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 exploratory journey that began with a fantastic photo session with model Bendy Taylor, which inspired an idea that looked more like a treasure map than a painting, and grew into something more. Her creation, from one step to the next, inspired new and exciting creative processes that have changed how I view my muse and how I create metal art going forward.
It all started simply 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 first 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 with spray guns and airbrushes, as I’ve done most times before 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 made with sandpaper as I micro-sculpted her into the metal, 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 creating this piece.
I hope this artwork brings years of enjoyment to my collectors and to 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 allowing me to use 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 are showcased in various publications such as Airbrush Action Magazine, Airbrush Magazine, American Art Collector, America’s Sports Car magazine, Art & Beyond, Easyriders, Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Weekly, L’Vegue, ModelsMania, Quick Throttle, The Ultimate Airbrush Handbook, America’s Sports Car, The New York Times, and The National Corvette Museum 2024 Annual Report.
