Colonist #87 Ponders the “New Earth”
My first day on the planet,
I want to dig my naked toes
down into its soil,
no longer Earth, but still
the skin of a new world.
I wonder what roots grow here,
what burrowers and tunnellers
create this friable surface.
I want to get it under my fingernails,
let its microbes schmooze with my cells,
introduce my body to whatever pathogens
it may have to overcome.
Let’s face it – it has always been my way
to get dirty,
to be one with whatever land I walk.
I am here, I will say.
Taste me.
–Andrea Gerig
Huge shout out to my friend Andrea Gerig for providing another poem for our intrepid Colonist 87… we didn’t know we were collaborating until we realized that we were both creating the same thing.
Note: If you want the full effect of this piece while staring at it and reading Andrea’s poem you should consider playing some Glitch Mob in the background:)
My confidence in Photoshop is increasing as far as the coloring goes, and this piece required more digital painting than any other one yet as I decided to play with more painted textures than before. In the past I’ve provided a texture layer in the background, but all the texture in this one is entirely painted which gives it a crisper feel in my opinion. I feel that this is my first “real” digital media piece.