Armour maketh the man

Andrew Walker, 9 months ago

bugger armour, gimmie a long bow any day and i’ll show you what your armour can do

nice picture though, verrrrrry clever

Jessica Tremp, 9 months ago

Paul, this is just brilliant…I can just see this hanging in a gallery…i’m speechless

Jeff Burns, 9 months ago

WOW powerful stunning image. Great work
This is so cool! WOW

ferndesign, 9 months ago

this is awesome great work

mikrin, 9 months ago

This is great! The transformation is wonderful

shayne2011, 9 months ago

A tryptich! It’s great. The high key tones are a great counterfoil to the subject, and the whole thing hangs together so well. I also like the little figure in the background of the centre panel. Well done. :)

Martin Derksema, 9 months ago

Oh, this really does a lot to me. It has the strength of a religious painting or icon. Also it has a beautiful surreal feel, but very subtle. What a great idea to express this line of thought with a triptych. Yeah, we come, we live and we go. This image leaves a deep silence in me.

Rod Adams, 9 months ago

Awesome as usual!!!!!

Suzanne German, 9 months ago

Paul – what a moving story ….your soul seems not that distant or absent – such a powerful scene…..stunning!

-sg

flower68, 9 months ago

brilliant artwork.love the choice of colour,the atmosphere the concept…

Barssel, 9 months ago

Great concept…...........really well done.

mayuphoto, 9 months ago

I really love the story behind. The change of its tone is great too. Such an artistic image.!

ozjami, 9 months ago

Very cool,cleverly put together !!

shall, 9 months ago

love it
x

billyboy, 9 months ago

Paul, I looked at this a while before I read your caption, and in fact I saw it just the other way round. Nature in its pure form, nicely contrasting in light and dark, wonderfully simplistic… is wary of the appearance of man on the scene. Could be good, might be bad, but naked, he is pure in his own way and although he has provoked imbalance, he has provided dynamic. But give him armor and aggression and he is a danger to the fabric of the world as it was originally conceived. The contrast and dynamic has turned to muddled darkness. An amazing story board with intense imagery. Jeeze Paul, we’re all going to burn!

Shanina Conway, 9 months ago

Brilliant Paul! love the tones and the visual journey!

Ian James, 9 months ago

Great piece….Just fantastic.

gordontant, 9 months ago

this is seriously good work Paul, and very well presented

shayne2011, 9 months ago

well, around here, cK., Dolce and Garbage or Abercrombie and Filth maketh a man. Not that much has changed. :)

Susan Trigg, 9 months ago

Very powerful images. I like the fact that this can be interpreted in more than one way (my initial reaction was the same as billyboy’s) – it requires contemplation. To me, the ‘perfect’ piece of art has both visual beauty as well as powerful message, and you’ve achieved both here.

Karen Cougan, 9 months ago

Wow Paul that has such great truth and meaning….........congrats mate.
xkc

Globalphotos, 9 months ago

Well written and such a wonderful representation, great work !

Antanas, 9 months ago

beautiful composed

Nando Machado, 9 months ago

Beautiful theme and execution, as always.

Mel Brackstone, 9 months ago

Awesome work Paul, you’re going from strength to strength!

amorspainter, 9 months ago

good work
i have to think when a see this
to the dutch masters of painting

dick

shanghaiwu, 9 months ago

mmm

oh so brilliant/most impressed by the creativeness and the body

really quite awesome

Chris White, 9 months ago

Great image and concept, and so well executed.

One fascinating thing is that apparently the average modern man wouldn’t fit in to an old suit of armour. Due to better nutrition and healthcare we are on average taller and bigger than our historic counterparts. Maybe we are evolving further away from our essential souls without the armour now as we gain more control over our physicality through science.

Lumineux, 9 months ago

You’ve outdone yourself with this one. Great work.

missalyshachri..., 9 months ago

wow, this is such a powerful piece!
excellent work

Flamejob, 9 months ago

My word it does. This is right up my alley Paul – wonderful, medeival and dark. Beautifully executed. This is a real cracker and one of my growing list of personal faves of yours.

Nicole Goggins, 9 months ago

brilliant job!

halftone, 9 months ago

I love the fact that you can see the heavenly human form on the left hand image, then half faded but definitely there in the middle, turning into full depth colour and detail, and then the dark scary figure on the right….your description is beautiful, as is your art.

Heather King, 9 months ago

this is freaking incredibly astounding paul
you always amaze me with your artistic creations
there is so much to this.
truly i am in awe.

ltruskett, 9 months ago

God you blow me away. Lost for words…..............bloody superb, matey – genius even. :)) (well, had a few words after all, I guess. LOVE IT.

Paul Louis Vil..., 9 months ago

Very powerful Paul!
Even though you have based the theme of this particular image in the 16th Century, it applies as much in modern times as it would’ve back then.
Perhaps we don’t wear armour today but we still are sometimes defined by our coverings and not our soul!
Superb work mate!

Helene Kippert, 9 months ago

Love the concept and the execution Paul

Basia McAuley, 9 months ago

A magnificent work of art.

karen milder, 9 months ago

powerful story

Melinda Kerr, 9 months ago

What a huge talent you are Paul.

Mohsen Bayramn..., 9 months ago

clever, creative and so fantastic idea… you have an amazing style!

ginnymac, 9 months ago

wowo ditto everybody!

SnapHappy, 9 months ago

splendid!

Karl Schlemmer, 9 months ago

Excellent Paul! :-)

Walter Colvin, 9 months ago

Excellent wrok Paul.

Rhana Griffin, 9 months ago

Your thought processes behind this image are intriguing Paul. I love how you have given the “distant landscape bearing his soul” the honour of first place in this triptych, for it truly is the soul and not the outer image we project to the world at large that is the most important thing. I also like how the landscape of the soul angles down towards the others. Our descent from the pure spiritual into the physicalities of man… and the constraints and perceptions society places on him.

Coralie Casey, 9 months ago

Wow, that’s awesome, love your description too.

Darren Burdell, 9 months ago

This Rocks!! There’s something Da Vinci esque about this, I agree with billyboy because I also read it from left to right. Great concept, deep narrative and absolutely nailed down tight!!!!

marcusjohn, 9 months ago

Yes this does rock- you are the man Paul… You are the modern day….
Bloody awsome

Jacq Wilson, 9 months ago

Oh…......um wow!! Again, you leave me searching for whatever it is that I am feeling….......I am intrigued by the power that you convey in your work. Just fabulous…........always raw ( especially that bum shot!!) Brilliant!

Sharon Bishop, 9 months ago

A powerful set of images and a narrative that is as true today as it was in the 16th century.

bodymechanic, 9 months ago

impressive triptych,excellent concept,unique result!! another iconic piece

orourke, 9 months ago

very interesting idea and well executed, well done again

vonne, 9 months ago

AMAZING image! WELL DONE!

annacuypers, 9 months ago

This is a strong work again Paul ! Well done,
Anna

cdwork, 9 months ago

Excellent!

Peter Fletcher, 9 months ago

Powerful imagery. I really like this one,

Heather Rivet..., 9 months ago

powerful and original..fantastic

LittleHelen, 9 months ago

Gosh…the guy in the armor is cool. Great triptych ;)

Andriy Portyanko, 9 months ago

Very cool! Interesting work!

Gerijuliaj, 9 months ago

Great triptych Paul – love the concept of the man in armour fading to the light of just his soul in the landscape on the left (peace), and how you have placed yourself centre on this spiritual journey….love the light/shade and tonings. Europe has obviously been a great inspiration for you.

DawsonImages, 9 months ago

Imaginative work, nicely done!

Gerijuliaj, 9 months ago

Meant to say also that I love how you have depicted the empty landscape for the soul as the beginning and the end of this triptych…as it is in life – everything goes full circle.

shaytay, 9 months ago

Intense!:)

conilouz, 9 months ago

very awesome,, great looking model too….

Julie Langford, 9 months ago

Breathtaking Paul – stunning work

Jamie Lee, 9 months ago

The power you create in your images is impressive. This one is magnificent!

Paul Vanzella, 9 months ago

WOW – I am so overwhelmed by the response to this image (smiling so much here) gives me enormous gratification to have the image so well received. Huge big thank you TO YOU ALL!!!

Colin Tobin, 9 months ago

Wow Paul, this is on hell of an excellent and powerful tryptich. Your images convey your theme perfectly. This would be understoodeven without the included discription.

Kurt Tutschek, 9 months ago

fantastic combination of shots – a very impressive tryptich. beautiful work, Paul!

Chris Kuck, 9 months ago

great work !!!!! love it divided into 3’s

sweetscent62, 9 months ago

Great work Paul : ) I saw the images similar to Billyboy and Susan… as the soul ..perhaps a newborn…the man..and then the hardening that comes from living in this world being the armour that we all carry as protection. Wendy

fracturedfotos, 9 months ago

Definitely a piece of art. Love this Paul!!

jotography, 9 months ago

..the more clothed we are, the darker the spirit. Brilliant and powerful work.

Birgitta, 9 months ago

This is mind blowingly COOL.
Ouch!!

Suzanne German, 9 months ago

Hi again Paul…I have a bad habit of doing this….coming back again to finish the comments I start! This piece really deserves a proper comment I feel so I am going to do that.

Well…looking again at this 3-fold scene, it is absolutely a masterpiece! I mean..you have so many themes and layers and meanings running simultaneously here and it is so rich with meaning, feeling, and thought-provoking in its essence.

The first scene – beginning with the surface. The intricate detailed work on the armour which is so artistic in itself, making something that is intended to be inpenetrable, hard as steel and unyielding, delicate at the same time – a very nice touch.
The fact / notion that it (the armour) has been placed and fitted over an existing body – yours….(both figuratively and in reality when you created this work) – in other words your persona ,presents and immediate sense of strength and protection.

The second scene is open and raw and vulnerable. If the outer armour or your persona is what we see, then you have certainly allowed us in beneath the layers here – both visually and soulfully.
The way you are naked in the physical sense but also baring your self and your soul – so strong and yet so gentle – it’s truly beautiful. It speaks artistic and spiritual honesty!
It’s interesting how often the most vulnerable becomes the most strong – and how interwoven these two elements are – each containing its opposite – each unable to exist without its opposite in which it sees its reflected image and becomes what it is meant to be. (OK this has made me think deeply …a lot ...because it comes from such a very deep place in you.

The final scene….the misty, surreal and ethereal battle ground or burial place. Where the soul lays resting…but the soul being timeless, non-tangible and existing in its own reality, is not ever dead is it? So even if a soul of a man is in a distant field – even a battle field – it is still alive if you are honouring it. When I look at this amazing artwork you’ve created here Paul, I get the feeling that you have done exactly that – you have bared and honoured your soul!

This is a magnificant piece of work – powerfully spiritual and intensely real
Love it!

Suzanne

Rosalie Dale IPA, 9 months ago

Again I ‘read’ the storyboard from left to right, till I read your description. It works both ways. Stunning work.

coffeebean, 9 months ago

This is STUNNING work

Jessica Tremp, 9 months ago

came back to this…bloody hell Paul

Craig Goldsmith, 9 months ago

Masterfully crafted as always Paul, there is so much depth to this series of images. I’m very impressed.

Ruben Flanagan..., 9 months ago

Very Nice Paul,

Darren Sharp, 9 months ago

Great creation Paul you are a legend!

Travis Seale, 9 months ago

This is a very creative concept.

Tigeressly, 9 months ago

Great compostion, awesome! :-)

Daniela Reynos..., 9 months ago

Very powerful, amazing composition!

GerryMac, 9 months ago

outstanding work!

mary08, 9 months ago

Great concept, brilliant artwork !

mklau, 9 months ago

This image is just great. Like all of your work, a story emerges in the mind of the viewer…. no less than in mine. You’re a very talented artist

aner, 9 months ago

I love your work so much, its so inspiring and so original. You have work that sets itself aside from all others. So surreal just the same, I love it.

This is one of my favorite pieces of yours.

claire jones, 9 months ago

awesome image, one of my faves!

stuieD, 9 months ago

Probablt the best artist I know!!!

MuscularTeeth, 9 months ago

wow incredible series of images there. !!

NOverton, 9 months ago

very well done

paulevelin, 9 months ago

love to see your work
so inspiring

Michael J Armijo, 9 months ago

This has a unique sense of POWER to it…Great work. ;)

Winslow357, 9 months ago

Great job Paul!

Sande Elkins, 8 months ago

Exceptional! Such a strong statement and beautifully created as well.

David Robinson, 8 months ago

I think it has all been said … but adding to the comments is a pleasure – it’s a fantastic image. Moving, creative and thought provoking. And the execution is fabulous! Great title as well … working from right to left the armour is stripped away leaving the spiritual … working from left to right the armour becomes the man and transforms him into the other …. the man in the machine … the bringer of death. Well …. just another brief interpretation to add to the rest!

Helen Bascom, 8 months ago

Hmmm, very interesting work.

The armor appears to protect the body, but in reality protects the inner man, the soul, from public view. Stripped of his armor, he is like every other man. Exposed every weakness and fear.

Great work Paul.

Jan Piller, 8 months ago

Gee everybody has already said so much, doesn’t really leave anything else to be said; Except my great respect for your beautiful work here.

AQUALINA, 8 months ago

I am going to throw the cat in amongst the pigeons and forewarn you that a lot of you especially women may not like what I am going to say, but well…this is our men that we are talking about here.

When I first saw this image it touched my heart in a way that I wasn’t quite sure about. I had to think about my feelings and digest before I had what to write.
It made me feel very sad for the state of the male in our society, and it is a feeling I have often. People have been talking about him in his armour being the bringer of death, a danger to the world, an imbalance and his aggression being something that we need to get ride off.

I don’t see this image or men like that, I see men have a quality of strength, power and a very subtle but true sense of balance that needs to be free, as it is in the contact that they have with their inner essence that they find their compassion and place in the world. I think men were made to fight and to conquer, and in that place lies their protective instinct and their nurturing qualities. Take that away from them and you have an insipid man who is pussy whipped, and on trial for his so called wrongs…for being a man. We take all these things from him and then complain as women: “where are the men, they are so weak and dependent on us”! We nag them for not speaking or expressing as we list of our list of complaints…and we wonder why!

We need men to be men, as I look around in society I see the lack of men in children’s lives everywhere and it is having a huge impact on society.
Why is this? I would think that feminism would say its because men are so aggressive and don’t love their kids but I think this is so far from the truth. I personally, (and am of course being overly simplistic for arguments sake, as this is a very complex argument), but I think it is because men can no longer be men, as women have taken over and stripped them of their balls along with the armour in an endeavour to over power them. It has been said by feminists that men fear the power of the womb and the vagina, but I also would say that women have a serious case of penis envy, and now the pendulum has swung back the other way.

Give me a man who is wild and free, who wears his suit of armour and battles for his ideals, his family and his country. Men no longer have anything to fight for, and feel they don’t have a purpose or ‘fit’, and so we are loosing them and our boys in the process, (look at suicide & road crash statistics, in fact look everywhere). Without our men our boys cant be boys and cant grow up to be the men we need them to be, strong independent and self-sufficient, and ready to fight for what is right and what they believe in.
I frequently see women say its so aggressive what boys do in the play yard…they shouldn’t fight or be rough and no swords or guns as its just not right!!! We have taken the identities of boys and men along with their armour.

This is our men, and we need to fight for them and their freedom as women, as in doing this we will understand the completeness of our femininity.

Go the mighty PENIS…!!!

AQUALINA, 8 months ago

and as an add: to tie it back into the image and what you Paul maybe have consciously or unconsciously stated but has not really been noted in the comments so far:

if you strip away the armour, then the man, you may only find a distant landscape bearing his soul.

and what is seen on that landscape, nothing.

As you can see there is not much left when we take away his role!

Bless men and their simplicity.

Paul Vanzella in reply to AQUALINA’s comment, 8 months ago

Wow – this just blew me away… what an amazing retort and incredible perspective… Brilliant!

Velia Specchio, 8 months ago

Saint George where is your dragon?.....Love this evolution of character..power..

Amanda Hammock, 7 months ago

Absolutely love this. I have nothing deep or introspective to say other then brilliant.

Jaeda DeWalt, 7 months ago

This self-portrait is outstanding Paul!
Thought provoking and visually captivating, with poetic words -
that beckon to the soul.

but if you strip away the armour, then the man, you may only find a distant landscape bearing his soul. W O W

Jean M. Laffitau, 7 months ago

WOW! Fascinating!

Larasolnishko, 6 months ago

How strange, I missed that triptych image. It is very powerful but very simple piece of Art. I amused again and again how lovely females balanced male’s energy. Aqualina wrote things which verbally stimulate thinking. I love females on red bubbles; many of them have opened to themselves there amassing writing talents.
I think many women lost the art to be female and allowed man lead and rule the every day living. The happy couple is the one, where female is fine artist of relationship.
I wish Paul will create one more image, where female is a neck and man is her head.
It is her job trying to be flexible, turn him from left to right, allowed him to see things which only females soul can observed.

Paul Vanzella in reply to Larasolnishko’s comment, 6 months ago

wow – love your insight into this piece… thank you for commenting!

Ben Herman, 4 months ago

good sequence, can imagine it in a film.

Paul Vanzella in reply to Ben Herman’s comment, 4 months ago

thanks ben. one of my favourite concepts… love your comment!

Selina Trevorah, 4 months ago

Tha capture, the freedom, the desolation, the chest. Love it and instant fave

Paul Vanzella in reply to Selina Trevorah’s comment, 4 months ago

wow Selina, thanks for th emphatic comment – love it! Thank you!

Michael Morrison, 2 months ago

love this tryptic work..the concept, statement, the text…excellent work.

Anthea Slade, about 1 month ago

This work is breathtaking and emotionally intense. Love the bold, raw and powerful impact of the work and the narrative that flows through the three images and etches in the imagination way beyond the viewing. Achingly beautiful Paul.