My latest artwork, Beach Bum, is for the second Shikantaza Secrets exhibition, which is located in the UK at geolocation: 52.05774544091061, -0.7253319981638755

The theme of the exhibition is serenity. So I tried to remember the few times in my life that I felt true peace and serenity. The last time I felt this was at the young age of eighteen. Sitting on a beach, in Jamaica, with a wood chisel in my hand. Carving sculptures from driftwood found on my local beach. Those were very happy times. I was completely lost in my craft.

Process

I decided to use AI as a starting point for this artwork. I like the idea of using new, cutting edge technology to represent a time when I used basic, primitive, manual tools to create my art.

I used eden.art by feeding it with my own artworks. In Eden you build Concepts - their version of LoRA. I then used prompts to guide the concept to create the scene that was in my head. It took hundreds of attempts, teasing the prompts and adjusting the image feeds, till it eventually came up with a result I could work with. (Anyone who tells you that AI is a quick way to create art is lying!)

I then reworked the image in Procreate till I was happy with it. The result was an ethereal, yet tactile representation of my Jamaican beach experiences. On my iPad’s digital canvas, using Procreate's vast array of tools, I carved my memories into existence. Just as I used to chisel figures out of driftwood, I harnessed the power of digital brushes to imbue the scene with the abstract form of a beach bum, lost in her own world of sand and sea.

This fusion of cutting-edge technology with the nostalgic reminiscence of craftwork was a journey in itself, making this artwork more than just a visual study - it's a tangible chunk of my serene past.

More information

You can find out more about the exhibition by following me on Farcaster or Twitter where you’ll also find links to buy the artwork. It’s a low-priced open edition with a maximum number of 50 editions.