“The painter sits in the dark and imagines light. Immersed in the joy of creation, a vibrant dreamscape slowly emerges, as the imagination begins to dance with an invisible brush.”

Wake is an experimental stop-motion animation project, recording the creation of eight fantastical paintings as they evolve and transform on canvas. The resulting animation is a playful voyage through the vibrant dreamscapes of the imagination, akin to a stream of consciousness in which the artist is ever-present, yet hidden. Entirely hand-painted, it’s a celebration of the ever-transforming nature of our vision, imbued with spontaneity, nostalgia, and the love of light.

I began this project on a whim not long after working on the feature film Loving Vincent (2017). Excited to capture the spirit of a personal creative journey, I set up a DSLR and began painting, approaching each new canvas with spontaneity, allowing sudden inspirations to guide my hand. I soon saw the opportunity to play with the movement of the camera, pushing the boundaries of the time-lapse technique to evoke more of an immersive quality. Returning to the project intermittently, when inspired and in my free time, I felt it was ready to be shown after the completion of 9 paintings. Settling on the title Wake, the film finished with an original score by Misha Doumnov in 2021.

Just before the finished film was ready, I re-edited it in collaboration with Sezin Angelova and her jazz group, to create Simya, a music video, the alternative version of this visual experiment. Enjoy the journey!

2021, 05:05.

Below is the original film, Wake, and the music video, Simya.