In the last weeks several friends asked me when I would do an exposition with my paintings. I replied, “I’m not ready yet, they have to be in another format and way of presentation.” But their asking made me start searching for a solution.
The “original version” of the paintings is a digital version, result of digital and analogous work. I saw on the web an interesting method of mounting pictures on aluminium dibond. So I ordered picture enlargements with direct print on aluminum and with photo paper foils on aluminum. Though the pictures were well produced, I wasn’t happy with the luminosity of the images. They looked either blurred or the colours like dark blue didn’t show up well.
Two of the pictures of the first experiments this morning in our garden – the colours didn’t give the right brilliance.
I knew from previous experiments when I sent the pictures to a photo laboratory that a brilliant reproduction isn’t that easy – the quality wasn’t satisfying me. So I normally use an ink-jet printer and do the printout on photo paper – there the quality is excellent. But the maximum size I can to is A 4.
I asked a print specialist at my office and he recommended me a specialised print shop in Berne.
2 weeks ago I went there, explained the problems and showed to the print counselor the ink-jet results. He told me that these computer printers work with a RGB color space, but that they use CMWK colours and that it isn’t easy to find the right tones. I decided to get a sample printed on foil in A 3 so that we can see how to further proceed.
When last week I saw the result I wasn’t satisfied: The image turned out to be too green and the tones of orange and yellow didn’t show up well. The counselor proposed to do adaptations with the help of the foil and the ink-jet image to find the right tone. I said I wanted a mounted A 2-version to be able to better judge the quality and not to have to do too many costly experiments – some hundred francs had already gone in these test-prints.
The picture on the foil between autumn leaves in our garden
When I yesterday saw the mounted picture the colours finally were in the right tone and luminosity. I felt relieved for the further production. But when I looked over the picture I saw irregularities of the mounting and the way they had done the suspension. So again another round…
He proposed to do a printout on foil of all my (newer) paintings, the Images of Synthesis, in a small format on a long foil. So we would be able to find the optimum general color settings for all of them – otherwise it would be very costly to do it all individually. This will be done till end of next week – and hopefully the production can start.
I’m very fascinated by the impact of these large-size works – but afterwards I have to find a storing solution for them.
Another experiment with the paintings was the “by-product” of quite another situation:
I was curious how viewers with a non-spiritual background would react on the pictures. In the 80ies I had experienced an irritation and a lack of comprehension when I showed the pictures which I later destroyed and now have digitally restored from photos.
When showing my newer paintings to friends they said that they needed my explanation of the symbolism expressed. My language of symbols of a “fusion of east and west” didn’t reveal itself to the onlookers.
I started calling the paintings “inside-out, outside-in, east and west” and wrote comments on how they came about. They are not only influenced by my spiritual backgrounds, but also by the long inter-cultural work and my journeys.
I got very positive feedbacks mainly via the web, but I didn’t show them yet physically to a general public. An English woman wrote to me this week, “I really cannot impress upon you how beautiful I find your artwork. Your images are imbued with light and a certain sacredness that pierces the heart.”
Since I had received a cancellation notice of my job at the Red Cross due to restructuring and yesterday left the office after precisely 260 months of work there, I didn’t want to go away with any resentment but joyfully and upright.
So I celebrated my going away by personally saying good-by to many old colleagues. I used it at the same time as a “coming out” with my paintings. I had prepared a selection of images which are more easily understandable as cards and let them chose one as a good-bye present. Neither me nor they did know at that time that it also was an experiment – I only realised it this morning:
It was very interesting for me to observe the reactions. I distributed cards to 58 persons. Only one did not want any, with a few I felt that they had to open for a new way of expression uncommon to them. Most of them didn’t know of the eastern symbols like Lakshmi, Krishna or Kuan Yin. Many said that they hadn’t seen such images before nor this kind of technique of a cross-over of analogous and digital painting. Many were deeply touched – and it was always a good turn-around of the normally gloomy good-bye moment.
Even with my superior, who had given me the notice of termination it turned out to be a very good experience. I had done an intense inner preparation work for this. He was positively surprised when he saw the card. He chose one and put it on his shelf in the office. I left light-heartedly not only from this final talk, but also from the office.
So the experiment turned out to be successful. Now I’m looking forward how the production of the mounted images will work and where and how a first exposition will take place.
The image experiments placed this morning in the garden. You cannot judge the colours by the photo
