TECHNIQUE—Digital Fine Art
My work is comprised of my own photography with an occasional hint of 3D modeling, backed by my knowledge and classical training in Fine Art. I started with years of drawing in charcoal and pencil; then painting in watercolor; then drawing in pen and ink; and now photo manipulation of my photography in Photoshop.
When the work goes to print, I use very fine paper that is a blend of cotton and linen. This paper tends to absorb the ink and it's rich, deep colors onto the rough textured surface. The result is an image appearing as if it were created from the mixed media of watercolor, pen and ink, and charcoal and pencil--not a glossy photograph.
Photo Manipulation
I will describe ELEGANCE from my current body of work as an example. Her body is made up of a single glass bead that I photographed. It was necessary to place every bead in its own Photoshop layer, where it was then shaded and put into place, as her body would have been shaded had I been drawing her form. Photoshop tends to bog down somewhere between 30 and 50 layers, depending upon the file size. Therefore, those layers must be merged into one. Only at this point can you continue to build on top of the flattened layer. ELEGANCE has over 900 glass beads that make up her body. This makes for over 900 layers for the beads alone. The strategic lighting of her body must be controlled one bead at a time. That involves a tremendous amount of work.
I tend to push the very complex software I use in my art to the breaking point. It is this trait that contributed to my being asked to join the Beta Test Team for Meta Tools, an honor for the elite geeks in the computer world. It means you understand the software enough to find its flaws, which in turn allows the creators of the software to improve the product.
Typically it will take a multitude of gigabytes in collapsing layers to create an image. This makes for a multitude of layers.
I will note THE GIFT as my second example. I spent months creating it. I spent over a year collecting, rejecting and photographing the architectural elements that make up this piece. For example, note the front pedestals that hold the large spheres. These were made of white marble. Inch by inch I resurfaced them to give the look of glass mixed with stone. Something one never sees in real life. I colored and lit them, both from within and on their surface, so that they look natural in their environment. The lighting of this piece, and each element in it, was a feat in itself. I was honored to have this piece exhibited at the Palm Beach Photographic Center Museum. I do not take photographs and just place them one on top of the other. I blend, add texture, lighting and the manipulation of each element, until I create a single seamless image, as I have seen it in my mind’s eye.