Nebulas, white doves, and books aflame.

Worked on the Fire and have a final source image cobbled together from four photos. Background from one, open book from another, orange glow on wall from a third and an interesting grate surface from a fourth.
My friend Gin calls it 'patch-and-piece'. I am so stealing that for my artist's statement.

I tried to put the pieces together using a couple of apps on my iPad but after three hours of failure I gave up and did it the old fashioned way - cut the bits out with scissors and taped them together. Done a dusted in under five minute.

Toned and gridded the canvas, and working on the drawing today.

Still thinking about the fifth element; spirit, soul. 'Being itself' as Thomas Merton put it. The landing of the Mars Rover Curiosity reminded me of NASA's nebula photographs which I am thinking of superimposing over/under a white dove. Catholic iconography may be stamped in my DNA.