34″ x 55″, mixed media metal original, 2023
Beauty is Fleeting. Art is Eternal
ETERNAL, my newest original life-size metal fine art nude, is inspired by a beautiful muse and the timeless Fibonacci Sequence (aka the golden ratio).
ETERNAL’s creation is an explorative journey that began from a fantastic photo session with model Bendy Taylor, which inspired an idea that looked more like a treasure map than a painting, and grew to be something more. Her creation, from one step to another, inspired new and exciting creative processes that have changed how I view my muse and create metal art going forward.
It all started simple enough. Through my photo session with my model, Bendy, I was primarily seeking inspiration to create something new: a new model, a new artwork, everything from scratch. As an experienced model, Bendy brought beautiful poses to our session, inspiring me to create a monochromatic pastel drawing titled “Wanderlust” while working through ETERNAL.
Something about my model’s calming pose and graceful lines inspired me to create this artwork in particular. ETERNAL is all about eternal beauty, and the Golden Ratio is a measuring tool for that in nature and art.
The artwork’s connection to the Fibonacci Sequence is represented firstly by its dimensions; 34″ x 55″ – The Golden Ratio is represented mathematically as 1.618 (34″ tall x 1.618 = 55″ wide). Floated across the background, representing 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 13 are circles of continual growth. And lastly, the pearl gold Golden Swirl that fades to a blue-gold on the far left.
From Concept To Completion
Initially, my plan was to create this piece in a completely different style, but sometimes inspiration takes an artist down a different path. It’s unnecessary to detail all that, except that my change of direction changed everything. If I had gone the other path, the artwork would have been great, but I wanted more. I wanted to go beyond my previous metal art nudes. I wanted to create an artwork that the observer experiences differently with each viewing, a timeless beauty that lasts eternally, yet forever changing.
My original concept was to power-grind the background and paint the figure primarily via spray guns and airbrushes, like I’ve done most times previously on metal. But after grinding the background area of my metal sheet from top to bottom, it hit me that I could scratch her out of the metal to make her more engaging. With that in mind, her grinds were primarily created with sandpaper as I micro-sculpted her into the metal, with each scratch ever so lightly following the contours of her figure, bending the light to my will, and bringing form to flatness.
That process took months. I spent countless hours scratching just to get past what I had previously power sanded while experimenting with every scribing and scratchy tool I could find to sculpt her figure. In the end, I am very pleased with how she turned out. ETERNAL is a true one-of-a-kind original creation for viewers to enjoy in real-time.
Anyway, back to the process. Next, several urethane clear coats were sprayed and scuffed to a smooth, satin surface. That prepared ETERNAL for the pearl gold golden ratio graphic spanning nearly four feet across before giving the finished artwork a final session of clear coat urethane, sanding, and polishing it to a glass-smooth finish.
The clear coat beautifully amplifies the scratches while picking up the surrounding colors and light. That extra effort ensures that she will shine in any setting forever. When the lights are low, she appears like a soft portrait, softly shifting as you pass by. But after-hours, she is pure energy! When the lights go on or the evening sunset dances across her, she dances, too.
The video below is from my post “The Eternal Update” on March 15th, the bending of light.
In Celebration Of Creation
I experienced so much joy in the creation of this piece.
I hope this artwork brings years of enjoyment to my collectors and those who experience her up close and in real-time.
She is ETERNAL.
Cheers!
A.D.
• • • • •
A special thanks to my Las Vegas collectors for the use of their beautiful home for my model shoot. The lighting could not have been more perfect.
For fellow nerds and math geeks, follow this link to learn more about the golden ratio on Wikipedia.
Watch for a video of ETERNAL’s creation, coming soon.
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A.D. is an artist who started drawing at a young age. Throughout his life, he has worked with different creative tools in traditional and digital art and design. His art and writings have been showcased in various publications such as Airbrush Action Magazine, Airbrush Magazine, American Art Collector, Art & Beyond, Dream To Launch, Easyriders, Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Weekly, L’Vegue, ModelsMania, Quick Throttle, and The Ultimate Airbrush Handbook.
