Monday, May 25, 2009

Fuji by Cynthia Ann Morgan


Fuji 17 x 11"

My piece is based on a vintage Japanese black and white woodcut. I used very grayed colors to give it more life than the black & white original…some blues, pinks, greens along with true gray (light black). Turns out I had lots of grayed fabric choices from my hand dyeing experiments with mixing colors and adding black to colors.
For the depth portion of the challenge, I used perspective with the shore line as well as varying sizing of the mountain in the distance, trees in the mid ground and rocks in the foreground. Of course, these elements were present in the woodcut I used for inspiration, so the challenge was recognizing the elements, how they work and recreating them.

Comments and greetings welcome!

Cynthia

15 comments:

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

Oh WOW! This is just so serene and beautiful, lot's of movemnt in the water. I absolutely love it. Your use of neutrals puts a whole new perspective on the subject for me.
Where oh where do you find these gorgeous woodcuts?

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

Me again, the pink moon is wonderful and the odd pink splash in the grey, how great is that!

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Thanks for the lovely comments, Rhoda. There are an unending number of woodblock prints on the internet. Here’s a couple of my favorites. I’m learning a lot about composition from using them as a source. They might even be good for inspiration on your woman’s series… just for the composition layout, body positions, perspective, etc. Since most are over 100 years old, they are in the public domain and you don’t have to worry about copyright issues.

http://www.artsanddesignsjapan.com/
http://www.viewingjapaneseprints.net

Anonymous said...

This is breath taking....

Linda Cline said...

This is wonderful Cynthia. The muted colors make the piece feel like a moonlit night. The value contrasts in the piece keep it interesting.

Kathy Lichtendahl said...

Cynthia,
Each piece in this series is more amazing than the one before. This one is certainly spot on as far as use of neutrals and creation of depth. Great job!

janice pd said...

Wonderful Cynthia. This looks so much like a tropical moonlit night in these gray tones. Well done!

Jan said...

Everything already stated and just plain gorgeous!

Pam Harris said...

Another great piece in your woodcut series. I admire your work as it always has elegance and a flowing design.

Joni said...

Cynthia,
I think you have captured the essense of this challenge, and I'm loving the Japanese Print series you are doing. They may just make you famous! Your work is always an inspiration to me and this piece is no exception. It is calm, restful, peaceful and beautiful, in other words Fabulous!

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

Cynthia, thanks for the websites. I've been looking and there are so many gorgeous ones there.
Lot's of inspiration.

Wendy said...

Fabulous..... just quiet and peaceful. Who knew grey could be so fun!

Carole said...

It has all been said, Cynthia... it is just beautiful. A moonlit night, with Mt. Fuji in the background... do I hear the tinkle of Japanese music somewhere in the distance?
It involves several senses for me.

Cherie in Del Mar said...

Truly lovely Cynthia! I especially love the luminesence of the moonlight on the water. Great job as usual...
Cherie