“Orange Sand & Gold #1” [6th April 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic on A3 (42cm x 30cm) 2mm wooden board, 5000 x 3574 pixels.
Quote:
Personal quote on 9th April at 1445hrs:
“the Orange Sand Gold.. i used it [the canvas] purely for mixing, then i loved the orangey canvas! im not certain i would want to sell this. however i will do another version with the ideas. the paint plays art immensely useful for producing compositions.”
This version “Orange Sand & Gold #1” is made within an hour approximately.
“Orange Sand & Gold #1” is very much an emotional-feel painting, as Turner-like beautiful as I can make.
Here is the second version of the composition:
“Orange Sand & Gold #2” [10th to 13th April 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic on A3 (42cm x 30cm) 2mm primed wooden board, 5000 x 3557 pixels.
Brackets show quotation from pre-published social media (Instagram):
[ I hope you love this second version of an original composition I produced. The Sun-sky area required several drafts to achieve the desired texture and mood I require for fine art pieces.
A distinct movie franchise found its way, twice, into this artwork.
“Orange Sand & Gold #1” and “Orange Sand & Gold #2” share a triple mountain composition, a shine to the gold and bronze Sun-stars with a deep-orange contrast to the sky. ]
In the second version we see a Jabba The Hutt and Yoda-like representation. See the two eyes, one in the middle and one in the right mountain. ‘Jabba The Hutt’ features were partially visible so I had fun accentuating this idea.
I have highlighted a ‘Yoda-like’ character with a screen drawn image, here
Yoda-like screen drawn image in “Orange Sand & Gold #2”
The Yoda-like outline is my interpretation. In fact I kept this strange orange flurry in the painting, unknowing the reason until afterwards. This orangey flurry looks so different than the other sky elements I consciously evaluated same to decide whether to keep it in my painting.
My decision after a few minutes was, ‘I love this, I’m not going to change or overpaint’ it. Very glad I took that decision.
Want to know a subconscious secret to the composition?
Some weeks after both paintings I was sat on my bed. I looked up ahead of me, viewing the October 1997 framed watercolour painting on paper-card my Nan had owned. It was a gift then from my Nan’s artist friend. I met her at my Nan’s funeral in December 2023.
A watercolour painting of the Malvern Hills, UK.
I’d never seen a face in the painting before.
[The Star Wars franchise is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012]
“Gold Sun Paint Play” [circa 25th April 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic on opened cardboard box (approximate 11in x 8in (28cm x 21cm), 5000 x 3882 pixels shown upon cropped gesso canvas for publishing purposes.
Gold Sun Paint Play
“Gold Sun Paint Play” invites the viewer to step outside the strictures of formality to embrace a visual world ruled by spontaneity, flowing movement and bright colour. Painted on a horizontally ‘columned’ piece of torn card, this work speaks not just to the enjoyable act of painting—it appeals to childlike silliness, the process of play as a serious artistic method.
I had immense concentrated fun assembling colour blocks in the form of an abstracted landscape. Crimson-orange embraces violet. Dashes of green and cream separate the palette intensity. All the while metallic gold frames the Sun, a discernible reference point for this vista.
This play is a theatre of chance. Urgent brushstrokes overlap in gestures of compositional resolve and competition. The torn edges of the substrate remain visible, lending a documentary quality to the work—evidence of the surface history and complexity.
A visible ‘tag’ of cardboard remnant at the bottom-right corner grounds the piece in some perceivable mechanical form.
Instantly I’m reminded of words I published to my blog in November 2019:
‘I was greatly interested in Gravity, so I wrote about this. I was greatly interested in soundwaves and the sonic boom, so I wrote about this. Some weeks ago “i saw a buzzard flying overhead, near over my house. It made its call. Eureka. I saw its wingtips and from this i determined soundwaves could be changed by engineering the surface ⚡”.
With “Gold Sun Paint Play” a notable constructive rhythm to the composition: vertical and horizontal divisions allude to maps or symbols, whilst the colour interplay attracts.
I laughed when I made a sort of giraffe face, top-right. The moment a young child tells you an abstract shape, to you, is definitely a giraffe is a wonderful point of self determination.
For those drawn to raw texture, unpredictability, and the visible trace of an artist’s mind, “Gold Sun Paint Play” is my version of how children love to paint.
“Wrens Youngling Oak” [29th/30th May 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic on A3 (42cm x 30cm) gesso primed 5mm wooden board, 5000 x 3755 pixels.
Wrens Youngling Oak
First, bracketed commentary from my pre-published social media:
[ I made “Wrens Youngling Oak” in two drafts late evening and then much into the mid-early hours the next day of the 30th.
First draft the entire composition with paint applied direct to the wood panel canvas My second draft clarified structural elements whilst increasing textural quality, light perception and depth.
Without having made a study or pre-drawing I’m very pleased in comparing the painting to my original photograph taken on the 28th May.
An Impressionist-style painting designed with visually abstract shapes to resemble leaves.
I believe my new acrylic painting is the sixth work attained from this very tree, please see:
(4) “Alien Leaves Analysis SolarScape” [20th November 2022] and (5) “Silvery Red Treeline SolarScape” [20th November 2022].
The title for the painting is derived from my works like “Curved Tree at Wren’s Nest Pond – original” [14th March 2022]. The Youngling Oak stands watchfully like an outpost before its natural ecosystem pond. ]
Wrens Youngling Oak is a lush expressive painting of young oak branches in alla prima.
Produced with an accurately layered painting technique from my original photograph, the surface is nicely textured—conveying both the density and vitality of a woodland environment seen in spring or early summer. The swirling greens, radiant in bursts of black, white and bluish brushmarks, evoke a sense of shimmering foliage filtered through fragmented light.
At the compositional core, elongated vertical trunks extend upward and outward, interconnected by branching limbs that disperse through the canvas. These forms, though partially abstracted, suggest a juvenile oak reaching toward maturity. The background finesses into dappled pigment—some smooth, others tumultuous—echoing the living randomness of a wild, managed forest. The white flecks and patches may allude to the presence of blossom, light reflections, or birds mid-flight—wrens perhaps—evoking the title’s poetic imagery.
This work stands in the embrace of impressionism and gestural abstraction, evoking elements of both pointillist texture and spontaneous motion. It neither mimics realism nor entirely distances from same; instead, the painting encompasses the sensation of being immersed—submerged even—within a verdant, living space. The natural concealment of clear figuration draws the viewer closer, encouraging deeper contemplation.
Artistic Notes:
The title Wrens Youngling Oak suggests a personal or ecological narrative. Wrens—modest, energetic songbirds—often symbolize life, resilience, and humbleness, while a “youngling oak” may be a metaphor for strength or growth in both natural and psychological terms. I am inviting you to explore not just the scene, but a moment of becoming, hinting at themes of protection, early life, or memory rooted in place.
The work fits comfortably into contemporary eco-aesthetic practices, which favor direct engagement with nature through materiality and metaphor. It would pair well in curatorial contexts focused on environmental poetics, new materialism, or exhibitions examining landscape beyond the horizon line—where the immersive or internal becomes the sight of painterly attention.
Here is the original photograph:
“Wrens Youngling Oak – photograph” [28th May 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.
I listen to songbirds all the time. You can hear them exquisitely, whilst walking by this young oak.
For instance, talking of songbirds, the idea of a spectrogram featured in the landscape fauna for “Gold-Bronze King James VI & I Oak of 1612” – recently completed, also in acrylic. This represented my subconscious artworking, since I did not plan to paint the horizontal fauna (behind the tree) in the manner of a spectrogram.
Courtesy of @Silvia_Davenia Instagram, published 6th June 2021.
Rarely, my artwork here is derived from the model’s online photograph. The pose is person and picture perfect.
I spontaneously produced the drawing that very day! No prior study.
As with my work everything is freehand sketched or drawn visually. With only the exception of “Moonlight in Hay Meadow” [24th January 2022], since that particular drawing required a perfect circle.
“Baby Hippopotamus Constellation” [26th February to 2nd March 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic & pastels on A3 (42cm x 30cm) 2mm gesso primed wooden board, 5000 x 3529 pixels.
“Baby Hippopotamus Constellation” is a highly textured Impressionist-Surreal painting with an adorable personality.
Can you see the baby Hippopotamus, the Seahorse, the Guide and three other characters?
Five definitive drafts each with important evaluations whilst I painted “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”.
“Guides Head Eye” in “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”
I could publish individual stages of the painting production.
“Seahorse Eye and Gold Whorl” in “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”
Write about the closeup beauty of the piece.
“Gold Whorls Plume with Space Offering” in “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”
Explain how I made this.
“Seahorse Gold Tail Plume” in “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”
Detail my thinking when I first realised a baby hippopotamus looking out from the canvas.
“Guides Head” in “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”
Give reasons why I named these the “Guides Head Eye”, “Seahorse Eye and Gold Whorl”, “Gold Whorls Plume with Space Offering”, “Seahorse Gold Tail Plume”, “Guides Head” and “Gold Whorls Nebula Plume”.
“Gold Whorls Nebula Plume” in “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”
Would you like to make your own version of “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation”?
Hanno
Let’s read about the painting’s main character in… the beginning of the “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation” story..
An Enchanting Tale of Celestial Wonders In the calm twilight of a distant realm, where the sky became fireflies of infinite stars, the legend of the “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation” began to gather fruit into the hearts of humans. This magical story, a tradition through generations, resonates in friendship, sentience and the Unimaginable beauty of the Universe.
The Origin of the Constellation Aeons ago, in a fertile, leafy valley, there lived a baby hippopotamus named Hanno.
Hanno was not an ordinary animal; he was gifted with a ravenous thirst for knowledge and a heart brimming with love for the Unknown. Every night, while the human world slumbered, Hanno mudged to the edge of a river, gazing up at the gleaming sky, pondering about the mysteries that lay beyond.
Determination for the Stars One incredibly unusual night, as young Hanno sound-squeaked to the celestial performance, a meteoric star dashed across the sky, leaving a procession of shimmering light. Filled with an ineffable determination, Hanno decided that he must journey to uncover the secrets of the stars. He uttered an emotional goodbye to his family and friends, promising to return with stories of the cosmic heavens.
Hanno’s journey was filled with supremely physical, emotion-rending challenges. He explored immense forests, mind-boggling grasslands, and skip-swam across vast rapid waters to enter Sub-Sea Lake City. Along the way, he found many creatures who were clearly fascinated by his imaginative adventure.
A wise old Nile Crocodile called Mu, an excitable dray of Bush Squirrels, and a gentle Kudu all joined Hanno, eager to learn about the Unknown to support their new friend.
Climb to the Highest Mud Peak Their journey led them to Matope – the highest mud peak in the land, where the sky seemed within touching distance of our lively Hippo’s nostrils. As they climbed, Hanno’s heart brimmed enthusiastically, knowing hippos usually stay near water and avoid the highest of heights.
Well, they reached the summit plateau of Matope just as the sun meandered below the orangey horizon. At this exact time the sky exploded like fireworks into a symphony of stars.
As Hanno and his friends gazed in delight, the stars began to butterfly-beam an awe-inspiring brilliance. The constellations seemed at play, with a lovely soft, melodic hum filling the air.
Could it be the stars themselves were welcoming our adorable Hanno?
Moment of Revelation In that instant, a radiant reddish orb descended from the deep Universe, bathing Hanno in its incomparable glow.
A voice, kindly and prudent, echoed through the fleeting day-lit night:
“Hanno, your love for the Known, the Unknown and your uniquely inquisitive heart have brought you here. You shall be immortalized among all the galaxies, a symbol of enlightenment and honour for all who consider their heartfelt thoughts upon the night sky.”
As the voice quickened to silence, the stars gathered themselves together, forming the shape of a baby hippopotamus!
Hanno’s friends sang raucously contented in their time-honoured quest, and the valley below lit up with a leafy aura of the new constellation. The Baby Hippopotamus Constellation dazzled brightly, a sign of encouragement and inspiration.
Legacy of Hanno Hanno returned to the valley, greeted lovingly as a hero. He shared the story of their journey and the wisdom they had gained. The creatures of the valley looked up at the night sky with renewed amazement, appreciating their friend Hanno was always watching over them.
Generations passed, yet the legend of the Baby Hippopotamus Constellation endured. Parents told their children about the dreamily brave Hanno, who ventured into the deepest expanse to bring back the happiest light of the joyous stars. And every night, as the baby constellation opened its eyes to the sky, it reminded everyone that the spirit of exploration and the search for new knowledge is timely and boundless.
Your New Beginning This is only the beginning of the “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation” story. As ever and ever there are earnest hearts and dreamers who look up at the night sky, the tale of Hanno will continue to inspire. The stars will always hold secrets waiting to be discovered, and the spirit of a little hippopotamus will forever guide those who seek to explore the wonders of the universe.
So, dear reader, the next time you find yourself gazing up at the stars, remember Hanno’s story. Let it remind you that no dream is too big, no journey too troubling. The stars are within reach if you make the effort to seek them. The Baby Hippopotamus Constellation is a symbol of hope, friendship, and the yearning that exists in the heart of every dreamer.
And thus, the legend lives on, shining wonderfully throughout the artwork of our night sky, gleaning promises of new beginnings and endless discoveries.
[the beginning of the “Baby Hippopotamus Constellation” story outline made using AI with story editing, character creation & development by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.]
“Cadmium Red & Mars Black Untitled #1” [26th December 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic painting on A4 250gsm mixed media paper, 5000 x 6879 pixels.
Acrylic Portraits in Subconscious Working
“Cadmium Red & Mars Black Untitled #1” whilst made very quickly in portrait orientation is in fact an abstract. I only noticed the side profile head shape afterwards upon photographing the wet painting. My own focus 100% on making contrasts with the red, black and palette knife textures.
The work is subconsciously inspired of Frank Auerbach.
I photographed this piece on a black cloth vest with light blocking-surrounds excluding camera flash. In effect the piece appears to make its own light since I photographed this completely under shadow.
If you view the work in portrait at 180 degrees you might distinguish a squirrel (in side profile), perhaps a rabbit or some other cute fanciful like-creature facing the viewer.
nb Produced in one draft with my favoured palette tool. One tidying draft millimetres around the edge with brush only. I carefully retained the entire main abstract working seen here from the first draft exactly as spontaneously made.
I do not know how the human portrait formed from an abstract.
Next we have “Fragments #1”:
“Fragments #1” [19th December 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic painting on A4 250gsm mixed media paper, slightly cropped paper, 5566 x 5934 pixels.
Do you see Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton?
On 19th December I utilised two A4 papers on the same day with random paint scrages from an as yet unpublished mixed media piece on A3 (“Conker Lots”).
“Orange & Violet Untitled” featured a predominantly Mars Black ground, inadvertently influenced by the formation of ‘guitar pegs’ around the portrait head.
“Fragments #1” also features Mars Black, somewhat already preplaced randomly. To this I added orange with an umber acrylic mix, carefully balancing colours on the canvas paper.
My intuitive brush scrapes of “Fragments #1”in a Cy Twombly style unintentionally collaborating with the Jean-Michel Basquiat style purposed in “Orange & Violet Untitled”.
As an artist I’m immensely intrigued to how viewers respond to “Fragments #1”.
Next is “Pitchfork Hands Man”:
“Pitchfork Hands Man” [20th January 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic Pop Art painting on A3 250gsm mixed media paper with one lined Notepad paper as a painted central collage, 5000 x 7087 pixels.
I made “Pitchfork Hands Man” on 20th January 2025. On 8th February 2025 I read a CNN article (you can click the link to see the article) detailing a man knocking over a 19th Century candelabra at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican!
Let’s give more information about the artwork itself.
The lined Notepad paper with lovely textured inner cadmium-red paint looked rather arty. It’s paint scrapes originated from another recent work.
I began to paint play with sap green, cadmium-orange and then cadmium-yellow on the lined Notepad paper ensuring I retained all the beautiful red premarked paint.
Whilst making this I randomly scraped a brush loaded with yellow onto slightly premarked A3. With this separate A3 I began making hair, eyes and a face for fun.
Seeing potential I decided to intuitively place the Notepad piece centrally to produce a Pop Art character. I painted around the Notepad-body in gold to make the lined paper part of the A3 artwork.
Intriguingly if you turn the A3 anticlockwise 90 degrees to the left, the yellow eyes at your lower-left, I perceive a large authoritative head and face from the lined Notepad paper. This new character is not planned, merely a result of my retaining the premarked textured red paint.
Pitchfork hands each with seven prongs were added to complete the piece.
Finally for this blog article we have “Laughing Lion Eye” here:
“Laughing Lion Eye” [6th to 11th February 2025, wet paint photography] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic painting on A3 (42cm x 30cm) 2mm white gesso primed wooden board, with border for social media publishing only, 8000 x 8000 pixels.
Personal quote on 11th February 2025:
“i genuinely made this in landscape with what became an eye at the upper mid centre-right. Seeing potential i turned this 90 degrees into portrait, et voila. i mixed red, green, blue (this afternoon) as i am out of pre-mixed black, making the definition outlines you see. this kind of piece is immensely exciting to me for its spontaneity.”
The ‘laughing lion’ in the eye is 100% chance. I didn’t notice this strange animalistic formation until photography again on 11th February.
I had no intention of making a portrait character prior to turning the painting 90 degrees.
Hope you have immensely enjoyed a flurry of portrait publishing to my blog in this article.
“Ospicas Portrait in Blue” [12th to 17th February 2025] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic brush & tube painting on A3 (42cm x 30cm) 2mm white gesso primed wooden board, border for social media publishing only, original in 5000 x 6985 pixels.
Personal quotations:
“i am definitely in Picasso inspiration, again. canvases being turned upside down, 90 degrees, strange wonderful art things. Here is (at first) a landscape of white outline with five random green rings i turned into a portrait to figure out some ideas.”
Updated: Approximately six definitive paint workings including three infinitesimal concluding drafts to perfect the visual.
I have strived immensely in my efforts, realising the portrait subject and timeframe during the very latter stages of its production. For me, interpreting my own work, the greatest clue came from the exclamation in the deep blue.
‘Ospicas’ is an anagram, a term of endearment and appreciation by me. I have utilised anagrams earlier with reference to specific artists and/or their works.
Making a portrait from a landscape-oriented abstract has made me very happy with this piece.
Here is the second draft, the first draft involved priming the heavy gesso with the cadmium-red ground you see:
“2nd draft – Ospicas Portrait in Blue” [12th February 2025]
At the time of making the second draft I made structural lines using a tube of titanium white. Additional brush painting in ultramarine/cerulean blue, sand (paint colour around the eyes), gold, copper, silver and burnt umber followed with careful, neat application..
.. only once I had turned the canvas into portrait orientation!
At first you see I envisaged a cute creature, being perfectly honest with you as a dear Reader.
With the yellow I wanted natural creativity to compose a face, enjoying visible brush lines, the interplay between red and yellow. Cloth fabric in use to allow the red ground to shine through, like the Sun.
The wild application of brushed yellow caused the necessity for much tidying work over the white tube lines. Wonderfully this improved the titanium textures. You can view the final draft with the second draft by clicking each image to see these textural differences. I retained smoothness at the centre for contrast.
Burnt umber is synonymous with academic underpainting. It was at this latter draft working I understood the portrait person, including the timeframe in their life.
A person with an intense, insatiable hunger for art.
I would greatly love anyone interested to make a version of this portrait with colours of your own choosing or in emulation of those in the painting.
“Guitar Design One A” [Digital Art, 1st December 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, Digital Artwork, 5000 x 7073 pixels.
Let’s ascend into my process of production for these works. “Guitar Design One A” is made in ten minutes from “Guitar Design One” (foot of this article) using freehand digital drawing software.
The shading you see automatically follows the lines I made, see my blog article and works ‘a4 LY equation [digital sketch #1]’ for academic artistic reference.
Inspired by the beauty within “Guitar Design One A” I decided to make an acrylic replication of sorts on mixed media paper.
Artistic brand signage gave me the idea to produce a visually colourful piece in Alienalis Mantis, shown immediately below:
“Alienalis Mantis” [4th/5th December 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic fine art painting on A3 250gsm mixed media paper with four 250gsm backing papers, 5000 x 3617 pixels.
Impressed by the accurate brushwork of signage artists, think shop windows for barbers and barge boats, I thought this would make for an excellent amalgamation of styles.
Abstract and Signage.
My drawing lines in “Guitar Design One A” were so perplexing I found these a maze for my brushwork! Therefore I improvised with certain areas on the paper, quickly finding the landscape orientation the best for the acrylic visual.
I made the gold head for the (unintended) Mantis with textures similar to the preserved outer wrapping of an ancient Egyptian mummy.
It’s exciting for me to appreciate this acrylic is derived from guitar designs. The violet is blueberries to the orange. Everything seems to have motion. Life.
Here is the third computer design, a new work made in eight minutes:
“Guitar Design B” [Digital Art, 1st December 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, Digital Artwork, 5000 x 7073 pixels.
Haha, isn’t “Guitar Design B” wonderful?
To be a comfortable guitar I might need to round out its seated-position shape.
Finally we have the first design, “Guitar Design One”:
“Guitar Design One” [Digital Art, 1st December 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, Digital Artwork, 5000 x 7073 pixels.
“Guitar Design One” is more mandolin than guitar. Yet, this design provided the inspiration for guitar Design B.
Here is pre-published social media commentary for the digital pieces and acrylic painting in bold and italics:
[ The three computer drawn guitar designs I made are as follows:
‘Guitar Design One’ prior to 1720hrs on the 1st December 2024, produced in minutes for fun. Seen at the centre of this work.
‘Guitar Design One A’ a professional artwork produced from design one within ten minutes to 1730hrs. The design I incorporate into “Alienalis Mantis”, and the verily design represented here.
Then finally ‘Guitar Design B’, produced within eight minutes to find artistic lines for the possibility of a professional guitar body and neck.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M]” [2nd November 2024, photograph 4th November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, acrylic Pop Art painting on 100% pure cotton triple-gesso primed canvas board, 10 in x 12 in (25.4cm x 30.5cm), 6000 x 7261 pixels.
Quotation from social media in bold and italics:
[ I pre-doodled the letter ‘M’ in pencil on card and then set to work on a new painting.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M]” took two drafts each within approximately one hour. The first draft completed prior to 1550hrs, then the latter draft finissimo prior to 2235hrs. In the latter draft I carefully added the Mars Black outline for definition, finely adjusted the gold detailing and made ultra-finite balancing perfections to the lettered area.
Van Gogh-like impasto brushworking, vibrant comic book tones with stylistic fine art emotion in an artistically precise Pop Art piece.
There are six beautiful digital versions to compliment the Original acrylic painting. The six digital versions are individual works along with one six-grid collage in a three-across two-rows configuration. ]
Kind of awesome Pop Art isn’t it.
With my work I’m always requiring professionalism, high quality and artistic value as an artist. I love amazing you! I love amazing myself.
Would you like to know a secret?
The face in the centre is pure chance! True.
I only noticed this the next day (3rd November) after I photographed it academically. That is to say, not a quick draft evaluation photograph.
I made two palette knife scores in the style of the heavy impasto gold surround from “Golden Whale with a Voice”. An artistic decision I made for two reasons. Firstly, I love my palette working in that piece! Secondly, I had made this style of palette work in the prior draft to “Comic Book Series [Letter M]” and wanted to restore something from this in the gold.
The majority of the gold texture in “Comic Book Series [Letter M]” is produced through brushwork ‘fluting’, after careful palette knife placement of the gold.
Let’s take a look at my Collage 3×2 Grid here:
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] Collage 3×2 Grid” [digital artwork, 4th November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 300dpi, 9000 x 7238 pixels.
Be honest, this blows your mind, I hope.
The co-ordination of tones is my compositional choice to wow you✌🏽.
It certainly wows me!
Some time after making my works I often say to myself ‘Did [I] make this!?’ 🤯.
– ‘I did. It was me. I love art I do.’
You can see the individual Digital pieces BLUE, YELLOW, PINK, ORANGE, GREEN & PURPLE (corresponding to the background for each artwork) here:
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] BLUE” [digital artwork, 3rd November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 4798 x 5788 pixels.
BLUE is brightly-dark.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] YELLOW” [digital artwork, 3rd November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 4798 x 5788 pixels.
YELLOW is cheerily-sombre.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] PINK” [digital artwork, 3rd November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 4798 x 5788 pixels.
PINK is vibrantly-sad.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] ORANGE” [digital artwork, 3rd November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 4798 x 5788 pixels.
ORANGE is mellowy-unhappy.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] GREEN” [digital artwork, 3rd November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 4798 x 5788 pixels.
GREEN is vividly-distressed.
“Comic Book Series [Letter M] PURPLE” [digital artwork, 3rd November 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 4798 x 5788 pixels.
PURPLE is interestingly-mooded.
These artworks were made to cheer our day no matter our circumstances. This is how I interpreted my subconscious feelings finding their way onto the canvas.
“Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider in Six-Grid Collage” [digital artwork, 9th/10th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, random acrylic red/blue to purple mixed paint on lined notepad into six-grid collage, 6480 x 5853 pixels.
From social media in bold and italics:
Quotation:
“.. I’m very eager for art writers to see a digital artwork I have just made. Having randomly mixed red and blue to make purple for a Pop Art piece [UN noise dash dot] on lined notepad paper yesterday.
It’s quite honestly a most unfathomable coincidence, beyond the planned construction of the six-grid collage itself from the photographed paper in my hand just now this afternoon.
After mixing purple and using the paint on the aforementioned Pop Art piece (yesterday) I viewed the sheet of paper, kind of liking the shapes I had pressed together, yet thinking none more to it..
.. saying to myself, ‘I shall try to make something of it. I would like to show people art can be made from seemingly nothing’. Yesterday I viewed photographic images of the [Indian] Gaur online.
I did this both some day before and after the purple mixing yesterday. Immediately after making the six-grid digital piece I realised inspired thought is somehow finding its way into my work.
The thing is I simply motioned my brush to mix paint, nothing more! When I pressed the wet leftover purple paint paper together at the middle, all I did was touch my finger at one non-painted side a number of times to cause a difference in the paint separation. Without any defined idea or concept.
I really cannot wait for art writers to see this work in its entirety, as I haven’t even photographed the upper-half of the pressed paper to-date. It’s absolutely ridiculous! I’m going to do so this afternoon or later.
It is a most random inspired work in my opinion.” – written by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 1506hrs on 10th September 2024.
Here is the digital artwork image for the “Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider”:
“Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider – Digital” [digital artwork, 9th/10th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, random acrylic red/blue to purple mixed paint on lined notepad, 4646 x 2788 pixels.
Pictured immediately below is the actual physical random paintbrush pressing on the notepad:
“Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider – Original” [original image held in my hand photographed 10th September 1310hrs, pressing 9th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, random acrylic red/blue to purple mixed paint impressioned-pressed onto lined notepad, 4646 x 2788 pixels.
Imagine the plain paper of the as yet “Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider” folded on top being pressed into the (Upper or bison) random acrylic mixed paint half of the notepad paper.
This is how the Upper bison half of the brushwork pressed together on the 9th September 2024 came to look as you see here:
“Upper – Original” [photographed held in my hand 11th September 2024 at 1414hrs, paint brushwork and pressing 9th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, random acrylic red/blue to purple mixed paint, pressed in half on lined notepad, 4646 x 2788 pixels.
[differences in notepad paper and paint colours due to indoor lighting conditions and the photographic editing between the two images]
Just take a close look at the beautiful striations in “Upper – Original”. Everything the product of complete random pressing from randomly mixed pseudo-purple paint on the 9th September 2024!
I didn’t even realise the randomness of “Upper” represented any visual form or idea until two days later.
– “How Matt could you not see a bison?! Or North America for that matter?!”
‘I was looking at the <random> paint you see in “Upper” upside down at first. When I turned the paper the other way around what would become “Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider – Original” became my initial artistic focus of interest. Primarily since I could quickly see a human-like form in ‘Rider’.
Whereas “Upper” now upside down* as we see it in the image didn’t immediately bring anything to mind visually or in any objective form. Likely since I macro viewed the intricate striations. In fact I was so amazed about the ‘Rider’ for its randomness I even wrote exclusively about this the next day at 1506hrs on the 10th September.Not realising “Upper” would turn out to be as artistically unusual as “Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider – Original”!
*upside down at the top as regards the notepad paper. This is why I called it “Upper” at the time since I didn’t have any other specific title idea for this. In fact, I believe I mixed the (Upper) paint ‘upside down’ at the foot of the paper to how you see it above. Entire notepad image shown at the end of this article for reference [see # below]
Quotation from social media in bold and italics:
“If I told you the perceivable landmass you see is 100% completely random paint mixing would you believe me? The beautiful leaf-like striations occurred through my pressing this Upper half against the folded Notepad paper at the centre.
You can see where I held the paper as I made the pressing in both my hands.
After some days I began to envisage this random paintwork looked like North America. On the 12th September or thereabouts I noticed the unusual placement of ‘Florida’. On the 14th September (five days from its random production) I could then see the entire piece looked like a Bison! ‘Florida’ had therefore became its tail, completely by chance.
Extraordinary.” – personally written quotation published on 18th September 2024 to social media.
From “Upper – Original” I made the following digital artworks:
“Red Old Glory Colour North American Bison” [digital artwork, 9th original, 11/12th September 2024 digital] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 6000 x 3899 pixels.
I titled this “Red Old Glory Colour North American Bison” today on 24th October 2024.
The red is 179, 25, 66 in the RGB scale.
“White Old Glory Colour North American Bison” [digital artwork, 9th/12th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 6000 x 3899 pixels.
I titled this “White Old Glory Colour North American Bison” today on 24th October 2024.
The white is 255, 255, 255 in the RGB scale.
“Blue Old Glory Colour North American Bison” [digital artwork, 9th/12th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 6000 x 3899 pixels.
I titled this “Blue Old Glory Colour North American Bison” today on 24th October 2024.
The blue is 10, 49, 97 in the RGB scale.
“Red, White & Blue Old Glory Colours North American Collage with Border” [digital artwork, 9th/12th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 6480 x 3396 pixels.
“Red, White & Blue Old Glory Colours North American Collage with Border” is the first collage I made, shown immediately above.
“White Star, Red & White Stripe, Triple Old Glory Colour North American Collage with Border” [digital artwork, 9th/12th September 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 6480 x 3396 pixels.
“White Star, Red & White Stripe, Triple Old Glory Colour North American Collage with Border” is the second collage I made (immediately above) to represent North American emblems of Stars, Stripes red and white with the complimenting Old Glory colours of Red, White and Blue.
Quotation on 16th September 2024 at 2150hrs “.. i would LOVE this artwork as four flags if i could. The three colour flags and then the collage with red and white stripe. if it was my choice i would make it into a cool weathervain [weathervane] piece entitled Four Winds of Direction. i would fasten each flag top and side so each flag would ripple nicely in the wind”.
I honestly felt I needed to dignify the whole random notepad work particularly as North America decided to present itself.
Randomly.
I would like to mention that despite the strange randomness of my work an art commentator did mention Jasper Johns to me afterwards. Jasper Johns famous for his intricate flag artworks.
The art commentator wrote “.. The Jasper Johns directive, ‘take an object, do something to it, do something else to it’. – anonymous, 19th September 2024, 1222hrs.
To this I replied:
“I had researched Jasper Johns work some weeks ago. This is why Upper is so very strange to me, randomly so ‘perfect’. I’m the only person who knows I just focused on mixing red and blue paint. Very odd.” – Matt The Unfathomable Artist, 1322hrs same day.
It should be noted I read, view or think about different visual artists most every day. Including the days and weeks prior to “Upper – Original” and “Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider”.
Let’s see some screenshots of newspaper articles whilst thinking of the ‘tail of Florida’in my random brushwork of “Upper – Original”:
‘Map of Tropical Storm Helene’s path’ courtesy of the BBC, 25th September 2024.
As you can see from ‘Map of Tropical Storm Helene’s path’ (immediately above) the ‘tail of Florida’ could be interpreted as a swirling hurricane. There is a striking similarity despite the fact my random brushwork and pressing is done on the 9th September 2024..
.. with pseudo-purple paint whilst working on “UN noise dash dot” [6th to 9th September 2024].
Here is a screenshot report detailing some of the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene:
‘Hurricane Helene tracker, image one’ courtesy of The Telegraph, 27th September 2024 screenshot.
Another highlight from the same report of exponentially destructive manmade climate effects:
‘Hurricane Helene tracker, image two’ courtesy of The Telegraph, 27th September 2024 screenshot.
Anyone appreciating my humanitarian efforts will know I have strongly campaigned for a reversal of manmade climate damages to the Earth, environment, wildlife and global air, land and sea pollution.
I feel my artworks in this article are the subconscious result of humanitarian efforts to appeal to world leaders to better manage Earth’s resources in a more harmonious way.
Thank you.
[#] For reference this is a photograph of the entire brushwork and pressing on the notepad paper as I first viewed same on the 9th September 2024:
Notepad paper with random brushwork and pressing for “Upper” and “Unfathomable Apocalypse Rider” from 9th September 2024.
The Unfathomable Artist 