EMBRYO
A painting by Jim Thompson
Digital 16”x20”
See actual detail.
The rather serendipitous creation of this subject has an interesting history. The elements used to create it are almost as strange as the subject itself. The theme is the birth of one planet from another, very much in the fashion of a human or animal embryo forming in some strange womb, perhaps of immense proportions. It appears to be in an environment composed of very similar elements and substances.
The origin of these strange and colorful shapes and environments comes from a familiar object in the real world, an object often found around happy occasions and familiar activities. The background is actually an enhanced photographic reproduction of an agate-colored toy balloon. The pigments in the agate-like color patterns have the appearance of random, natural and somewhat chaotic liquid and gaseous environments. The surface of the balloon used for the elements was photographed from various angles and the whole balloon was used as the larger planet.
The theme of the image became more apparent almost by chance. By inverting and reducing the size of a copy of the larger balloon, the smaller copy gave the appearance of a child of some larger parent planet. When the smaller balloon shape was attached to the larger one as if by some cosmic umbilical cord, it gave the appearance of a rare and strange planetary birth. The resulting shapes seemed naturally at home in the similar textured and colored environment.
Cosmic icons such as nebulas and gaseous clouds were a natural entry into the mix by some manipulation of the background color and shapes. Allowing the gaseous environment to slightly overlap some of the planet added extra dimension and the illusion that the planets were actually mingled in with the surrounding gaseous forms and shapes, as though actually embedded in the environment and being formed out of it. A slight atmosphere was added to the larger planet to suggest that it is in some early stage of development. Surface detail and relief was enhanced by use of an emboss effect.
Art, Mind and Soul
Artist and creator
Also see Jim Thompson's technical art web site at www.jt-techart.com