Digital Transformation of Artworks

I had painted Canadian landscapes in oils on canvas for well over a decade, when I began digitally transforming images of some of my past oil/canvas landscapes, taking into account aspects of chaos theory and using digital tools of different capabilities to ‘re-paint’ the image.

Prairie after the rain, near Bonnyville, Alberta (on canvas 36 x 48 inches)

In the creation process, I first paint a picture of the subject in oils or acrylics in my usual style, then capture the image in digital form. Then begins the work of transforming the image, patch by patch, using ‘digital brushes’ which have different algorithms. After the digital transformation, the image is produced by a specialized form of inkjet onto a suitable surface—canvas, paper or other media. Then I paint the transformed picture over, where required, using acrylic paints to deepen the colours. As a final measure, I add texture and surface protection by applying acrylic gel.

Sweet Clover, east of Peace River

After Harvest, east of Peace River, AB

Pond in Stream at Buffalo Lake, Alberta (canvas 24×30 inches)

I’ve learned not to add any features during the digital working of the image, such as new shapes, lines or colours. The energy patterns flowing through the new image transcend human-recognizable dimensions of the world, proposing surprising arrangements and transitions. Sometimes, strange creatures emerge from the vegetation, the water or the sky. Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s kids who easily discover strange figures lurking about the digitally transformed landscapes—forms and shapes previously undetected by the artist!

Rough Pasture, near Lethbridge, Alberta

Birchy Trail, near Onoway, Alberta, October

The result is an original piece of art. No copies will be made. Apart from a small jpeg file for records, the digital files will be destroyed.

Spruce Bog near Bigstone Lake, Wabasca, Alberta (on canvas, 24×30 inches)

Developing the above process has given me an entire new interest in landscape subjects I have visited and painted many times before. In exploring the mystery of a northern spruce bog, the activity of a prairie slough or the diaphanous colours of a prairie dawn, the process yields new ideas and possibilities–colours, shapes, changing relationships among pixels of an image and of an ecosystem as well.

Roadside Slough, Highway 28 near Redwater, Alberta

The following 3 pieces originated from the same ‘source’ painting of a prairie scene near Clairesholme, Alberta:

Afternoon on Prairie near Clairesholme, Alberta (canvas 24×48 inches)

Stormy Weather arriving, near Clairesholme, Alberta (canvas 24×48 inches)

Late Evening on Prairie near Clairesholme, Alberta (canvas 30×60 inches)

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How the Videos are Created

The new digital ‘painting’ is strikingly different from the original oil/acrylic painting. The result of a single move in the transforming process is typically unpredictable, as I have only limited control of what emerges from the complex mathematics of the tool.

Each of the four videos began with an oil painting as it was being transformed, from the original painting, through the different transformations, then back to the original. Each moment throughout the video can be captured and produced on canvas as a high resolution artwork. I’ve produced such images as large as 40 x 80 inches, with great detail and amazing colour.

See the page “Art in Motion” which shows all four videos.