APPstract RESULT: Weekly APPstract #6 No Theme

:lmao: In my Hons year I read Remembrance of things past in French. By which I mean I ‘pronounced’ the words in my head, admired the look of them, and wondered wtf most of them meant. (Because of course I know about five words of French). I thought Proust deserved the respect , or I deserved the experience or something. I tried with Foucault as well, and although I gave up after two pages of Archaeology of Knowledge, I’m fairly confident that it would have been no harder to read it in French (or Greek or Swahili) than it was to read it in English.

Edit: Volume 1 of ROTP only. But I read every word of it :)
I tried Foucault’s Pendulum in my 30s when I fancied I had the potential to be an intellectual but failed miserably. Clearly well above my level. Give me Lee Child any day :lmao:.
 
I keep coming back to this. Brilliant.
Thanks. I was amazed with a bit of messing with the controls how much I could do with Trigraphy. Much more complex than at first meets the eye.

Actually, I quite liked the plain version without the squares but it didn’t seem abstract enough. I used IC Brush>Clone to get the squares.
 
2001
IMG_3128.JPG

iColorama, Superimpose X, Shift, Matter, Pixlr, Lory Stripes
This one is actually semi-intentional, in that I started with a door, wanting it to be some kind of galactic portal, threw in a star child, and like Jen, have another 50 iterations in my camera roll.
 
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Here’s my Winter impression. The second image I set out to make.
35A30CD6-A309-45FD-8D02-96CC4ED143C7.jpeg

I couldn’t find the winter scene I visualized so I had to make it from 4 pictures. This was all Affinity Photo. Then I added the frost as the 5th layer but instead of applying it directly I made it into a High Pass layer and applied it as an overlay with Linear Light. Then looked for a frosty thing in Painnt to run it through. Painnt required another version of the frosted version with reduced frost effect, otherwise Painnt overwhelmed it so I couldn’t make out the snowy trees. This outcome comes very close to my original mental image.
 
2001
View attachment 120860
iColorama, Superimpose X, Shift, Matter, Pixlr, Lory Stripes
This one is actually semi-intentional, in that I started with a door, wanting it to be some kind of galactic portal, threw a star child, and like Jen, have another 50 iterations in my camera roll.

Love it. And the 50 iterations :D Do you have at least 10 that you really like, that, because of a subtle (or not) shift in light or colour or texture, are all taking the image in different directions ? :lmao:

PS: you probably know that Autocollage is a good way to show us some versions if you don’t feel like posing 50 images :D
 
Here’s my Winter impression. The second image I set out to make.
View attachment 120874
I couldn’t find the winter scene I visualized so I had to make it from 4 pictures. This was all Affinity Photo. Then I added the frost as the 5th layer but instead of applying it directly I made it into a High Pass layer and applied it as an overlay with Linear Light. Then looked for a frosty thing in Painnt to run it through. Painnt required another version of the frosted version with reduced frost effect, otherwise Painnt overwhelmed it so I couldn’t make out the snowy trees. This outcome comes very close to my original mental image.

I’m really impressed that you have produced something very close to your origibal mental image ! :notworthy: :thumbs: :notworthy:
 
2001
View attachment 120860
iColorama, Superimpose X, Shift, Matter, Pixlr, Lory Stripes
This one is actually semi-intentional, in that I started with a door, wanting it to be some kind of galactic portal, threw a star child, and like Jen, have another 50 iterations in my camera roll.
I certainly know about this 50 iterations. That happens to me with Decim8 and aremaC.
 
This idea of planning an abstract for a weekly challenge was new for me. On reflection, I wouldn’t do it again with a (not very long, taking into account work and other deadlines - which, although obviously not as pressing, still pay the mortgage).

The main difference I noticed between following a plan and following the canvas, sotospeak, was how anxious I got when something didn’t work ACCORDING TO THE PLAN!!! :lmao: Normally if something goes wrong I either work with it (if it’s an interesting-looking mistake) or ditch it and start again (if it’s not).

This image isn’t how I imagined it, there’s a few things I’m not happy with (again, wouldn’t matter so much if I wasn’t WORKING TO A PLAN!!! :p ) but I’m working all day Friday and after all this I’m going to put up an image, dammit.

The montage below shows about 1/4 of the saved steps, but the basics are shown: my own bg (SketchClub, Pixlr, Formulas), some elements from SketchClub, more from Mixerpiece, then mainly blending and erasing and overlaying in Repix Union Formulas and SnapSeed.

So thanks FundyBrian for the idea - I’ve learned something more about the story I have in my head about “me and art”.


View attachment 120843
I love looking at all the bits you put together.
 
I tried Foucault’s Pendulum in my 30s when I fancied I had the potential to be an intellectual but failed miserably. Clearly well above my level. Give me Lee Child any day :lmao:.

Umberto Eco is a great writer, but F’s Pendulum was too dense & complex for me. Name of the Rose was more accessible, but I still had to skip great swathes of dense prose — and thus completely missed great swathes of the plot :oops:

I reckon Salman Rushdie is a much better indicator, Ann - have you read Midnight’s Children or Shame? Bliss :)
 
I love looking at all the bits you put together.

I thought I was being terribly clever saving the Mixerpiece elements one by one from my canvas onto my camera roll. Then I had an even better idea!!! Save them onto transparencies!! Then you won’t have to spend hours masking them on to your image!
Amazing insight, if I say so myself :rolleyes: o_O
 
Thanks. I was amazed with a bit of messing with the controls how much I could do with Trigraphy. Much more complex than at first meets the eye.

Actually, I quite liked the plain version without the squares but it didn’t seem abstract enough. I used IC Brush>Clone to get the squares.

Between you and Glenton Rodolfo, I realise I need to look at Trigraphy again.

And I would love to see the without squares version.

(And I have at least seven Lee Child novels in my iBooks :lmao: )
 
After my failed “barn” idea ( not failed, just set aside for a re-think) and continuing to follow the thread, I realized that planning an abstract out specifically may not be realistic. Working from a theme, another thing I’ve never tried with abstracts, until this challenge, is not only do-able but inspirational, at has been least for me.


Also this has reminded me of a game I play when I’m waiting for something that will take a while. I take 3-5 photos in the room, maybe a central image, a texture and something with lighting. Then I wreck. layer, blend and mask away. I guess that would be planning. And it helps pass the time.


My point is that this thread has been very enlightening for me.

Thank you, Brian.

But don’t let it go to your head....
 
Would you say that the majority of abstracts are simply “throwing paint at the canvas” with no idea whatever of what the result will be? Even the throwing of paint at a canvas has some selection of colours and more or less where on the canvas the blobs land. It must be more than looking for artistically splatted bird droppings. Probably some overall wash of background colours first.
When I read this I was immediately reminded of this comic from last Sunday.

A7D41BA1-19F4-4630-8BEC-76AC6A4A9DFD.gif
 
Love it. And the 50 iterations :D Do you have at least 10 that you really like, that, because of a subtle (or not) shift in light or colour or texture, are all taking the image in different directions ? :lmao:

PS: you probably know that Autocollage is a good way to show us some versions if you don’t feel like posing 50 images :D
Here’s another way to show multitudinous iterations. A screenshot in the camera roll.
B3FCE364-1437-44D3-BCBF-350FCD168CC7.jpeg
 
After my failed “barn” idea ( not failed, just set aside for a re-think) and continuing to follow the thread, I realized that planning an abstract out specifically may not be realistic. Working from a theme, another thing I’ve never tried with abstracts, until this challenge, is not only do-able but inspirational, at has been least for me.


Also this has reminded me of a game I play when I’m waiting for something that will take a while. I take 3-5 photos in the room, maybe a central image, a texture and something with lighting. Then I wreck. layer, blend and mask away. I guess that would be planning. And it helps pass the time.


My point is that this thread has been very enlightening for me.

Thank you, Brian.

But don’t let it go to your head....
:thumbs: And :lmao:
 
Love it. And the 50 iterations :D Do you have at least 10 that you really like, that, because of a subtle (or not) shift in light or colour or texture, are all taking the image in different directions ? :lmao:

PS: you probably know that Autocollage is a good way to show us some versions if you don’t feel like posing 50 images :D
They’re more minor variations than branchings out.
D464CF69-30F8-48F3-8C1D-BF217A0D3DFF.png
634058A5-59E1-41FB-A3C0-E6ED282BC6E4.png
 
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