Back to surrealism this month. I started with Original 1 sky and a patch of grass with a few mushrooms growing in it, but once I added the stairs and frame, the grass just didn’t seem right. The next day I discovered the shale rock piece on a walk and decided it would probably work better. The stairs blended into it nicely, so it seemed to make more sense composition-wise. I added the background and planet inside the frame next. I wanted the steps to curve into the frame so I used PS warp and skew tools, and ended up having to duplicate the layer to create more steps. Lots of tweaking, sizing, and fading to get them to blend into the distance. A few stars were added using a soft white brush tool of various sizes. I wanted to have a few light beams coming out of the star on the edge of the planet; tried a few different times but they didn’t look right. I remembered using a PS fading technique at some point in the past, but couldn’t remember how. Google search helped to find the right settings, which involved changing the Brush Setting > Shape Dynamics > Size Jitter > Control > Fade > 100%.
At this point I wanted to add some human or animal life to the scene and tried birds (which I tend to use too often), a cat, dog, etc. I ended up using just the guy climbing the stairs, but then decided I needed a little flora to go with the human fauna, so I added the daisies growing out the rock crevice and the vines on the stairs.
My final version was taken into On1, where I added Canvas texture at reduced opacity, Vintage color filter, and a slight vignette.
11 comments posted
Peter Katz
Brilliant composition! I am in awe of how so many pieces were put together seamlessly! If there were anything at all I might suggest, it would be to eliminate the canvass texture within the frame - to suggest alternate realities between inside and outside the frame.
Posted: 02/03/2025 01:47:43
Hi Peter. Please review my comments to Jan Handman about this image. Posted: 02/16/2025 08:46:12
Peter Katz
Hey Frans - your agreement with me about an image is a first in my brief history with Group 34. Jan's image is really - or should i say surreally(?) - remarkable. Posted: 02/21/2025 23:39:46
Mike Cowdrey
Well constructed creative image. I like the way the staircase now winds into the distance. A lot of hard work has gone into this imaginative artwork. I love the subtle colours in the sky.
Being hypercritical, which isn't really deserved, most of the sky is nicely muted into the base, but there is one small area on the left border which seems to have a much clearer straight line which could perhaps be blurred to the same degree? Posted: 02/03/2025 09:56:02
Jan Handman
Valid comment Mike. It's a bright rock on top of the shale and I neglected to notice that it didn't get blended into the blurred white horizon. Thanks! Posted: 02/11/2025 00:04:54
Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
I stopped by for a visit and was richly rewarded by your composite this month. There are so many ways in which you have created depth which was always one of your strengths--for example, adding the human on the stairs where you did. Using the Warp and Skew tools worked masterfully with the stairs, and the classic, ornate frame ties so much together. Everything is so well coordinated. Surrealism becomes you. Posted: 02/06/2025 16:20:36
Jan Handman
Nice of you to visit Alan! And thanks for your very kind comments. They mean a lot coming from someone who's as adept at surrealism as you are. :) Posted: 02/11/2025 00:39:50
Gunter Haibach
WOW - another great image. Well thought out story and depiction. The composition is spot on. My only suggestion is to give it a bit more pop - maybe not your intention and not a big deal, but see my version. Posted: 02/14/2025 18:01:42
Jan Handman
I like it Gunter. Changes the mood quite a lot! Posted: 02/15/2025 00:07:10
Frans Gunterus
Hi Jan. Your creation this month is very special for me. It gives a feeling of 'Heavenly Mood'. I would suggest the title is "Stairway to Heaven". The eternal life where all of us must go. Therefore, I agree with Peter Katz to remove the canvas texture within the frame. Make inside frame brighter with no canvas texture and outside frame darker (with canvas texture) To me, this is an artwork that appropriately hang on the wall wall of a prominent contemplation room. Excellent creation. Posted: 02/16/2025 08:45:36
