New fossils discovered

"Fossil Xenopelagica 2" : Digital painting, 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

Made some new digital work over the last couple of days, for the first time in ages.  My entry for the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers "RE-Open" exhibition at the Bankside Gallery in London.  Got to wait until July to find out whether anything has been accepted now.

To produce the new prints, I reworked some of the unlikely realms images by using them to make 3D 'relief sculptures' which I then lit to look like they were engraved on various surfaces.  The original idea was to have them on a stone surface to make them look more fossil-like, but I found the lack of colour wasn't quite working so I ended up, after some trial and error, with something that I think looks more like a hammered copper sheet... Whatever, they're still called 'fossils'!

"Fossil Xenopelagica 6" : Digital painting, 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright 2012 by Martin Herbert

The premise behind unlikely realms is that there is a whole collection of 'virtual' fauna and flora, both macroscopic and microscopic, to be documented.  They exist only within the computer, but can be drawn and photographed just the same as real natural organisms.  More coming soon as part of my ongoing project Synthesis.

"Fossil Xenopelagica 7" : Digital painting, 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

One last one with a different surface - I decided at the last minute to do something a bit more colourful.  During experimentation I also found a process which makes the 'fossils' look as a if they are engraved on slate - will try to do some if I have time.

For the techies, no - they are not just made using the 'emboss' filter in Photoshop / these are actual 3D models lit using XenoDream from Stirling-Thornton.

"Fossil Lacestar II" : Digital painting 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert