Hey James,
the red/green scheme came about naturally as the piece progressed. Pieces like this always start with a vague idea in mind and then pretty much develop as I take unconscious decisions on where to take the story as I’m inspired by sth. I did not see in the first place or a sudden association or storytelling took place organically, so I followed along in the process.
Red/Green might be a bit more intenional as I know that it works being complementary colors and all 🙂
The altered state, yes, this is either someone sleeping or being absent, maybe an out of body experience I guess.
The smoke might have induced it or the people in the boat try to waken the figure up.
Speaking of things to find, if you look carefully there is a toad playing the flute dead center of the composition, hahaha.
The smoke was much more detailed in the beginning, more on the side of billowing plumes, but I somehow got rid of the details again, I guess it created too much tension, but nice observation from your side, I appreciate the feedback.
At the moment I do not do too many of those surrealist pieces, maybe I’ll post one more here. Take a look at my instagram to see what I’m doing on a daily basis (link in my profile).
Cheers,
Ciao!
Ben
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