Kaleidoscopia - the Pikcha collection

kaleidoscopia / www.3develop.nl
Kaleidoscopia
Clockwork Hortensia
Pride of India
The Kaleidoscopia project includes a growing
number of colorful artworks. They all started their
lives as a photograph of the beauty of nature. By
copying, mirroring, rotating and blending these
original photos, they turn into surprising geomet-
ric patterns.
Beautiful shapes
The kaleidoscope was invented in 1815 by the
Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster. He devised a
tubular instrument with pieces of colored glass on
one side, a viewing opening on the other side and
two mirrors in between, placed at an angle to each
other, creating eye-pleasing structures.
The word kaleidoscope is based on the Greek
words kalos (beautiful), eidos (shape) and skopein
(to look). So it’s just an instrument for looking at
beautiful shapes, nothing more, nothing less.
Photoshop
As a source material, I don’t use pieces of colored
glass, but photos of flowers, blossoms, leaves and
fruits. And instead of mirrors, I get the assistance
of Photoshop to multiply, flip and spin those im-
ages and overlay them with transparency. But the
end goal is the same: creating beautiful shapes to
look at.
Crop Circle Ad Astra
© frans blok | 3develop

A Show of Hands
Daisy and Friends
Scripts
I have written various scripts, or actions as Pho-
toshop calls them. They transform the original
photos, each according to a different formula,
into semi-abstract works of botanic art. Into
something completely new: a blend of nature and
mathematics.
Magical
In these works of art you can see what you want,
or not. Snowflakes and starfish, mandalas and
molecules, fireworks and galaxies, it can all be dis-
covered in Kaleidoscopia. But one can also simply
enjoy the magical beauty of these images.
Chance
Sometimes elements from the original photo can
still be recognized in the final result; but often it
is predominantly the colors that give character
to the work. And chance generates a fascinating
interaction of lines, polygons, circles, stars, swirls
and other shapes. With a multitude of associa-
tions: baroque and gothic, art nouveau and art
deco, Disneyworld and India. After all, nature and
geometry have always inspired artists throughout
the ages.
Relief
As a finishing touch, I give the artworks a sugges-
tion of relief, a 3d effect. As if I personally threw
thick blobs of paint onto the canvas, after which a
mysterious solidification process resulted in spec-
tacular textures.
© 2021 Frans Blok, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Limited edition
The following selection of artworks from Kaleido-
scopia is available as limited edition signed prints
at Pikcha.com.
Purple Reign

Feuilles Flottantes
original photo
detail
A strongly geometric work in pleasant autumn colors, based on the twelve-fold copying, rotation and
blending of a photo of floating leaves (in French: Feuilles Flottantes) in a pond.

Ad Astra
original photo
detail
A striking mixture of geometry and nature, in shades of blue, red and purple, created by the ninefold
rotation and blending of a photograph of aster flowers against a background of autumn leaves.
Limited edition signed prints:
www.pikcha.com/image/fdd8ebe42279

Pride of India
original photo
detail
A lively and colorful work in attractive autumn colors, based on a photo of a koelreuteria paniculata tree.
One of the common names of this tree is Pride of India, although its origin goes back to regions more
east, like China and Korea.
www.pikcha.com/image/4e7c05ef2263

Rise and Fall
original photo
detail
An extremely colorful work in shades of mainly red and orange, with spots of blue, purple and yellow,
created by rotating and blending a photograph of the reflection of trees and bushes in autumn colors in
a pond.
www.pikcha.com/image/660a85732130

A Show of Hands
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic work, celebrating the beauty of autumn, created by the twelve-fold rotation and blending
of a photograph of the leaves of an acer palmatum on a sunny day in November. Acer palmatum, also
known as Japanese maple in English and iroha momiji in Japanese, is known and loved for the vibrant
colors of its hand-shaped leaves.
www.pikcha.com/image/2f6d562a2079

Mandala Tricolore
original photo
detail
A joyfully meditative geometric composition with green, orange and yellow as the main colors and with
additional touches of red and purple, created by copying and rotating a photograph of coneflowers amidst
other plants on a flower market.
www.pikcha.com/image/5da2497f2022

Marché aux Fleurs
original photo
detail
A multicolored, vibrant work, created by the sevenfold rotation and blending of a photograph of various
flowers at a flower market.
www.pikcha.com/image/6d2a09831975

The Local Fluff
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic work, created through the fivefold rotation of a photograph of a field of wildflowers,
including the fluffy remnants of thistles, at the end of summer. It must be noted, though, that The Local
Fluff is also the name astronomers give to the interstellar cloud, a region with slightly higher hydrogen
density, through which the Sun, and as a result all of us, are currently moving on our orbit around the
center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
www.pikcha.com/image/801197ef1957

Heathwave
original photo
detail
A swirling pattern in pink and purple hues, based of a photograph of a heathfield at Lemelerberg, The
Netherlands, in August.
www.pikcha.com/image/524a0e0f1717

Clockwork Hortensia
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic work in tones of blue and purple, with a reference to the hands of the clock, created by
the twelvefold copying, rotating and blending of a photograph of the flowers of a hortensia (hydrangea)
shrub in summertime.
www.pikcha.com/image/57c2496d1594

Crop Circle
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic image with a striking geometry, created by copying, rotating and blending a photograph
of a wheatfield in summer.
www.pikcha.com/image/395467561586

Flower Power
original photo
detail
A lively and colorful work, in yellow and brown hues with patches of green and purple, created by copy-
ing, rotating and blending a photograph of dahlias in a summer garden.
www.pikcha.com/image/d07963ef1371

Purple Reign
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic image in hues of red and purple, created by the sevenfold rotation and blending of a
photograph of echinacea purpurea or purple coneflower, a member of the sunflower family, known in
traditional medicine for its benevolent qualities.
www.pikcha.com/image/b0bcbf2e1218

Honeysuckle Circuit
original photo
detail
A colorful kaleidoscopic image, created by copying, rotating and blending a photograph of a wild honey-
suckle shrub by the side the road on a warm day in summer.
www.pikcha.com/image/93c85f5d1144

Persian Sleeper
original photo
detail
An extremely colorful, kaleidoscopic image, based on a close-up photograph of the leaves and flowers of
an albizia julibrissin (in Dutch: Persian sleeper tree) in late spring.
www.pikcha.com/image/d5193580420

Nymphaea Meridian
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic image in shades of pink and green, with a twelve-pointed star surrounded by a circle,
based on a photograph of a pink water lily (nymphaea in Latin) in a pond.
www.pikcha.com/image/f6dae1f7418

The Early Days
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic image in shades of yellow, orange and brown, based on a photograph of the young leaves
of a maple tree in springtime.
www.pikcha.com/image/958cf6a9419

Mentha Aquatica
original photo
detail
A lively image, full of motion, in shades of purple and green based on a photograph of water mint (men-
tha aquatica), a perennial flowering plant in the mint family, growing in the dunes on the island of Goer-
ee-Overflakkee, The Netherlands.
www.pikcha.com/image/5ec7b4e1350

The Neighbour’s Garden
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic image in shades of pink and green, based on a photograph of a flowering cherry tree in
an urban garden in springtime.
www.pikcha.com/image/26d889e6345

Mallow Gold
original photo
detail
A lively kaleidoscopic image in shades of yellow and green with blue and purple accents, based on a photo
of malva (mallow), growing on the slopes of a dike in the Netherlands in summer.
www.pikcha.com/image/6f5447ce346

Red Square
original photo
detail
A kaleidoscopic, geometric image in shades of red and purple, based on a photograph of a flowering
shrub in a garden in summer.
www.pikcha.com/image/27abebf2330

Ryesing Star
original photo
detail
A semi-abstract image with ears of rye taking the shape of a seven-pointed star, based on a photograph
of a field of rye and cornflowers in summer.
www.pikcha.com/image/a6f46ad6329

Daisy and Friends
original photo
detail
A colorful, semi-abstract image, created by copying, rotating and blending a photograph of a meadow
with daisies, dandelions and ground-ivy.
www.pikcha.com/image/ac160074328

Kaleidoscopia - the Pikcha collection

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