THE ART OF
SPIRIT ANIMAL
EXPLORING INNER STRENGTH
AND CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL WORLD
A decade in the making, Spirit Animal is the culmination of emotions and connection using photography.
Deep within our psyche, our soul yearns for connection with the natural world and those we hold closest. It seeks out love in crisis. Growing up in the Canadian Prairies, I always took note with intrigue the special connection Indigenous peoples have with the land, nature, and animals. There is great respect for all that brings life. The need to find our Spirit Animal becomes a driving force in our lives as we search for meaning and spirituality. In all things there is nothing greater than love. Is the Elk our aura or are we the soul of this Elk in a twist of narrative? Our songs echo in the forest of life waiting for reply.
--------------------------------
In times of crisis,
We seek love above all else –
Spirit Animal
----------------------------------
When creating this art piece, I was reminded of the peace I felt every time I walked by this outdoor washroom wall covering. We find solace in the oddest of places at times. Meant to blend into the forest that encapsulated it, there was a quiet connection watching the Elk and Bison together in harmony. Searching through my archives, this became the focus.
The source photography was captured over a period of 10 years (2014-2024).
Let's dissect the art of
Spirit Animal...
SOURCE
The base of the file is this abstract vector artwork I created based on a sunset where the sun was rolling on the clouds.
LAYER #1
This lays the foundation under what will become the focus of the artwork.
SOURCE
The same abstract vector artwork was used again as to affect some colour hues in the yet to be created layers.
LAYER #2
Subtract Blend was used at 100%. It might reduce the layer to black, but this lays the framework to how the next layers interact.
SOURCE
Taken in 2014, this is the exterior washroom wall in the park. Meant to blend into the nature around, it always conveyed connection to nature.
LAYER #3
Luminosity blend was used at 100%. Essentially this pulled out the colour as it reflects the colours from layer #2.
SOURCE
A colour swatch of #EBEBEB was applied.
LAYER #4
Overlay blend was used at 98%. The purpose was to brighten the tones.
SOURCE
A colour swatch of #D88C43 was applied.
LAYER #5
Hard Mix blend was used at 100%. The purpose was to bring colour, contrast and textures back where tones existed.
SOURCE
Taken during the summer of 2021, I found this sunset moment maintaining the shape of the sun and emphasis on silhouettes and purples.
LAYER #6
Linear Light blend was used at 100%. This infused the textures and colours from the sunset as we build tonality.
SOURCE
This is the same sunset from earlier layers. The difference is that it was post processed to a white balance that favoured yellow/orange/red.
LAYER #7
Average blend was used at 72%. The colour space is shifting to softer tones as blues exist and silhouettes line the lower spectrum.
SOURCE
Needing to add colour to the upper section of the art, the same purple sunset was used rotated 180 degrees with the sun placed out of view.
LAYER #8
Soft Light blend was used at 100%. This less intense version of an overlay blend builds colour in the light tones as applied.
SOURCE
The feature character was a friend photographed in 2022 on a cold winter day roadside on a barren field during a storm .
LAYER #9
Linear Burn blend was used at 100%. This added any pixel to the image that was not white when merging into the artwork.
SOURCE
A colour swatch of #005198 was applied.
LAYER #10
Colour Dodge blend was used at 100%. This enhanced any part of the artwork that contained values of blue, increasing separation.
SOURCE
In May of 2024, we experienced one of the most intense solar storms in years. I spent the late hours that night capturing the experience.
LAYER #11
Hard Light blend was used at 44%. This brought the rays prominently in the black areas giving it a mystical and spiritual aura.
SOURCE
A colour swatch of #E1E1E1 was applied.
FINAL
Reflect blend was used at 15%. This final step brightened the artwork which gave more separation to the figure in the Elk.
Twelve (12) layers interact via blends to shape the final artwork.
Watch The Preview Video
➡️
Below is a detail view from a small 100% view section of the original 4K resolution artwork. Texture and chaos lives within the tonality and colours as each image built upon the one previous to create what one could not in post processing alone.
Spirit Animal looks to connect with the observer; to give balance to outcomes as the sun burns into the horizon aflame with colour. The search to bring spirituality to the finished piece took me through years of archives, looking for the right image to bring a visible aura. It was then that I recalled the night from May 2024 where a friend and I were out all night shooting the amazing magnetic storm on a quiet country road. These moments were filled with joy, wonder and a connection to the cosmos. Perfect. To utilize an image captured that exuded the same connection that I was portraying in the current piece was what I had been searching for. Using the blend mode I did, when layered on top, the darker rich colours shone through in the black negative areas of the image. This translated into the metaphysical.
I had found the icing to the cake.
Colours once again fell into the purples and reds. I find much peace in this spectrum. Yellow makes an appearance near the original sun in an attempt to bring warmth and life to the cool calm tones. The figure remained as a silhouette as to mask the identity and keep the focus on the Elk. We are one with nature in a balanced environment. Being that he was on a snow field on a white cloudy day, only textural areas shone through which gifted some texture map depth to the lower right half quadrant without affecting the rest. The original abstract vector artwork's purpose was to allow the red/orange tones to shine through in the lower half of the art. It's hard to see that it would affect the tones as it did from the outset, but in conclusion, the role was vital. Without it, the layers remaining would have suppressed it. Reflecting on life, we see the same. Experiences we need to endure often do not reveal their purpose in the moment, yet in reflection, play invaluable parts.
Something was still missing. Cosmetically I was pleased, but that last piece of soul was absent. As it is somewhat of an homage to Indigenous peoples and their connection to nature, I needed to push harder. That is when the Aurora brought the final touch.
We need connection, community, respect and love.
The 6 images used in composition of
Spirit Animal
are referenced in preview below.
