Tree of Duality - Process

I was recently asked by a member of the shadowness.com art community to do a short interview based on this particular piece. I've also included a step by step process image of the piece below the interview.

1.What is special about this piece?

This piece features some iconic imagery such as the vesica piscis, which is all about duality. In front of the ‘entrance’ you will find a dark figured statue and a light figured statue, which is also a play on duality. You will also find subtle foreboding skulls within the patterns of the leaves, this gives you the sense that there is death and darkness within this tree which is so colorful and full of life.

2.Did you choose, or were you chosen to create this artwork?

I chose to create this piece. It was a personal painting that I completed in between freelance gigs.

3.Tell us about your techniques.What steps do you follow when you create a new artwork? Do you have a real plan or set up?

This piece was very experimental and spontaneous. It actually started out as a photoshop document where I was simply testing the texture of a new brush I had created. Something about the pattern in this ‘test’ canvas spoke to me and it just evolved from there.

4.Where did you found your inspiration about this artwork?

At the time I was recalling a sacred geometry class I took a year earlier in college and that is what inspired the vesica piscis idea. The idea for the large tree came out

of the randomness of the texture, similar to rorschach ink blot tests. This was also created during the fall, so that must have fed a lot of the inspiration, subliminally at least.

5.How do you feel about the feedback and the response you received?Do you care?or do you like to figure it out all by yourself?

I always enjoy feedback when I’m creating artwork. It allows me to get another set of eyes looking at the piece and to see what an outsiders opinion might be. I feel that my feedback and overall response was very positive with this piece in mind. I’m certain that this piece in particular played a key role in me getting work with one of my current clients.

6.What is the strangest or funniest comment or question you've ever gotten about this artwork?Do you keep previous comments or critiques in mind for your future works or do you just go your own way?

The most common question I get goes something like this “I don't know whether it's me but are there meant to be skulls made from leaves?”

I always keep critiques in mind. I showed this painting to a handful of professional artists, which I highly admire, and revisited the piece once I was able to. The image you currently see is the revised version.