Visual journal - The spirit world painting

This pen painted image was originally made for my 505 studies as an experiment with the theme of shamanism, however after doing this I realised that this would be more suited to my context of practice project so I have decided to continue this style of the spirit world to run as a response to my essay. 

As you can see I have taken much reference from Askakura but I have added some new elements into it such as the meditating man. I want these paintings to depict a person undergoing a psychedelic experience and this is a exaggerated visualisation of the world of spirits that one becomes closer to under the influence of entheogen's. Within this new painting style I want to explore more aspects of nature and include some of my own elements into this to make it seem more trippy, maybe my space effect or even some tentacles. I also think that this vibrant colour scheme is a little to out of control and doesnt have much harmony. I intend to explore and refine this to make a more professional outcome that better represents the spiritual aspects of a psychedelic experience.

 edits

Just by altering the hue and saturation on photoshop I am able to get a wide range of variations of the same painting. I actually like some of the outcomes, maybe even more than the original. This has helped me realise that I need to soften my colour palette if I want to get a more natural and harmonious image. I will explore this in my next painting. I also think this could make a nice trippy gif out of the different colour variations.

Artist reference and inspiration

For a while now I have loved Asakura Kouhei's paintings. The pastel colours he uses work in such harmony across the page. His painted view on nature is very beautiful and unique. Ever since I first saw his work a few years ago I have wanted to try and create something that has similar qualities.

Looking at this work has given me new ideas on how I can communicate the psychedelic experience into my artwork, and that is adding more aspects of nature into my designs. A big part of a psychedelic experience is becoming more in tune and interactive with nature so this will fit perfectly into my theme.

I also like this idea of painting onto bits of wood and maybe I will leave parts out so there are textures of the wood showing through to get a more natural aesthetic, along with the harmonious colour scheme.

Visual Journal - Mushrooms

I want my visual journal to simply explore different aspects of psychedelics and also how they are communicated through different art forms.

I have started by drawing a big field of cubensis mushrooms. These are very famous psychedelic mushrooms that were made famous by Terrence McKenna. As the mushroom entheogen is one of the most widely used that has got some of the most beneficial effects that relate to creativity, I will be focusing on mushrooms and psilocybin throughout my visual journal and my essay.

 I originally intended on adding a range of vibrant colours to this but I have decided to just leave it as a drawing. I suspect that my journal will be filled with colour so I'm just leaving this in pencil. Drawing and observing this has helped me to understand its form which will help me to further understand the psychedelic mushroom.

Project Rationale

 What is my theme?

 The theme of this project is pretty much the title of my essay and if natural entheogen's can enhance and many of the other aspects that are included when in the visual world of psychedelia.

How am I exploring this visually?

I am exploring this visually by getting very experimental with my media approaches. I will be using many different hand made textsures and colour combinations as well as painted block colours also with the use of nature and space, all surrounding the theme of psychedelia with a direct link to entheogen's.

Why am i doing it this way?

I am doing it this way so I can try and create my own unique aesthetic that does not just fit into the cliche category within psychedelic, I want to take a different approach to this and try something new and see if I get any possible elements that I can continue exploring in my own practice as well as future projects.

Key theorists

-Alex Grey

-Terrence McKenna

-Asakura kouhei

-Alan Watts

Psychedelic artist research

Alex grey is a visionary artist who is very well known in the psychedelic community and for openly taking psychedelics and transferring his experiences into paintings. He is s good source of inspiration for me not only because of his beautiful paintings that depict a spiritual psychedelic experience but also because seeing his work and what he believes makes me want to pursue the same direction of art and lifestyle.

Chris dyer is another inspirational psychedelic artist that I will be using for reference. The vibrant colours and the trippy characters make this a very psychedelic style that is also well known throughout the psychedelic community. Chris dyer is another important artist for my development because the way he can translate his art onto walls, skateboards, surfboards, clothing, cars, posters, prints and more. This make me also want to explore as many possible items that my work could be translated onto to make myself a more diverse and original image maker.

Famous users of psychedelics

-John Lennon
-Alan Watts
-Steve Jobs
-Terrence McKenna 
-Jack Nicholson 
-Aldous Huxley
-Timothy Leary
-Bill Gates
-Angelina Jolie
-Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South park creators)
-Susan Sarandon
-Sigmund Freud 
-Alex Grey
-Carl Sagan
-Joe Rogan
-Graham Hancock
-Dennis McKenna
-Jimy Hendix 
-Bob Marley 

Ayahuasca (DMT), Mushrooms(Psilocybin), LSD, Marijuana, Peyote(Mescaline) - Psychedelic substances.

The list of people above are all famous people who have openly admitted to the consumption of atleast one of these substances. The list of people above range from Artists, scientists, musicians, philosophers, writers and comedians. So this shows that there is a very diverse range of people who have had a psychedelic experience and some people such as Steve Jobs said that it played a big part in his creation of Apple. All of these notable people and many more suggest that these experiences due to psychedelic substances can change perceptions and allow for a new sense of creativity to flow through the stream of consciousness.

Enthogens

An entheogen "Generating the divine within" is a psychoactive substance used in religious, shamanic or spiritual context that may be synthesised or obtained from a natural source. Entheogens have traditionally been used to supplement many diverse practices geared towards achieving transcendence including sensory deprivation, divinatory, meditation, yoga, prayer, trance, chanting, hymns like peyote songs, and drumming. The use of entheogens was kept secret by native societies to the Western world until the 1950s, which quickly developed into psychedelic therapy.

Entheogen's have been used by native/shamanic cultures for hundreds or thousands of years and have played a big part in the spiritual practices of a shaman or guru due to there hallucinatory and mind altering effects.

Examples of some entheogen's include

Fauna are animal based entheogen's

- Colorado river toad

-Bullet ants

- Hallucinogenic fish

Flora are plant based entheogen's which are the most varied and commonly used

Fungi is an entheogen that sprouts from mould

-Fly agaric -Magic mushrooms (Psilocybin) 

All off these different spieceis of entheogen all grow in various places around the world and some people believe that these have a big role to play in the evolution of the human consciousness. Most of these substances are relatively safe with controlled doses. The fact that they have been used for thousands of years and shamanic cultures would not be the same without them really shows the spiritual power of these natural mind altering substances. 

These are some images of specific entheogen's that are well known for there uses in shamanic ceremonies and in modern day are also used as a recreation. Today, many entheogens are used as a way for a person to develop or enhance cognitive function which can lead to higher levels of creativity (this is a reason as to why so many artists experiment with these substances.)

 African team root - For enhancing dreams and visions during sleep

 Ayahuasca - brewing of a sacred root and leave from the amazon rain forest. This is the most powerful and visionary entheogen in the world!

 Magic mushrooms - The chemical Psilocybin is the psychoactive substance found in these fungi  and this is the most known type of psychedelic substance due to Terrence Mckenna making them known throughout western culture.

Peyote/Mescaline a psychedelic cactus. A powerful psychedelic found in northern America and has been used in spiritual practices for generations.