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Laurazee — Atacama
Published: 2008-06-07 16:28:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 1422; Favourites: 36; Downloads: 0
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Description
Mixed media on canvas, triptych configuration, 36" (3 x 12") x 12"Acrylic, marble and clay dust, paste, various glazes.
This is what I'd call a decorator piece. That is, it was done primarily to add color to someone's surroundings and blend in some furniture.
As for the subject: the Atacama region is a 600-mile stretch of desert in northern Chile. It is the driest place on earth. There has never been any recorded rainfall – some scientists say no rainfall for 40 million years. It is virtually sterile. The Atacama is sparsely populated, obviously, but about a million people do live there.
The Atacama is significant because I've been reading so much T.S. Eliot lately and water is a metaphor for faith in much of his work. Subsequently, deserts tend to be a metaphor for a godless and despairing human condition.
Heavy texture on this one - lots of cracks and fissures. The Atacama is so vast that you can look in all directions and feel lost, like you are seeing the same thing over and over again. So, a triptych of repeating images seemed to fit.
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Comments: 58
Truthfully, I've been to Chile a few times but I've only ever seen the Atacama from a plane... so this is my best guess as well!
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I will be a tad redundant here and tell you I LOVE THE TEXTURE.....cracks and edges...marvelous...interesting info on the desert...I being a bit of a desert rat myself.....this is beautiful.
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Hey, thanks Jillianelf. The texture is fun - I almost wish I'd built it up even higher. How are you a desert rat?
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You're very welcome...I live in the high desert surrounded by mesa's, rock formations and spires and LOTS of sagebrush...very quiet out here 
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Gotcha, thanks! So Wyle E. Coyote country or thereabouts?
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Actually high desert Oregon...although the coyotes are howling tonight as I am typing away here..
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Ah, Oregon! Near the dunes, perchance?
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No, although we go over there occasionally....Have you ever heard of a place called Smith Rocks...high desert, but surrounded by the Cascades....Bend isn't too far...we call it Little Aspen..
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Cool place! Oregon is a fascinating state.
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This must be the day for deserts. A friend of mine who just started here at DA just posted a desert surreal piece mentioning that a friend in Oregon SAID there was a desert here.. 
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It's interesting.. I like this sort of thing n large rooms..
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Me too - on a big white wall!
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I love the amount of texture you've incorporated into these. I know I'm not supposed to, but I want to touch them. *looks around to see if anyone is watching*
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I'm totally there saying, "Go on! I dare you!!"
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Thanks, Dusan (and so do I)
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Thanks! I do like texture. I just wish it were bigger.
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I like it a lot for its texture. I'm not a texture painter, so I have no idea how you made, which makes it even more interesting.
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It is pretty organic, really - plus the sort of thing I do when I'm working on other stuff (layer, let dry, another layer, etc.). These are never one-sitting paintings.
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great work..
i'm with you about the "decorator piece" thing,.. but anyway, is always good to see something new from you
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Appreciate that. Decorator things aren't bad - they do look nice once installed, but creating them is not so challenging.
I like your latest a ton: Fluorescent + curves =
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Love the look of it and the metaphor as well Laura!
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It's beautful, Laurazee. I'm very tactile oriented (much more than people expect from a photographer), and this is the type of painting I'd want to run my fingers over, physically experiencing every line and stroke. Not that I actually would. I once was at a gallery and there was a painting with layers and layers of thick heavy brush strokes. I couldn't resist touching it. When I pulled my finger away, there was red paint on it, and my fingerprint was imbedded in the oils.
I slithered away, very quietly.
So, if I get to view this with my own eyes, I'll keep my hands pretentiously clasped behind my back, in the archetypical pose of the passionless critic for whom life is merely an intellectual exercise.
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Oops. But what a wonderful sentiment. I think paintings should be made to be touched.
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Seriously no rain? That's fascinating if you think about it. It must be like the surface of the moon, only hotter, I suppose. Anyway, I like this work, it's similar to a direction I'd like to go in sometime soon... albeit decorative, but simple large canvas abstracts to inspire some kind of response to the inhabitants of the surrounding immediate vicinity. It's been crawling around in me for a while, soon we'll see what happens.
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You know, I hear that they use the Atacama for filming space movies, like Mars surfaces and such, so it is interesting to think that this place is likely the closest to otherworldly on Earth.
And decorative isn't always a bad thing!
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Thanks, Jasmin. Simplicity is what I was going for.
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Flown over it several times, but never visited, alas. I wish! I've seen a million photos.
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One Day, when you are famous and rich you'll have a Picnic with your family at the Atacama.
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Thanks! Much appreciated. The more texture, the better, I figure.
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I love the colors & the story you included with this.
Somehow 3 panels don't seem like enough to represent a vast seemingly endless desert. I imagine more panels in this series.
Heavy texture sounds wonderful.
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You're right - I think at least the panels should be wide horizontals (48" x 24" or something). Or more repetition. Somehow, it doesn't seem like enough.
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Yes, that is it exactly what it needs; Larger longer canvases to give it the vastness of isolation.
This is a wonderful idea for a series!
I love Simplistic art, mostly because there is so much hidden depth but the watchers has to be open to seeing it...
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Might do!
Simple is what looks best on thumbnail, I find. It is irresistible to click and see what it looks like larger.
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Totally. Turn it upside down, and there it is. I like that view too.
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