Blue Belle

Yesterday I woke up in a certain mood, one that comes so seldom. My imagination was just bursting with ideas. I could clearly see at least five fully developed ideas, as though they were already alive and complete on the ‘digital canvas’. But school began at 8:30 a.m. and didn’t finish until 5 p.m. Even while walking to the bus stop, every thing around me seemed different. Colors appeared sharper, every tree appeared distinct and alive, with intense colors and personality. I saw one tree with twisted tree roots that looked like a human figure curled on the ground, contorted with dispair. Seeing this evoked even more ideas. I could clearly see each finished piece before my eyes and it was painful having to waste such a mood on mundane technical studies (I had an exam and to complete a finished project on building a database).

I arrived home late in the evening and began working on this image. The sparkle that I’ve placed in her hair and in the water was one of those happy accidents. I was reaching for one of the Blending Modes when my fingers slipped and I chose Dissolve instead of Screen. I liked the effect. The background / foreground is built from at least 25 or more bits pieces. The woman is made of 20 or more pieces. When I’m working, I add layer upon layer and continue blending, burning, dodging, coloring, liquifying, and adding, a continuous process until I create the exact scene that I have in mind. This one took about 14 hours to complete.