'Alice and Koshka in the Crux Forest'
20 June 2007 - Sixteenth Anniversary
(Image hosted on DeviantArt Sta.sh. Full size picture - https://sta.sh/0jasur2md67 )
20 June 2007 - Sixteenth Anniversary
(Image hosted on DeviantArt Sta.sh. Full size picture - https://sta.sh/0jasur2md67 )
Celebrating sixteen years since her exciting performance on 20 June 2007, Alice hangs out in an alternative forest scene, partly inspired by the work of @saintjohny . Saintjohny's pictures include some of the earliest manipulations of Alice to be produced to a consistently high standard of convincing realism. He used her extensively, always relying on Makar's photos from the 'Crux Forest' session, and occasionally she appears more than once in the same picture.
There are a number of Saintjohny pictures which show Alice in forests, and two of these focus on a sense of isolation which seems to echo the 'Crux Forest' experience, since no other characters are included and the natural imagery dominates the scene. There is no suggestion of the usual historical or fantasy themes which Saintjohny was so fond of creating, beyond the titles, 'Witch Ordeal' and 'Last Rite to be a Goddess'.
The former looks so much like a 'Crux Forest' picture, that it is often included in collections of Makar's work. Saintjohny did not always sign his work, and occasionally he signed with a different name, which can be confusing. 'Last Rite to be a Goddess' contains the text, 'Ljos Utlit I by Thomas Jones'. Google suggests this is Swedish, and offers, 'Light Outlook I' as a translation, but I expect the linguists among us can improve on this.
Alice wears a tiara, a necklace and an armband in the 'Last Rite' picture, but no such details have been added to 'Witch Ordeal'. In both pictures, Makar's patibulum and bindings have been preserved, the figure is highlighted by bright sunlight filtering through the trees, and she appears small, and overwhelmed by the forest. My picture uses the same pose as 'Witch Ordeal' in its original orientation, and whilst Alice is surrounded by trees, she is not entirely dominated by the natural environment,
Apart from adding new sections of timber to all four extremities of the cross, I have made almost no adjustments to the figure of Alice, and she appears substantially as seen in Makar's original photograph. The manipulation is composed of fifteen visible layers, including six masks, a gradient fade and six filters for texture and colour blending.