Aesthetic Essences #12

 
Diving through the pools of artistry that laps along the trails of digital landscapes I’ve come across the following works of art. Appreciate them and admire the aesthetic essences found within. If you’re confused about the sources, the Artist name goes to the gallery where each image comes from.
 
 
{Artist}: Rafael Damiani
 
Rafael has a great series of works depicting many areas of Middle Earth, from the Lord of the Rings universe, which express his range of technique regarding the aspects of painting and core structure of building dimensional perspective in the composition. He certainly could go in depth with more detail in each work, but each one stands on its own with having enough descriptive aspects to exist as some realized object. I enjoy these landscapes quite a bit and hope you do too! Give Rafael your love and appreciation, check out his gallery for more works.
 

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Bree
 

 
I appreciate artist’ who try to use Dusk as the setting for their scene. Dusk is interesting because it creates this sheen of orange/red light which covers the entire landscape, while giving strong contrast with there being less volume to the light itself. This is a great way to build strong contrast, which is evident in this piece. The framing of the tree on the right and the hill below helps to push back the valleys below to build that depth, along with the mountain ridge on the left-side. All the small details makes the city feel alive as it prepares for the night. I feel so comfy looking at this, as I imagine you would too with respect to Dusky settings. Get an aromatic pale ale, some kraut & wurst and take a load off.
 

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Midgewater Marsh
 

 
Slightly different yet akin to the piece before this, Midgewater Marsh has a comforting feel to it that comes less from a warming dusk-sky and more from the soft trees, moderately lush grasses and that sea-foam green colour than lathers the mid-ground. These works of Rafael are similar in their apt use of light, texture and shape to really build up the dimensionality. Having small pieces of the composition dancing with each other while being of different hues and values really makes the image more interesting to look at while also invoking that humanizable touch. This piece reminds me of some classic artworks depicting the country side, really detailing all the little aspects of nature which brings forth a sense of unified calm. One can feel at home in a place like this.
 

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Khazad Dum
 

 
This work is quite peculiar, in that at first glance it may appear overly dark and void of any real subject matter. I chose this to display how powerful a good use of perspective can be in regards to developing the space within the composition. Having that deep expression of depth going down the row of trees, showing each trunk and sprawling limbs going up into the ceiling, builds up the space without doing all too much and gives us the idea of how large this area is. I dig the excavated hole with the orange light and smidgen of textures. A simple composition brought up to excellence in a straight forward manner.
 

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Caras Galadhon
 

 
You’d think Rafael did only dark and contrasting pieces, but this work is super bright! As soft and simple as his landscapes are, you get just enough dimensional aspects to feel the objects in the scene. It’s important to show scale in your canvas, so having some smaller trees and other bits of flora helps spread out the similar energy and shape across the composition. The structures and surface pattern on the tree trunks brings out more interesting subjects to the work, although my favorite aspect is that peach-flavored foilage at the top giving a soft and palatable cushion. I dig the serene vibe that emanates from the scene, it feels accepting and desirable to visit.
 
 
{Artist}: Tero Porthan
 
I really enjoy the symbols, ideas and themes Tero utilizes in his art. Shamans, witches, re-animated beasts, haughtily devious mythological creatures that express deep allegorical stories. I love the fins and hope to visit finland some day, and I’m glad to see some artists from that area doing so well as Tero :D With a strong grasp on the core and intermediate aspects of artistry, Tero has a lot of potential and I’m stoked to see what else he’ll bring us. Please give him your thoughts and appreciation!
 

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Poisoned Arrow of the Witch
 

 
Such a soft and deep background, gives way to some thoughtful ideas when combined with the witch-effigy in the front. The contrast created by the highly dimensional subject matter and the muted background emerges a dualistic composition that feeds off each other to develop a completed work. I respect this. The anatomy and proportion are done well, along with building an interesting and vicious subject to entice the viewer; the fangs dripping onto the tiny horned skull, the staff going off canvas and the snake coiling around the hand and arm. Such moody works are very evocative and do so with such minute gestures.
 

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Goblins’ Elk
 

 
Forever and always I’ll mention the importance of movement in a composition and how it brings about greater intensity and interest to the work as a whole. The slightest inclination of movement is good enough, as we can see from the dust clouds at the feet of the re-animated-druidic-elk-beast, along with the pose it has itself in. Stellar job here Tero. Upon digging into the aesthetic of this piece, I found an idea which emerges forth as a chimera of undead creatures merged with some forest elemental or druidic spell. Imagine instead of bone, it was bark, and you had further druidic symbols and shapes imbibed with the creature; its general visage would remain that of an undead beast, but it’s actual texture and features would be more akin to a forest elemental. The minute details and framing ascends this to a higher level.
 

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Girl Shaman of the North
 

 
This lady is like a damn dark souls character hah, she’s got that awesome armor set I’d love to wear :P Beyond that, the total composition of the character is quite striking and done very well. While not ornate in the usual way you’d think, there is some robust feeling to all the detailed aspects of her garb: the bone headress, necklaces of fetishes, chain belt with feathers. Us usual the anatomy and proportions are on-point, though her facial expression is a tad deadpan. Having those skeletons covered by snow in the mid-ground really amps up the dark mood that Tero often utilizes in these works. Snowy landscapes are always a joy as you can really play with the values and all the minute forms that appear in the snowy slopes on mountains and hills.
 

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Birth of Diseases
 

 
Highly grotesque, the actual womben source of bizarre and malignant creatures that rot the earth. The pose is interesting in this, as she’s sort of awkwardly sitting in such a manner to express discomfort which then discomforts the viewer. It’s a testament of will and a statement by the artist to create works like this, as it’s so intense and uncomfortable to look at that the mere idea of enjoying something like this fails to land on two feet. Dark themes abound, something like this doesn’t surprise me and I really vibe with the variety of creatures that are seemingly protecting and protruding from the ghastly mother figure.
 
 
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Further reading and references for developing Art techniques.
 
the /ic/ Wiki. Lots of info to get started with. https://sites.google.com/site/ourwici/
 
This is a download containing more resources. https://www.mediafire.com/?i44dwzkf9j9n8