My inspiration begins with something that visually intrigues me, then I photograph or scan it into my computer. I continually collect objects that become images that I think of as my paints.
My medium could be described as digital collage because I use found objects that become images that I may only take a small part of, to “tear” out then digitally overlay onto other images, to create an overall whole that is more that a sum of its parts. The final product is classified as digital printmaking. When I’m working, its kind of like working on a puzzle, different parts start fitting together as I mix and blend the “paints” from my collections of images.
When a piece is complete it is printed using archival papers and inks. Generally the work is printed in full size in a small series , 25 to 30, I also create a smaller version of the image in a larger series.
As I do more and more pieces it takes me longer and longer to build up and complete the layers of images that make a piece look good to me. My new work is taking as long as 3 months but sometimes things flow together nicely and a completed piece can take as little time as a week.
I can take an original I’m working on and take it several places before I hit on one I like enough to pursue that idea to a completed piece.
Sometimes as the images are coalescing, they spontaneously evolve into a theme or subject. The theme could be just visual appeal or the focus can become more about telling a story with the work. In both approaches I strive to evoke emotion in the viewer.
Mostly I want the viewer to be entertained by a piece. I enjoy it when they are surprised by the meaning behind a piece that only comes together in their mind when they start to understand the relationship of the images in the work. Many times I’ll use images as symbols or message deliverers.
I like it as much, when the viewer suddenly realizes, as when they slowly perceive, that the parts of a work are telling them a story.
A r t i s t S t a t e m e n t
