THE ART OF 42

July 31, 2024

42: Environmental Harmony by Doug Friesen

A fully hand drawn vector artwork inspired by two of my original images. An environmental statement of harmony. (TITLE: 42)

AN ENVIRONMENTAL INSPIRED HAND DRAWN FINE ART ILLUSTRATION.

Being one of the first images from my new series of hand drawn vector artworks, "42" has a special significance. Why did I call it 42? Naturally, it is the answer to the universe. The nature of the content is a reflection of the turning point where we look beyond exhaustible resources and explore solar and wind power solutions. This art was inspired by two original Images I captured in Manitoba, Canada.

On July 30, 2024 this artwork was added to the website (dougf.ca/nft/42) and minted with Ethereum on Foundation. This piece is also available as a fine art print for your commercial or residential space. Inquire via email.

The first image began as a single frame exposure of a brilliant sunset near Bruxelles, Manitoba. The wide open landscape provided an sweeping view from the escarpment. We were granted special access as it was private land. Sinking beyond the horizon, the sun appears to deform as a result of atmospheric refraction. See original photograph below.

Sunset at Bruxelles, Manitoba by Doug Friesen

The second image that inspired the final vector artwork was another beautiful sunset near the wind farm at Elie, Manitoba. Shot with a wider aspect, the turbines were silhouetted as they faded into the distance. From this scene, I chose three of the turbines to incorporate into my final artwork. See original photograph below.

Sunset at the Elie, Manitoba Wind Farm by Doug Friesen

THE PROCESS

I began with these two original inspiration images to create the composition that would be used to draw the final vector artwork. These were imported into Affinity Designer. The components to be transferred to the new artwork were then carefully traced prior to deleting the reference images. The final steps involved applying gradations and colours as needed to blend the scene into something harmonious. The final piece leaves a strong impression while presenting ample negative space. When complete, full size (12,000 pixels), 8K, 5K and 4K versions were exported. The file format chosen is typically PNG as it provides no compression quality issues with gradients such as seen in JPG.