Stark landscapes and repeated elements are recurring themes in surrealist paintings. So are things that don't make sense. Magrite loved logical contradictions; but Dali liked to tap into our subconscious depicting things evocative of dreams. The snail shell might be seen as a symbol of childhood innocence or of the beauty of the natural world. The faded rose is one of faded personal beauty and youth. Here they are set in contrast with the stark realities of the black and white world we inhabit consciously.
A photo of the Maine Coast taken this fall was overlaid with seashells and a yellow rose. Lighting was mostly natural, from a north facing window, some white fluorescents provided fill. Curves were adjusted. USM and Gaussian blur for the glowing effect. HSL
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this image has lots of potential. I like the "scrapbook" feeling i'm getting from it. But i feel a bit of the power is lost by the precision of the arrangement of the shells.
"Last night I saw your corpse
you were moist and naked in my arms
I saw your skull
I saw your bones tossed by the morning sea
onto white sand under a hesitant sun
Crabs fought for your flesh
notheing was left of your bloated breasts
yet, that's how I preferred you
my flower"
This an image which could have been much stronger by simplification. I love the background and the rose's stem reaching across like a bridge is great. Yes, I know, the shells represent the variety of lost dreams, but fewer would have been better to take advantage of the nice background. 6
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