Monday, October 17, 2022
Invasion Murals
Three years ago I was asked to paint two murals for the control center of a Japanese space agency, called JASA, in an upcoming Apple TV+ series. I was told little else. They were supposed to start filming soon, so I only had a week to paint each piece. I painted them at a sizable 44 inches wide and from there the images were blown up and printed at about 13 feet wide on the set. I later learned that the show was titled, Invasion. It was certainly a fun project to be a part of, though the murals appear only briefly in the show. The concept and design of the aliens that appear in the series is quite interesting and unique.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Cosmic Awareness
Another new full size painting from an earlier study, on it's way to the IX Art Show next week!
"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself"
-Carl Sagan
We are products of 13.8 billion years evolution and we are part of this universe, not simply within it.
First, from an incredibly hot and dense beginning, simple atoms of hydrogen and helium had to form as space expanded and cooled. Before a planet could evolve life, these simple atoms had to form stars that would fuse heavier elements. These stars had to burn out in violent explosions that would seed new solar systems like ours with the elements necessary for life. After more than 9 billion years of cosmic evolution, our planet formed and began to evolve life. In this little corner at least, we are the first parts of the universe with the ability to look out at the night sky and understand it. We are the universe coming to know itself.
For me, the meaning of this painting is two fold. There is the meaning expressed above, that we are a part of the universe which has gained consciousness and is experiencing other parts of the universe. But I feel this painting also expresses something about the Cosmic Perspective series more broadly. Having the curiosity to look out and learn about the universe in which we find ourselves is an awakening experience: It's staggeringly vast. Our little sand grain of a planet is the only hospitable place within at least several lightyear's distance. This understanding puts things in perspective, our daily problems seem smaller, our culturally diverse human family feels a little closer, and fighting within it looks even more foolish.
This is what the Cosmic Perspective series in intended to remind us of.
"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself"
-Carl Sagan
We are products of 13.8 billion years evolution and we are part of this universe, not simply within it.
First, from an incredibly hot and dense beginning, simple atoms of hydrogen and helium had to form as space expanded and cooled. Before a planet could evolve life, these simple atoms had to form stars that would fuse heavier elements. These stars had to burn out in violent explosions that would seed new solar systems like ours with the elements necessary for life. After more than 9 billion years of cosmic evolution, our planet formed and began to evolve life. In this little corner at least, we are the first parts of the universe with the ability to look out at the night sky and understand it. We are the universe coming to know itself.
For me, the meaning of this painting is two fold. There is the meaning expressed above, that we are a part of the universe which has gained consciousness and is experiencing other parts of the universe. But I feel this painting also expresses something about the Cosmic Perspective series more broadly. Having the curiosity to look out and learn about the universe in which we find ourselves is an awakening experience: It's staggeringly vast. Our little sand grain of a planet is the only hospitable place within at least several lightyear's distance. This understanding puts things in perspective, our daily problems seem smaller, our culturally diverse human family feels a little closer, and fighting within it looks even more foolish.
This is what the Cosmic Perspective series in intended to remind us of.
 |
| Oil, 30 x 24 inches |
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Magnetosphere
This new painting from an earlier study will be coming with me to the IX art show, Oct 19-23!
In addition to the beneficial warmth and light we receive daily, our sun expels a constant wave of dangerous charged particles called the solar wind. When solar storms occur, flares and coronal mass ejections can be thrown our way at speeds of millions of kilometers per hour. Luckily, movements within earths molten metal core generate a protective magnetic shield around our home planet. Without our magnetosphere to protect us, the solar wind may have long ago stripped away our atmosphere, leaving Earth looking much more like Mars looks today: barren, dry, and lifeless.
Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about our magnetosphere, but it’s one of the many extraordinary things that make life possible on our little world.
In addition to the beneficial warmth and light we receive daily, our sun expels a constant wave of dangerous charged particles called the solar wind. When solar storms occur, flares and coronal mass ejections can be thrown our way at speeds of millions of kilometers per hour. Luckily, movements within earths molten metal core generate a protective magnetic shield around our home planet. Without our magnetosphere to protect us, the solar wind may have long ago stripped away our atmosphere, leaving Earth looking much more like Mars looks today: barren, dry, and lifeless.
Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about our magnetosphere, but it’s one of the many extraordinary things that make life possible on our little world.
 |
| Oil, 30 x 24 in |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)