ARTIST STATEMENTI have been an artist all my life but it is only during the last four years that I have worked exclusively in the medium of digital art. This body of work was started in reaction to the end of years working in a windowless midtown office and the chance to document a season’s flow of flowers through my garden. It has expanded to include flowers from everywhere I go and has inspired trips to England, Asia and Egypt.
I photograph using natural light and often capture the flower while it is still growing. Combining the camera and the computer lets me create from my reaction to the subject, blending reality and my perceptions. There is an intimacy similar to portraiture. I find the lush colors and exotic shapes that have evolved for the most basic purpose: attracting a pollinator, to be emotionally exciting. I ‘aim’ these images at a place other than the brain to connect on this emotional level. Classic beauty is often seen as irrelevant by photographers focused on the gritty, hard edges of life. I think beauty can be just as nourishing as food for thought.
I use constantly evolving tools and techniques ‘appropriate’ for each flower - guided by shape and color?, my subconscious?, the ‘force’ that funnels through artists? My archival prints use Epson inks and Sommerset Velvet Watercolor paper.
