Fantasy Moon Photography

A fantastical moon hangs over the soft and dreamy landscape in the childhood land of Nod

It seems like I always have to tweak realism these days. This shot of the moon was one I took on a beautifully clear night at Edisto Island.

A close study of the moon always sets one off on a bit of wistful thinking, like what it would be like to visit the moon, or what it would be like to be looking at the moon from a very distant land.

This time I wanted to imagine our moon...as a sight shared by the struggling dwellers of the world of reality, and the sleepy inhabitants of the land of Nod. The nighttime sky in the land of Nod is softly dreamy, with wispy tendrils of clouds pulling away to reveal a glowing and beautiful moon. It watches over the sleepers and seems to grant them peaceful dreams as it watches over the serene night-shrouded landscape. (You can find this photo on Etsy)

If art is escapism, then fantasy art is the truest art, right?

Thanks for looking at my art and my "painted photographs!" Come back for more, as I try to document my move from my art as reporting on reality to my art as a means to tell a story or comment on what's important. Here's hoping I can come up with something to paint!

www.sketchroom.etsy.com
www.susankennedy.com

A Different Path for an Artist

"Junkyard Reverie" a posterized photo of a scene that shows the best of a junk shop stroll

About a year ago I got a job - other than teaching art, selling art, or working part-time retail. If you want to know what I discovered about my art, I'll tell you: the confidence imparted by a place in a creative industry, and the slightly more secure financial spot inspired me to instantly drop the paintings and projects which did not inspire me. I was done...painting what I apparently didn't want to paint.

I hadn't been aware that I wasn't so interested anymore in realism. I had been saying for five or ten years that I was enjoying exploring abstraction in my paintings, but I hadn't admitted that realism or even impressionism wasn't inspiring me any more as a means to grab my attention, or that of my viewer.

What is grabbing my attention now? Paintings, photography and even cartooning which have a story. It's obvious to any art student who has paid attention to her teachers that art requires a story, but I had gotten lost in a couple of decades of selling paintings and accepting commissions. My art had become "what can I paint for you?"

I still love realist art and impressionist art, because when I see a painting that has an amazing story or composition I have that much more respect for the talents of the artist. But for me, the artistic process has started all over again in an artistic childhood. I'm exploring color and a toolbox of techniques including painting knives when I'm using oils or acrylics, and filters and adjustments when I'm sifting through my photographs. I hope to describe my artistic journey a bit more in this blog and in the art I create.

Thanks for taking a look, and I hope you enjoy examining what inspires you visually and why.

Susan

www.sketchroom.etsy.com

www.susankennedy.com