Wednesday 4 September 2013

The Green Giant has been scanned


'The Green Giant', 2013, J R Shepherd © (Coffea arabica - The Coffee Plant)



Plus, if you were intersted in the coffee thing, there is a delightful little blog post about a book called 'The Berry That Changed World', which was published in 1898 and is all about the history of Coffee. You can read the book online too which is pretty cool. It has loads of illustrations in it, which I actually find rather interesting to look at from a sociological point of view.

Title page of 'The Berry That Changed the World' - A book on coffee

16 comments:

  1. I'm more interested in which place scanned a large artwork!

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    1. The chap I see is Andrew at Digital Print Studio in Farringdon. He's really good at what he does and I am just seriously pleased he goes big! http://www.dprints.co.uk/contactpage.htm

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  2. The piece is very lush and fascinating with all of the different ways light plays on the leaves--fantastic!

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    1. Thanks Janene, I'm really glad you like the way the light dances around the subject. Tough to capture I can tell you. It was all sunlight- no spotlights used in this painting, just sunlight from my south facing studio.

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  3. This is so very lush, and the way the light plays on the various leaves is fascinating. Well done!

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  4. The place is filled with lots of greenery and good to scan a place filled with green plants everywhere.

    Thanks
    Finn Felton

    Kopi Luwak

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    1. Thanks Finn- glad you like it. I love green!

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    2. Hi J R Shephard
      Well it is my pleasure that i can read this information at your blog.Thanks for replying though.

      Thanks
      Finn Felton

      Kopi Luwak

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  5. I like this work in three ways:
    Light flowing directly through translucent leaves.
    Light shining across and reflecting from a whole smooth leaf surface.
    Light defining the surface form of the leaf in subtle tones.
    Truthful to the nature of the plant, revealing its beauty, with the WOW factor manifest.

    Coral Guest

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    1. Oh Coral I can't even begin to describe how much your comment means to me! I am so pleased you like this piece. Inevitably I'm grappling with bits I don't like - work never seems finished, but unlike Veneer I'm feel so aware that I need to move on and keep it fresh! With this bad boy I really tried to convey the feelings that coffee gives us when we drink it as well as the over all persona of the plant. I wanted it to look slightly aggressive and awake- ever reaching new heights and very much 'awake'. Capturing that awesome bright morning light, but also the darker depths of the caffeine crash. I also wanted to get across that feeling of how empowered this species is these days with current investments by coffee shops. This plant means big $. It's been fun, but now time for something new. I am currently thinking about chocolate... Something a little more sensual. Thank you again Coral - glad you like the light.

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  6. I look at this particular work and see that the layers of understanding in your awareness are fused into the layers of watercolour paint. This adds up to a multi-dimensional layering of technique and meaning. I would call this way of working the essence of Contemporary Botanical Art.

    The combination of natural process and magical mystery that we associate with the colour green is something not many artists have explored. I suspect this is because not many artists have held their focus totally on the colour green in a singular artwork.

    Its not easy to paint from life and sustain concentration.
    Yes,keep moving forward ..... something good is happening.

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  7. First of all I would like to say fantastic blog!
    I had a quick question which I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
    I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to
    writing. I've had trouble clearing my mind in getting
    my thoughts out there. I truly do take pleasure
    in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints?
    Thanks!

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