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Gazing Maiden

Digital Art and Transformation by Gregory Bart

A robed gazing maiden in profile, with a tree and stone wall in the background.

The Gazing Maiden is introduced to us in stark profile view. The experience of gazing compounds as we gaze at the “gazing” maiden. A foggy mist pervades the atmosphere, containing our view within the local space of an indeterminate vastness. A sense of universality is suggested through a lack of historically or culturally-defining elements. The stone wall implies an interaction between human and natural activity as well perhaps as a psychological boundary, while the tree takes on mythical associations of both rootedness and outward growth in multiple directions.  

Through the use of color, I sought to unlock the prismatic, rainbow composition of white light refracting into the full spectrum of colors, while simultaneously maintaining the soft ambience of thick fog. Though initially appearing mostly white, the composition is actually filled with subtle hue shifts. These spectral effects are kept subtle so that they are beheld only slowly, and they are suggestive of energy and mystical presence, perhaps cuing us to the nature of what she is gazing upon.  

Beauty is a conscious theme that is explored here. My intention is to convey beauty through austere means that do not rely primarily on sexual cues to convince us that she is attractive and compelling. 

Who is she and what is she “gazing” at? We can only rely on the clues in the composition for the answer. In this painting as in many others, I am looking to portray a revelation of someone beheld through inner vision who inspires moral excellence by speaking to us in an emotionally meaningful, personal way.

Painted in Photoshop – Spring 2020

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