Illandrial answers some Frequently Asked Questions:
Your Paintings are Unlike Anything I Have Ever Seen. What Inspires Them?
Since I was young, I have been blessed with a gift of Vision. The Higher Power within me often conveys its guidance in the form of these visions. As an artist I try to express this inner vision. Sometimes these visions are meant to convey a feeling, or an understanding; and sometimes they are simply a reflection of my own experiences, the reflections of a soul on its journey home.
What is the Meaning of the White Orb that Appears in Most of Your Paintings?
For me, this orb represents the formless Source of all that is, the paper untouched by any paint. This Source will often be found reflected at various levels in the painting, much as the full moon reflects the light of the sun.
I Notice That a Verse is Offered with Each Painting (on the thumbnail page)...
Yes, the visions I am given usually come with a few words, in the form of a verse that encapsulates the meaning of the image as it was given to me. The verse is offered as an introduction to the painting, but is not meant to limit the viewer's response in any way. Each is free to bring whatever they are given to their appreciation of the art.
What is “The Passing” Mentioned in Several of the Pieces?
The Passing is simply the impermanence of all that is, in this world of form. A summer breeze, the full richness of a human life; all is passing through that which is eternal.
What Medium Do You Work In?
Although my early painting background was in watercolors, most of the pieces seen here are done in what I call "Digital Natural Media."
What Exactly is Digital Natural Media?
Just as before, I start each piece with a blank canvas. But now my brush is a pressure-sensitive digital stylus. Held like a brush, it responds to my touch in all the ways my old sable brushes did, but also allows me a level of control not previously possible. I can customize my brush to have any size or shape I want, for instance, as well as countless other characteristics.Using my stylus with sophisticated creative software such as Painter® and Photoshop® I am able to recreate the characteristics of an almost unlimited range of natural media. Not only can I use such traditional media as watercolors, oils, and pastels, but I also have an incredible range of other materials and tools, many that were simply not possible before. Add to this a color palette exceeding a whole art supply catalog, and I am able to express my vision in a new, much freer way. And as a watercolorist, something else I really appreciate is that an errant drip will no longer ruin my day's work. I can simply ‘undo’ and try again. I can't tell you how liberating that is!
When it is time to print the finished piece, I know that each print will have all the immediacy of the original vision, because each print is an original. This allows me to share my vision with a much larger audience. It is just an added bonus that the pigments I print with have a stability that actually exceeds many of the traditional artist's colors I used to use.
As an artist, I feel blessed indeed to live in this time of almost boundless creative possibilities.