Portal Doorway Series

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The images reflect different points of view, it keeps the viewer in a save distance to either accept it or marvel about the mesmerizing architecture but that is exactly what moves you in and makes you want to go there, or stay away from it, depending on your perception.

The Doorway Series features spirit animals as guardians like the Snake, Wolf or Cat at the bottom of each Portal - more information about that under each piece.

In a way these can be seen as Gatekeepers and are not so different than Gatekeepers from traditional religions or beliefs as also ancient mythology. And it is up to the viewer to discuss if the portal leads to heaven or hell, personally, I'm more the William Blake type of person so I believe it needs both in terms of duality if that makes any sense.

Doorway of the Snake

This piece was based on a painting from Andreas Achenbach from 1859. The Portal was based on a rough rendering from Midjourney and the sky was altered with Sky Replacement in Photoshop in combination with my own assets and the use of the mixer-brush. Additional painting with custom brushes and texturing was necessary to change the whole scenery. More changes and final touches were done with Camera Raw Filter. The Snake as spirit animal has as much good as bad traits and it is up to the viewer which it represents more; deception or spiritual healing?

Below is the original from 1858 that inspired my transformative take.

Doorway of the Wolf

This one was based on a piece by Frederick Judd Waugh from around 1900. Since the aspect ratio was more towards 2:1 and I needed 3:2 to keep the series format consistent, it was inviting to add a Portal very close to the middle and change the sky again. While this is usually a very static and undesired composition, it only works because the existing landscape has a lot movement in the lower third and since I don't overuse the centered composition in my other work.

The spirit animal Wolf came to mind because of the scenery which would also be its natural habitat and also to demonstrate a scale, to add to the sheer size of the portal. The Wolf can be a guardian and also a guide, if you fear him he'll be a guardian of whatever he protects, if you are not afraid, he will become your familiar (metaphorical for domestication).

The decision to have these spirit animals drawn so small is for compositional reasons.

Doorway of the Cat :: The Road to Ulthar

The newest addition to the series was finished in December 2023 and is in a way an addition to the Doorway series, but the selection of the Cat as spirit animal has another meaning and is a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft's Cats from Ulthar and the Cosmic Horror Genre. The Base Painting is from John Atkinson Grimshaw from 1880.

This piece is also a nod to the Cthulhu Avatars-Series which features only Grimshaw painting along with Lovecraftian creatures. If Lovecraft and Grimshaw have lived in the same timeframe and met at some occasion, this is what a collaboration could have looked like.

So everyone who is familiar with the story of the Cats from Lovecraft, knows these are far from cute and hide a dark secret. On a personal level and as an owner of 4 cats myself, this is the world I imagine that only cats can see and I guess everyone who knows that certain cat-stare can understand what I mean;)