Josh Dykgraaf

Is it a creature or is it a plant, well its neither. Melbourne based artist Josh Dykgraaf stitches petals and leaves, bark and textures into fantastical creatures. This is all done with the help of Photoshop. Some of the creations can take over 50 hours and be comprised of 3000 layers.

Josh noticed that when leaves were tightly stitched together in Photoshop, the resulting image resembled the feathers of a bird. He then went on to experiment with many different textures and forming them into new sentient beings. During lockdown Josh gathered various texture images in close proximity to his home, these would then be combined to form scales, plumage or skin.

Finding limitations with time and lighting, Josh has set up a home studio which allows him to freely capture foliage at the correct angle and under the correct lighting conditions.

Working closely with nature has inspired Josh tackle issues that he cares about. Recently he traveled to the fire fields of Victoria, a desolate place which killed millions of animals, there he photographed textures which he is incorporating into new works, due for release later this year.

For more information, please visit: https://www.joshdykgraaf.com

Lizard

Bird