Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
Circles
Cluster of Snails - 2011
A circle of tightly clustered snails near the water’s surface seems to overlap the circle of rock polished by the action of the sea. Below, an arc highlights a cluster of red globules on the beach next to the round seagrape leaf. While the circle is not always an easy design element to work with, it has always been a powerful symbol and metaphor. These images allude to that power.
Arc - 2011
Donald Diddams 
Hey, Don! I just watched a show that featured those little snails being simmered in water and the ground stamens of some exotic flower! I like your photo better! They are beautiful. Happy New Year! Single for a Reason is out to blog pasture!
Thank you Pat! I’m glad you like my picture of those little snails better than they might taste. I noticed that Single for a Reason was pastured… but still hold hope that something new and exciting will soon bubble up from your fertile imagination! Happy New Year to you as well.
“clustered snails” would be a great name for a band.
I get these images.
The “Clustered Snails” image reminds me of beautiful glass marbles of varying sizes, except these are stunningly real and intricate. I’m in awe of your skill in working with your image while maintaining all the integrity of the realness of the snails.
Extremely cool.
Also interesting to me to hear what you said about circles as a design element. I’ve always wondered if it’s only me who finds them very hard to work with.
Great contrast of textures ( rough and slippery smooth ), knowing those zebra snails well.
I think you got the circle to work by tightly cropping it and placing it off center.
Wonderful, ephemeral piece Don- hard to tell if it’s in water, underwater, above water and it doesn’t even matter. Your eye for abstractions is so fine.
Hi planetross! You must be a circular kind of guy, huh? Thanks!
Thanks Melinda! Once again you cut to the heart of that fine balance between abstraction and detailed reality that I seem to teeter on in so many images.
Thanks, I’m glad you like these, Jala!
I would be very surprised if it were only you who found circles difficult to work with. I’ve missed looking at your work recently. Some personal business has had me very preoccupied, but I’ll be back around to visit soon enough! Thanks for keeping me on your list of blogs to visit.
Hi Bonnie. Thanks for stopping by to see these little snails. In fact they live right at the water’s edge, so part in, part out, part under. And yes, a circle in the center is really hard to deal with. Thanks!
I prefer to see these snails in your photo than on a plate. Cool picture and the Arc has more of those lovely jewel tones you do so well.
Thanks, Carol! Those snails are a little small for dinner, so let’s leave them alone…