More REFLECTIONS by the artist on the The Digital Jazz series:
These Digital works of Art were created on an old Commodore Amiga 500 computer using the DigiPaint software, and printed on HP PaintJet printer.
"Solo Flight:" This illustration was created, while I lived in Connecticut. The poem, which was written a few months later, was written during the lonely times and periods of solitude and loneliness described in the poem. You will notice this theme recurring �because that is the life of artist - a lot of lonesome time is spent in the development and creation of ideas etc.
During periods of creation, as one submerges oneself into a state when one loses connection with the now, the mind takes off-wandering as it sorts thoughts and memories of family, close friends and lovers, future ambitions and lost opportunities. And even, for brief moments think dark thoughts where one even contemplates "suicide. The "Solo Flight" poem was written to convey this concept. It reflects my feelings of how our muses may, actually, save our lives, by carrying us over those dangerous periods of depression and loneliness into the light and safety of another day.
You will notice that most of these works reflect a music theme, more specifically, a jazz theme. I assume it is only because of my subconscious desire to have pursued a musical, jazz career - who knows? Or, maybe I have been affected by the lonely artist and musicians� mystique, - just like every one else. One thing is for certain, during my time, I have listened to countless hours of music jazz, and rhythm and blues, it � has always been played in the background, in my studio as I created, and, is reflected on these works.
"A Woman's Place" is a tribute to my mother and all women. I think they are all beautiful and consider them fine art, and feel they belong in the galleries and museums of our hearts.
�Looking for a Gig" In this piece, I thought of the parallel between struggling musicians and artists, and their passion and tenacity, as they pursue their art. It seems, that we are always pursuing, knocking on new doors that may lead to the final major lifetime gig -you know the one - �the major record label producer, art publishers or investors that the will fund us, while we create�, allowing us to surpass the struggling starving artist syndrome - to end the struggle of being an artist. This is the idea behind "Looking for a Gig". This piece illustrates a musician in a dark lonely street about to open another metaphorical door, to another gig - hopefully his last.
�Windy in New York� A typical scene in on a blustery day in The City. Just like �Frolicking in the Park� one can feel the wind and see the as it blows on the subjects. Even the colors reflect blustery day, I think.
"Frolicking in the Park" I must have been a happy mood the day this piece was created, so I took a stroll in the park via my imagination and the computer to create this piece. When I look at this piece I can feel the glare and warmth from the sun and the wind gently breezing though the sleeping willows and I can smell the freshly mowed green grass. It was especially enjoyable watching the dogs and the butterflies frolic as they entertained each other. This piece can also, be appropriately titled, "frolicking at the keyboards", because I had fun spontaneously, creating this one.
�Piano Bar� takes me back to a time when I used to work in a hotel in Phoenix. During breaks and when it was slow I used to go into the lounge where they had live musicians and I would watch the performance. My favorites were the female singers being accompanied by a pianist as they performed smooth R&B and jazzy tunes.
In Conclusion: The rest of the images are self-explanatory. They are just inspirations by artistic performers I have seen over the years. They are also exercises for drawing the human form, which has always been a favorite of mine. I also enjoyed manipulating the tools to create interesting colored shapes and forms. In most cases I did not necessarily start out with any particular thing in mind for a painting, I simply started creating color shapes on the screen and then as something interesting came about, I would then expound on it, and what you see here are the results.
I hope you enjoy them, as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Thank you for visiting...
Sincerely
Ray Gatica