Abstract Fluid Art
Although modern art encompasses several contemporary styles, one of today’s most popular mediums is called “abstract fluid art.”
The eventual composition is often stunning, but it is the creative process that often captures the viewer’s attention when the artist works. By pouring the paint out in specific ways, the colors flow together in ways that produce non-representational forms. You can see patterns, ribbons, and shapes form during the progression.
For artist Roman De Giuli, the possibilities of fluid art are virtually endless. With the help of 8K video capturing technology, expert sound design, and lovely background music, his project “Satellike” replicates Earth environments through its flows.
When you see the videos of his fluid art, it looks like water running through a river basin as rapids churn. It feels like you’re watching a satellite image that could be from Asia instead of being made with ink.
SATELLIKE from Roman De Giuli on Vimeo.
When Did Fluid Art Start?
Although fluid art feels like a recent innovation, it’s an artistic concept nearly a century old. The technique comes from David Alfaro Siqueiros, who stumbled upon the idea while working on something else within his studio.
He would call the style “accidental painting.”
Siqueiros fell in love with the aesthetics that the fluid techniques produced, creating a happy merger of art and science. It was complex, beautiful, and achievable without much effort. That discovery would eventually lead to the style called “Fluid Dynamics” that would ultimately inform the work of greats like Jackson Pollock.
Fluid art is possible when a denser fluid rests on top of one with less density. That causes the top to move down so that the two mix. You can use this technique with different colors because the various compounds used to create the color have other density measurements.
When you leave fluid art alone to do what it wants, what you typically see are the appearance of cells or bubbles that sometimes burst on the canvas. The paint can sometimes mix, depending on its viscosity, but the results are always 100% unique.
With the work of Roman De Giuli, you can tell that he understands the science and secrets of fluid painting at a level Siqueiros might have never thought was possible.
About the Artist: Roman De Giuli
De Giuli is a German filmmaker and photographer. He specialized in practical effects before getting into experimental fluid art.
Most of his compositions involve colors, powders, and fluids that get applied to paper instead of canvas. That’s how he can create those vivid scenes that seem to offer three-dimensional viewing benefits.
He uses macro lenses to capture the 8K video and high-res stills that become part of the creation process. After studying organic patterns, their movement, and overall behavior, he’s able to transform something simple into one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen with paint.
De Giuli operates out of the Terracollage brand, with over 20 years of experience providing media production. His work includes research and development, stock footage, and calibrate workflows that incorporate HDR and SDR.
Although his client list is extensive, De Giuli has worked for Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, HBO, Xiaomi, and more.
How Does the Artist Create the Videos?
When you see one of the Satellike projects progress, what you are watching are long shots of watery ink that create a sense of motion around several half-dried paint coats.
By drying the paint before running the ink through it, the lifelike nature of the fluid art delivers consistent results. The organic structures get brought to life with the release of various mediums, creating an ethereal landscape that feels like it could still be part of your backyard garden.
The paintings create the sense of motion you want to see from this work when the ink dries. It looks like you’re viewing a delta photograph with the different streaks, colors, and ribbons combining to look like water.
De Giuli captures the liquid ink as it cascades along the painting, producing a lovely viewing experience that feels real, even though you know you’re watching art in development. Some of his pieces have a unique 3D quality to them, offering movement and action that wouldn’t be possible without the 8K video production behind it.
“Shooting in RAW is a must to capture the maximum detail and dynamic range,” writes the artist. “I use RED DSMC2 Helium and provide images in 8K DCI with 16-bit color depth. These specs offer plenty of options for post processing, plus the freedom to finish in whatever resolution is needed.”
Roman De Giuli: Website | Facebook | Instagram
