THE ART OF
THE SOUL STILL BREATHES
CURATED FOR EXHIBITION AT BITCOIN SUMMIT
AUGUST 27-29, 2025 | HONG KONG
Birdsong drifts in like a memory of peace, softening the edges of madness and reminding me–the soul still breathes.
Deep inside our dreams, the constructs of our minds attempt to contain us. Built from a collection of imagery captured and abstraction strokes, there is truth within.
The Soul Still Breathes
was born from the moment I stood on that lookout watching the sun disappear behind the Laurentian Mountains from within the confines of the beautiful lower Quebec City. It is a destination filled with warm hearts and bright smiles. A reminder that diversity in language and culture enriches us all. This was the summer of 2023. Smoke filled the skyline many days as a result of yet another year of growing wildfires that were out of control. Let's dissect the art of
The Soul Still Breathes...
GENESIS
The genesis of The Soul Still Breathes began with this inspiration sunset that I captured in Southern Manitoba, Canada in 2023.
LAYER 001
Using the original source image, this abstraction was generated within Photoshop using a special masking technique.
SOURCE
This sunset was captured Quebec City during the summer of 2023 while overlooking the Laurentian Mountains.
LAYER 002
Hue blend was applied to the sunset layer above as the artwork begins to take shape.
SOURCE
The same Quebec City sunset was then used again on the subsequent layer to further mold the background abstraction.
LAYER 003
The Quebec City sunset was used the second time to add in the dark silhouette and tones with Multiply blend.
SOURCE
This dark red background was applied to push the entire colour scope to blacks and reds.
LAYER 004
Vivid Light blend was used with the dark red background to capture a vivid black and red textured base.
SOURCE
On the same evening as the first sunset photograph, this was imaged. An ethereal layer to add.
LAYER 005
Colour Dodge blend was used to open up the tonality hidden in the dark siege of the previous. The sun now shining behind the mist. The face has become prominent.
SOURCE
Repurposing the same sunset that built layer 005, I flipped it upside down in order to bring light and tonality.
LAYER 006
Divide blend was applied to the monochrome sunset layer. We are now building open light for the return of colour in the top center portion.
SOURCE
The original abstraction from layer 001 is now going to be used to add back in muted colour.
LAYER 007
Darker Colour blend at reduced opacity brought back a muted colour palette details and dimensionality to the face.
SOURCE
This layer has a simple purpose. A bit of yellow for warmth.
LAYER 008
Saturation blend with the light yellow swatch was added a touch of warm saturation to create the final sweet cherry perma to perfection.
SOURCE
The final component was to add the birds in migration. This was crop of a photograph I took in 2023 at Fort Whyte Alive.
FINAL
Divide blend at reduced opacity superimposed the birds as a final touch for the story in finding peace in the journey. I wanted to retain a mixed media feel.
Nine (9) layers interact via blends to shape the final artwork.
Watch The Preview Video
➡️
Below is a detail view from a small section of the original full resolution artwork prior to the resizing required for Bitcoin Ordinal Inscription. The birds drift slowly over the sun searching for peace and that moment to breathe. The Sunset is from Quebec City and the birds are superimposed from a migration night at Fort Whyte Alive in Manitoba, Canada.
In The Soul Still Breathes, structures of memory and imagination rise and dissolve within an atmosphere charged with tension. A muted sun hangs low, its light unsettling yet irresistible, casting the landscape in shades that feel both apocalyptic and transcendent.
The composition draws from layered photographic elements and an abstract textural archive, merging to create a dreamlike terrain where the boundaries of reality blur. A silhouetted spire and drifting birds punctuate the scene–symbols of resilience and fragile continuity in a world seemingly unravelled.
Colour serves as both narrative and emotion: reds swell with urgency, at once sweet and perilous, while blues descend into oceanic depths of stillness and uncertainty. A Face and forms emerge from the abstraction, ghostlike reminders of the self we must confront within moments of disquiet.
Amidst this intensity, a sense of quiet persists. The flight of birds and the imagined echo of song offer reprieve, softening the weight of the vision and opening space for renewal. The work speaks to endurance, to the persistence of life and spirit even when submerged in chaos.
It is here—between fracture and sanctuary—that the reminder lingers: the soul still breathes.
The 4 images used in composition of
The Soul Still Breathes
are shown in preview below.
