Suppressed Urge

couldn’t agree more with the skill/imagination comment. That’s why children’s pictures are often so beautiful. ‘Urge’ is the most recent one of this bunch.

Thanks shannon – yeah i guess there’s effort involved – but as I’m sure you know, it doesn’t really feel like effort when you’re in the zone ….

Thanx heaps Helena!

Thanx kreesor. I had the image in my head for a long time B4 i tackled it, because i knew the bricks would drive me nuts, but i’m glad i did.

Thanx carrie – a lot of the work never got seen… the brick guy was originally holding onto a disgusting pig/woman/monster thing, which was where the oicture started – but i realised she was spoiling it, and that brick boy was supposed to be the central figure, and i went back to the drawing board, and found the moth, and had one of those ‘EUREKE’ moments that make art worth doing.

wow… thankyou so much Rosa – your interpretation gave me goosebumps. When someone shares their impression of a picture in that way, it enables me to see my own own work through the eyes of a stranger, which is always a pleasure…..

yeah exactly – he needs to let go the butterfly, look thru that hole, and pick up the hammer.

Hmmm- interesting question. If ‘he’ is the brick man, i would say he definitely knows the moth isn’t a brick, and that’s why he’s holding onto it. The question for me is; how hard is the moth actually trying to escape? The brick man’s body language to me is quite gentle – even tender….

no – i think all interpretations are as valid as each other … once you put your stuff out there, you don’t ‘own’ people’s responses to it. I agree he does look a little distracted. what i like about creating these photo montage images is that because i’m using pieces of other pictures, certain elements of the pictures are beyond my control, which makes the final product a bit like a dream i woke up from. I’m still working this one out myself :-)

Thanx teeze – I’m about to feature this in a group exhibition at a new gallery here in Melbourne. I’ve never seen this image printed on paper before … I’m picking up the print from the lab this afternoon – very excited! It will be 19 inches deep (top to bottom) – so fairly large.

Thanks Damian – i just saw it photographically printed for the first time yesterday, and I’m thrilled with it. It’s at the framers as i write this. I never feel a pic really ‘exists’ until it’s been printed

thanks Pamela – you have a talent for bringing the non-living to life yourself….

thanks Peter – I’m just finishing a picture that uses similar techniques to this one, except the figure is made of wood … i’ll post it in the next few days.

... or doesn’t work, as the case may be … thanks for the comments! Nice to have a new visitor.

yeah – it’s been fun… i enjoy the contact with other artists a lot.

Thanks E.M – just checked out your gallery – nice stuff in there.

Thanks – and thanks for visiting :-)

thanks carline – it’s about time i added some new stuff … glad you’re enjoying it ;-)

I am flattered by your squeak – Thanks heaps!

Thanks very much – that’s high praise indeed, coming from you.

Yeah, it did. I had created the environment for a different character entirely, but realised the character was letting the rest of the pic down… Then the brick man popped into my head, and i resisted starting on him for ages, coz i knew he was going to be a mission, but i knew he would look amazing, so i took a deep breath and got started. Glad i did. Thanks ;-)

Thanks Mark … that’s a nice compliment to receive – nice to know your stuff can hold someone’s attention….

U should see this baby printed – it’s hanging in the ‘net cafe where i am right now – i still find myself staring at it.. I’m yet to top this one, in my opinion. Thanks for your comments.

Thanks Limerick … i really love hearing people’s intertretations of these digital images – because i never start out with any idea at all of what i want to ‘say’ with them, and i find some of them – this one especially – pretty enigmatic myself. I think of them as little glimpses of my own sub-conscious, little puzzles for me to contemplate :-)

p.s – the hand on the left is from a picture of a very beautiful man with huge hands and long fingers, holding a magazine …. the fingers on the right are from a pornographic picture of a woman …. i love photoshop surgery!

I love Giger. Huge influence. I haven’t been formally taught art since high-school, and i left high skool early because my art teacher kicked me out of his class. Told me i could do it in the library. Small-minded small town uptight dick. His name was Dick too!

thank you!

thanks mr. Ball – yeah i agree there is something classical about this one – like an old painting ..i still think it stands as my best work of this kind. Have to say i’m very proud of it.

Thanks! It’s a miracle i didn’t die of sleep deprivation ….

Thanks carmen – Whenever i look at this one i still can’t settle on a single explanation that covers the whole image – which is a good thing in my mind… but broadly, in personal terms, i think it’s about how i’ve allowed outside forces to take up residence in my psyche, and restrict my creative energy – even tho many of those forces weren’t built for that purpose, and had no intention of doing that – it’s a role i’ve assigned them …. hence the sort of benevolent energy of the brick man – like he really doesn’t understand thw potential he has to harm the moth …..

Thanks!

thanks!

sure did – i think i wrote above how it started out as a backdrop for an entirely different character, who just didn’t work for me in the end, and the brick man slipped into my head …. this one evolved really slowly over many many hours. Thanks for your comment ;)

Thanks jo! Your interpretation totally works for me … building on it a little, perhaps he hesitates because in order to pick up the hammer, he has to release the moth and let it go where it pleases, and to follow it, he has to destroy the wall – which obviously is part of him too… and the gas mask perhaps symbolises his fear that he may not survive conditions on the other side… he hasn’t touched that apple either – i reckon it was thrown over the wall by somebody – triggering the whole dillemma he faces…? these are all fresh thoughts, by the way..

wow! There’s a whole new picture emerging there…!