Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
Carbon Seam and Palm Lights
Posted on September 25, 2009
Carbon Seam - 2009
The dead trunk of a palm plant washed up on the shore. At one end was the tangle of roots joined to the base of the trunk. At the other, the spiraled remains of where the living palm fronds had been attached subtly tailed off into fibrous strands. These two semi-abstracts are interpretations of each end of this single object that had washed ashore.
Palm Lights - 2009
Bromeliad Beauty
Posted on August 31, 2009
Bromeliad Beauty -- 2009
This bromeliad was growing in a friend’s garden. It’s not a perfect specimen, but the colors, the bit of water still held in the center, and the curve of the leaves all drew my attention as an illustration of the imperfect beauty available at our feet every day, if we only take time to look.
Outfall
Posted on August 6, 2009
Outfall - 2009
This image started as an abstract, but somehow also became a reflection on our culture and economy. It is interesting how the colors, the grid-like overlays, and the shapes contribute to an ambiguity of meaning that the imagery of the pipe and wall alone could not carry.
Upheaval at the shore
Posted on July 9, 2009
Upheaval at the shore - 2009
While walking along the beach, the blue waves of the Caribbean Sea were in sharp contrast to the sunlit golden sand, coral stone and little black sea urchins at my feet. Suddenly, the warm tones of the sand and stone just under the water’s edge burst out, threatening to tear the very fabric of the sea… I wonder if that happens every day.
A Flower in the Magic Forest
Posted on June 1, 2009
Cannonball tree flower -2009
The cannonball tree is named for its heavy round fruit that grows on gnarled stems attached to the tree’s trunk (see photo below). The flowers are beautifully complex and colorful, with hues of red, orange, yellow and white – almost a world unto themselves. You can see a second interpretation of this flower on my web site.
This tree is a specimen at the St. George Village Botanical Garden on St. Croix, home to many strange and wonderful tropical plants. And no, the fruits are not edible. In fact they stink when they fall and crack open.
Cannonball tree fruit
Rooted in the Magic Forest
Posted on May 28, 2009
Rooted in the Magic Forest
Buttress roots form at the base of many old shade trees in the thin tropical soils. These roots curve around and reach out to support the massive trees above. This was an old silk cotton, or kapok, tree whose buttress roots seemed to be actively searching for what they needed from the earth.
Giant Sucking Sound
Posted on April 9, 2009
Giant Sucking Sound
It was Ross Perot who popularized the “giant sucking sound” phrase. Living on a Caribbean island we hear that sound sometimes. But in our case it is the sound of major off-island “investors” (a.k.a., developers) sucking the island dry of its fragile and scarce land resources — leaving behind a ruined landscape and a few low-paying service jobs, while removing the value of the precious land they have consumed.
While this is not true of all developers, the islands are hungry enough for more economic activity that our leadership too seldom dinstinguishes among them.
Buck Island View 2
Posted on April 5, 2009
Thanks to Jane Hunt for giving me the blogger’s lemonade award! Jane paints contemplative heavily-textured acrylic landscapes. Check out her blog!
Since I ‘ve just passed on a tag of another award, I will leave this one on countertop for a few days before sending it on to some worthy bloggers helpful to other artists.
Instead, for today, I’ll share a new view of Buck Island, visible from my studio window.
Buck Island View #2
While the island itself plays a role anchoring the top of the frame, the inspiration came from the water and the many colors it takes on from the sand, coral, urchins, depth, sunlight and clouds. It is different every day.
Sea Grape
Posted on March 25, 2009
When they take the form of a tree, sea grapes have a distinctive shape and silhouette, and an interesting texture with their large round flat red-veined leaves. This one had taken up a traditional position along the shore. The early morning light gave even the green leaves a reddish glow. I eliminated some of the distracting detail to focus on the colors, the light and the simple composition of the original scene.
Sea Grape by the Shore - 2009
Digital Art Goes Back to the Beach
Posted on February 17, 2009
Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge is located at the southwest corner of St. Croix. It is a spectacular sweep of sand beach and Caribbean-blue water, and an important nesting site for the ancient-looking and endnagered leatherback turtle.
Sandy Point Peel - 2009
The leatherbacks come ashore well after dark to lay their eggs, and the baby turtles emerge from the sand just after dusk about 60 days later. Whether in the brilliant mid-day light, at dusk or on a moonlit night, the stark shapes and brilliant color fields of Sandy point are stunning.
(Contact the St. Croix Environmental Association for information on guided turtle-watch tours.)
Haiti-haiti flower (Thespesia populnea)
Posted on February 5, 2009
This is the beautiful flower of a common beachside bush (Thespesia populnea) called the haiti-haiti tree here on St. Croix, also known as seaside mahoe, portia tree, and often mistakenly called beach hibiscus. *
Haiti-haiti flower - 2009
Despite the common name sometimes used, the beach hibiscus is actually a different plant (Hibiscus tiliaceus). Still, the flower does look hibiscus-like. I was attracted by the filmy, creamy translucence of the off-white petals when the flower is fully opened.
While the short-lived flowers are beautiful, the tree itself is scrubby with multiple woody stems. Invasive and salt-tolerant, it can quickly dominate a shoreline. The fruits or seedpods are a favorite of the local bright red love bugs, one of which is featured in my gravatar. More on those guys later!
*Thanks to Carol Cramer-Burke at the St. Croix Environmental Association for pointing me in the right direction on the facts here.
The Dark Side
Posted on January 30, 2009
Despite the best clean-up efforts of groups like the St. Croix Environmental Association, the shorelines here on St. Croix are sometimes littered with debris – mostly plastic. Some is left behind by careless beachgoers, but far more is deposited from the ocean itself.
Shield - 2009
That beautiful blue Caribbean Sea, an apparently limitless resource, is in fact full of garbage that drifts ashore. I think that sad fact was on my mind as I began this image.
This rocky shore had interest, but needed a spark to bring it to life. After some work, the rusty metal parts in another photo became the green shield tucked under the most interesting of the rocks.
As the image developed, it became darker and almost macabre — not something I had intended in the beginning. In fact, looking at it now, the feelings evoked are almost a surprise. Strange.
St. Croix — Hotel Caravelle Artwork
Mocko Jumbies
Donald Diddams 