized application that will run on EOS. The players use the fundamentals of the game to build the game across hyperspace essentially. Fucking trippy stuff.
Check out @sfeos. There is a bunch of background on the idea there.
I really appreciate what you do and am inspired by your work. That your share your process...
that's gold stars stacked on top of appreciation.
Thank you @lucidlight. It means a lot to build genuine relationships with people. I don't always rub everyone the right way but I do place a high value on transparency and honesty. I want people to benefit from what I do because my work is highly self indulgent in a lot of ways. If I can show people that there is a process of mistakes and vulnerabilities that I navigate through with each piece then perhaps they can find the confidence to make bigger attempts in their own lives. I'm not sure my work is THAT powerful but I hope it moves people who care to look. I really appreciate you.
Oh my, you put a lot of work in this, it looks perfect
Thank you and yes I did. Please spread the word and help us artists build a network. Gonna check out your page now:)
Followed. You are very talented. Keep up the great work.
Awesome! Following :)
Glad you likes @ lifeplus1 :)
Oh my GOD! This is stunning, you have been emboied in the artwork the world's beauties, the colors and details. I have a warm feeling inside me when I look at it, it attracts me so much. Congratulation and thank you for sharing the tutorial. I meditate and make yoga as well and in my spare time do some art. Hugs!!
Thank you @anabunesco. I'm happy to hear that this inspires you. Take good care and stay in touch.
Also... where in Romania do you live? I spent almost 2 years in Bucuresti.
I'n not in Bucharest anymore, I made 3 years of Art University there hehe. Did you enjoy? Why left? :D
Yeah I had a really amazing time in Romania. I learned many many valuable lessons and made some great friends and completed some great projects. I left because it was just time to come home.
I love your work. Stumbled on your 8 days old post and tried to resteem it, but there was no symbol, so it is even better to find your personal favourite to resteem. I love that you describe your process in such detail for all of us to see xx
Oh too bad. But I'm happy you enjoyed my process description. Keep in touch and stay tuned as there is more to come:)
Your work is so absolutely inspiring. Ignites my own passion seeing you share this. Thank you.
Alright! Really great to hear! I guess I’m doing my job okay then. Art is pretty self indulgent so it’s pretty important to inspire others with it. Thanks for letting me know @lassetopbjerg
This piece is absolutely stunning. I love the fact that the more I stare at it, the more I notice tiny details that I wouldn't have seen at first glace. Amazing work!
Thank you for your compliment @iceartz. I’m happy you appreciate those details, I spend a lot of time creating them.
that beautiful digital art, spectacular,