What's going on in this artwork?

Anthony Quinn January 2023

Trees or portals?

These Scribbly Gums are native to Mt Kuringai. Split trunks suggest thresholds to 'the other world', a place outside of time.

Buried alive, or sleeping peacefully cradled by trees?

Is he reaching out for something?

I asked Dalle-e 2 to generate "a line drawing of a buried man whose arms are the roots of a tall gnarled tree"...

Working with an  'AI assistant' isn't as fluid as developing ideas with pen and paper.

This AI generated imagery is too crude. It also lacks a sense of place. The blank face was also a surprising detail. I'm still exploring AI's role in art. 

Early sketches, testing mood, key story elements  and composition

Serpentine branches push through cracks and crevices, twining around each other, rising toward sun, moon and stars

Arrow
Arrow
Arrow
Arrow

Asymmetrical balance takes your eyes for a  walk...

I invest weeks of careful attention to real-world detail, to create works that are fantastical, yet grounded in somehow familiar reality

The Other World

What next?

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