King - Limited Edition of 1 Artwork

Based and Inspired by “Self-Portrait( 1887)" by Vincent van Gogh. For this piece I felt it was important represent Van Gogh with great sense of dignity. A dignity and respect which I don’t believe he ever received whilst alive. It brings me sadness to accept that many artists no longer with us did not have the tools to survive in dignified conditions within the societies and cultural times they were living. At the time of creation, I was reading “Meditations” by the Great Stoic Marcus Aurelius - his posture within himself and in life were a source of inspiration for this piece. The portrait is based on a self portrait but layered with images of the open ocean shot from a remote Portuguese island that is part of the Acores in the Atlantic. On this remote piece of land there is an intense feeling of being “in the middle of nowhere” as we encounter nothing but horizon and magical silver light at dusk. The artwork was created as part of the Saatchi Art "The Other Avatars" NFT project. The project was a huge divergence for me, but this drove me to creatively explore in new and incredibly exciting ways. I tried to marry old with new and understand as much as possible about what we believe to have held meaning for the artist, and I often used the ocean despite knowing that he lived far from the sea with limited contact with it… Van Gogh was however most inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. This influence was so strong that Van Gogh’s even changed his style and subject matter. He was particularly taken by the Ukiyo-e style which were in essence pictures of an imagined floating fleeting world. This work alluded to the illusionary nature of the natural world… Woodblock prints gave Japanese culture a means of expression combining perception with culture and philosophy of life. More idealist than realistic. I used ocean in my many of my Avatars because of its prominence influence on Japanese art. For the creative process, Van Gogh’s self portraits were used as a base and digitally manipulated into the different personas. Just as in the age old process of woodblock prints which involved 4 stages of a process and different craftsmen, I digitally layered different photographs, sketches and experimental pieces from the studio on a blank canvas. Many were Images of the the ocean, the sky and also of fire captured in slow motion. This was completed in Photoshop in order to combine the various elements into a unique digital file. Throughout the process there was a conscious intention to attempt to incorporate the artists’ original style or source of inspiration: Bold contour lines, prominent diagonals, a high or absent horizon, a unique way or representing space with emphasis on foreground and background and giving prominence to the natural world. I isolated myself for 3 weeks during the early stage of the creative process in order to truly inhabit another world. Dimensions: 76 X 76 cm (30 X 30 inches) plus 10cm (4in. white border) Single Edition – $1450 Print available in Hahnemühle Photo Rag® – a white, 100% cotton paper with a smooth surface texture – guarantees archival standards. Photo Rag® meets the highest industry standards regarding density, colour gamut, colour graduation and image sharpness while preserving the special touch and feel of genuine art paper    All Hahnemühle papers have been certified by independent institutes to be highly resistant to ageing and are vegan, in order to meet the highest requirements of customers. Achieving outstanding printing results and a high age resistance of over 100 years, the FineArt inkjet papers meet the highest standards for fine art applications and are perfect for long-term exhibitions, art collections and special editions. 308 gsm, 100% cotton Archival certified for 100+ years  ISO 9706 conform / museum quality for highest age resistance