The Wild God Asks for Whiskey

"The Wild God Asks for Whiskey" - oil on paper, 16.6 x 22.  Available here and at Artfinder

When your wife calls down,
You close the door and
Tell her it’s fine.
You will not let her see
The strange guest at your table.

The wild god asks for whiskey
And you pour a glass for him,
Then a glass for yourself.
Three snakes are beginning to nest
In your voicebox. You cough.
​
- from Sometimes a Wild God by Tom Hirons

This week I continue a deep dive into Tom Hirons' poem and using A.I. bots as a painter's tool.  It's not for the faint of heart.  Maybe pour a glass for the muse and one for yourself  before you begin. :)

The Wild God Asks for Whiskey

You will not let her see the strange guest at your table... and yet here it is, the strange guest, the wild god which is A.I.  

Last week we took a look at what A.I. can do with a painting. When you're stuck, seeking different ways to view your work, it is a mighty valuable critic.  This week, let's wander into generating inspiration images from photographs.

Using a photo taken by a creative mischief-maker (my husband), the bot was asked to interpret it as a painting.  It first wandered down the path of illustration and moebius. This is a good prompt to allow a bit of chaos and dystopian scenes.  After many prompts and meanderings, it ultimately landed on the second image below.  It was photorealistic, but that works when you're just looking for a jumping off point.  Goodbye Unsplash and license-free reference photos.  Hello wild and wonderful photo wanderings.  

​The bot can do some things with landscape photos as well.  We will take a gander at that in a future post.

My favorite technique (moving the wet paint with a rubber wedge) created some fabulous texture and highlights in the abstracted hair.  A little splatter of red on the left side of the antlers was the final touch.  Oh oh OH!

photo inspiration

A.I. bot interpretation

in the beginning

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​Thanks to all who commented on A.I. last week!  Wonder Mike and Lilly are thrilled to announce the winner in the reader giveaway. Gail P., your name was selected at random by the pooches!  Email your shipping address to thewanderingsoflola@gmail.com to collect your piece of original art.  Hooray!