Montage Art | Photo Montage Ideas in Photoshop

Montage art is one of the most exciting developments to co-exist with modern technology. I've put together a selection of my own photomontages - hope you enjoy them!

Click any thumb-nail to open a larger version. You can also view the images as a slideshow.

photomontage of a young girl standing outside the gates of eden

At the Gates of Eden is my interpretation of the Genesis theme. The cherubim don't have any flaming swords as they do in the Bible story so I think they're not as scary as they look. The child represents innocence or purity and recalls the words of Jesus when he said: "Unless ye become as little children ye will not enter the kingdom of heaven". So in my mind, this image joins the old and the new Testaments. And it seems to pose the question: will the child be allowed in at the gates? Well the gates stand ajar but nonetheless, the angels are large and imposing...

photomontage of a child running through the gates of eden

Entering Eden is my take on the story in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, where God forbids Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent persuades Eve to eat from it and she in turn offers Adam fruit from the tree and he eats also. The two are banished from the Garden in case they also eat from the other tree there, the Tree of Life. God places cherubim at the entrance to the Garden and a flaming sword as protection.The flaming sword can turn in all directions and keeps safe the way to the Tree of Life. In the photo montage, y ou can see the gates of Eden and the child about to run past the Flaming Sword. The child represents innocence, because without it we cannot enter into the Garden.

photomontage of a young girl reaching up for fruit in the garden of eden

The Garden of Eden photomontage shows the Tree of Life which was the second tree in the Garden. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and from this tree too. When God found out that they have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil he expelled them from the Garden in order to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life. Cherubim guarded it, and a flaming sword turned in every direction to deter anyone who was presumptuous enough to approach the Tree. In my version, the cherub sleeps, the sword forgotten, and the child is free to take fruit from the Tree of Life.

photomontage of a young girl riding a magic mandala above the earth's atmosphere

The Magic Mandala: A mandala is an object to focus your attention on during meditation. Meditation can lead to deeper states of consciousness where spiritual truth is perceived. Spiritual truth is of a different order to physical truth, superior to it yet not in conflict with it. For me, art is a form of meditation. It is extroverted meditation whereas ordinary meditation is introverted. When you combine the two ways of meditating successfully, the inner world and the outer world become one.

photomontage of the buddha and a young girl, both holding shells

The Buddha & the Conch Shell was inspired by part of a William Wordsworth poem, known as "The Excursion". The extract is given below:

"I have seen
A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract
of inland ground, applying to her ear
the convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell
To which, in silence hushed, her very soul
Listened intensely; and her countenance soon
Brightened with joy; for from within were heard
Murmurings, whereby the monitor expressed
Mysterious union with its native sea.
Even such a shell the universe itself
Is to the ear of Faith; and there are times,
I doubt not, when to you it doth impart
Authentic tidings of invisible things;
Of ebb and flow, and ever-during power;
and central peace, subsisting at the heart
Of endless agitation."

In The Girl & the Lion, two paths lead away from the child. One goes up and over the hill by a set of stairs, the other is a chequered surface leading into the dark woods. She carries a candle to light the way but looks uncertain as to which way to go. The lion is not a threat, she looks to him for strength and to help her make a choice. The stairs look like the more secure route but perhaps the mysterious depths of the forest might be the better way to go. Which way would you choose?

In The Holy Grail, the title refers to the goblet the child is holding although it is usually a dish, plate or cup such as that used by Jesus in the Last Supper. It is said to be sacred and has miraculous powers. In more recent literature, the Grail is said to be a symbol of God's grace which is only available to those who are spiritually prepared for it. In my interpretation, the child symbolises purity and the lion symbolises the strength one needs in order to make the journey to spiritual maturity. There are several menacing elements within the room which the child has now overcome and he grasps the Golden Cup between his hands.

photomontage of a ruined windmill, a young woman and an owl

The Ruined Windmill: There is an old, abandoned windmill very near to where I live which has always intrigued me since it symbolises suffering, according to the English art critic John Ruskin. After an experience I had while driving home one night I made a photograph of it for this photomontage.

It was dark, and as I was driving, I spotted the eerie outline of an owl flying across the field to my left. I slowed the car thinking it might fly in front of me and on in to the field on the other side of the road but instead it hit the car roof with a soft thud.

I don't know why it didn't see me, I had my headlights on and after all, owls can see at night can�t they? I hope it lived but I will never know. This photomontage is for the owl.

photomontage of a donkey being led ito the desert by a man with the head of an elephant

Ganesha and the Donkey is a symbolic work and although the meaning behind some of the symbols in this photo montage is fairly obvious, some elements have a symbolic meaning which perhaps require some explanation.

Also, I think it is virtually impossible to use symbols in art without reference to the past or other cultures and their usage so I just want to add a note about two of the images contained in this montage.

The elephant-headed god Ganesha is worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. He is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles both material and spiritual. He is considered very clever and a lover of intelligence. He is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, and every village has its own image of him. I have made him contemporary, and he is seen in my picture as a modern god, wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a skull design and skeletal hands.

The donkey is a symbol of ignorance (as in Midsummer Night's Dream, for example). It is also a symbol of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is said that when St. Francis was on his deathbed he thanked his donkey for carrying and helping him throughout his life. The donkey is said to have wept.

Of course these are just the interpretations that I have picked out, and that resonate for me, not absolute definitions. What these symbols mean, within the context of this image, is for you to re-interpret for yourself, as the act of viewing a work of art is also a creative act.

photomontage of a young boy holding the queen of hearts

In The Queen of Hearts, night approaches and a young boy stands with his back to the sun next to a large stone cross. He clutches a playing card in his right hand. His other hand points to the birds in the sky where large birds, with wings that are blurred and indistinct whirl around him, looking threatening against the approaching night sky but the boy seems unafraid. Perhaps he is pointing to the birds as a warning. Perhaps there is a deeper message. Perhaps the Queen is saying that love conquers all fear. What do you think?

photomontage of the buddha overlaid with a sunflower

The Sunflower Buddha was inspired by a quote a read which I decided to incorporate into the final montage. I think they are spectacular flowers to photograph, perhaps because of their sheer size but also because each one seems to have a uniqueness and individuality of its own. I combined a photograph of a sunflower with the face of the Buddha in deep contemplation, and it seemed to fit perfectly with the quote.

photomontage - the desert and a man in a cage, water gushing from the ground nearby

In the Deserts of the Heart was inspired by a poem from Another Time by W. H. Auden entitled In Memory of W. B. Yeats. I have only quoted the last stanza in my photomontage but if you would like to read the whole poem, it is available at www.poets.org.

photomontage of a white winged horse flying over water

The origins of Pegasus the Winged Horse lie in Greek mythology where Pegasus is a divine, winged creature, the offspring of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Medusa, a monster from underneath the earth whose gaze could turn onlookers to stone. Pegasus' image can be found on ancient Greek pottery and sculptures and paintings from the time of the Renaissance. For the psychologist Carl Jung, Pegasus was a symbol of spiritual energy that allowed access to the realm of the gods on Mount Olympus. Other legends of Pegasus include descriptions of Pegasus as a symbol of wisdom in the Middle Ages, and as a symbol of creativity, particularly poetry, in the 19th century.

MORE PHOTOMONTAGES HERE