Einstein

Some artists take their art very seriously and leave all shreds of humor out at any cost. For me, I like to mix some humor in when I can, especially when you consider the subject matter of my latest die-cut paper art. Albert Einstein did groundbreaking work in the field of physics, and yet one of his best known portraits was one of him sticking his tongue out. This type of dichotomy definitely appeals to me, and that’s why I chose to abstract it. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Einstein, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Hitchcock

While Salvador Dalí had won the Facebook poll last month of who I should make a topographic art of next, the runner up was famed film director Alfred Hitchcock. As I’m constantly trying to evolve this process of converting photos into layers of die-cut paper, this render fell somewhere between Dali and Satchelmouth in terms of complexity. I also played around with using more of the metallic papers. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Hitchcock, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Salvador Dalí

After doing a quick poll on Facebook of who I should make a topographic art of next, the winner was surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. With this piece, I decided to try rendering the shadow areas of the image as the top layer and the highlight at the bottom layer. This made the image slightly more abstracted when viewing close-up, but had the real payoff from about 12 feet away. I also went a little smoother on the details of the shapes as compared to Satchelmouth, which helps with the close-up abstraction (and my sanity!). Overall, a fun subject and project. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Salvador Dalí, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Satchelmouth

In our ongoing series of converting photos into topographic maps, the next subject has a roundabout quality. Last summer, Sharon and I went to New Orleans and visited Mardi Gras World, where most of the parade floats are made. Anyway, we took lots of photos there, and I took one of a cartoon caricature head of Louis Armstrong that had great chiaroscuro… which of course, works great for the topographic effect. While a mild fan of jazz, this isn’t a tribute in any way, I don’t even own any songs by ol’ Satchmo. But inspiration can come from all sources. In this case, I loved the expression of the caricature and as you can see below, made for an enjoyable piece of art. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Satchelmouth, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Time Lapse – “Russian Blue” Art

We decided to do a time lapse as we put together “Russian Blue”. This artwork is based on a photograph of our cat Hudson who recently passed away.

Find stills of the artwork in our previous post titled Russian Blue.

“Russian Blue”

Our second transformation of a photo into a topographic paper image comes with a heavy heart. Hudson the cat, the source matter of the piece, passed away this past week from complications of feline heart disease. This was a huge blow to the Somrod studio as Hudson was an important part of our lives. She will be greatly missed, but we hope this artistic tribute can help her stay just a little closer to our hearts. Thanks for viewing.

“Russian Blue”, 12 x 12″, archival paper.