update

One finished

Updates 2.0

Let me know what you think of how I am developing the background of these two pieces.

Progress

 

I think it is possible that the orange on my first piece will be more apparent once I print it. I think I may do a test print.

First Work finished and WIP

So I finished my first piece and you can see the beginnings of my second one. Im going for a tree type effect, maybe something to do with altered genetics of plants? Add different variations to the "fruit". Comments are awesome.

Progress

This is where I am at on my current piece. I still am working on developing the areas and above the stem-like structure and to the far left and right of the piece itself. I think its coming along.

My idea for related content is to maybe do a piece that is a large tree of all these "eggs" or "sacks" and address the one or more of these areas:
+ cloning
+ genetics
+ invasive species

new works in progress

These are the beginning of forms with little or no shading. At this point I have not determined the content or underlying message.

Rewind

There is an amount of uncertainty when going through a huge change. I experienced that when I jumped from last semester's work into this semester's. I realized there were too many variables that I was not ready to account for and that I was so used to my previous work that it would be better to, simply, create a fork in the road rather than a whole new road.

This time I will attempt to focus more on the content and color choices of my work. My last two pieces from last semester began to exhibit these qualities.

Here is the order in which I created my pieces last semester.

What we know...

What do animals live for? What is their primary purpose?
To breed, multiply, and procreate in order to pass their genetic code onto their offspring.

What else?
Animals are sexual by nature... Humans are sexual by nature... Humans are animals, but not all animals are humans. Thus, it is important for humans to distinguish themselves from the animal kingdom through their treatment of women.

I have no statistics to back up what I am saying, however I do have general observations from what I see in the media and on the magazine stand. Skin, skin, skin, and sex. Whose skin are we seeing? That of females... It is important ( at least to me ) that they not be viewed as objects of lust and general advancement of the species.

I have posted images of early to lay 1900's pin up girls. Many of these women were dressed very conservatively. Without having to show too much of their bodies, I believe their images were more truthful then those of modern/21st century media.

My ultimate goal is to initiate a revival in my work of this kind of idea. While it is a fact that sex sells, so does respect and mystery.

Where my interest comes from...

A Girl Can Always Dream said...

Could you talk about where your interest in this subject matter stems from? Not just the pin-ups but the idea of feminist art in general.

To the best of my ability, I believe this idea spawns from the influence of the media. From misrepresented woman who clearly maybe or are something more then how they are being portrayed. I guess I would say I was raised with a certain respect for woman and felt that not only would this be a great way to speak my mind but also to understand how to represent woman properly as it pertains to art and commercial work. Additionally, as I have been further researching the feminism movement I have realized that equal rights does not mean equal attitudes, which is something I would like to influence and that isn't just the attitude of men but also of women. The reason I also say women is because there members of both genders who may feel societal pressure to fit into a specific gender role/stereotype.

Hopefully this answers your question.

Pin Ups

I have decided that I would like to stay away from anything super risque, being associated with the Church of the Bretheren. So with a little discussion from a peer, perhaps, a 1930's, 40's, or 50's pinup poster type idea. Of course it would still be photography based, but many of these women were still conservatively dress but still had a lot of appeal and beauty without diminishing their image.

Perhaps I could use this style to comment on various women's social issues/stereotypes that could empower woman without being too blunt. I am going to really be relying on the input from the ladies in the class because it is you this art mostly affects most.

some that I like:

Some of the famous pinup artists that I like in particular that would be a good starting point for my approach would be Pearl Frush and Al Buell

I like that in these pinups these women still seem confident and mysterious without looking like total sluts, but today's standards. When I look at the expressions they have I really get a since of some kind of power that they have, whether that is their confidence or not. Am I making sense here or am I talking in the wind?

Purpose of my Focus

I was thinking if I were to do this, going with the Barbie Doll idea. What if I did my work on a social issue such as social stereotypes of women and how the media has oversexualized women in the media.

I would think I would approach this by shooting a woman doing a social stereotypical role such as being in the kitchen, but the would be in a bathing suit or underwear; this way it like a double "whammy".

Is this a good thought? Should I be focusing on both at the same time or is that overextending myself?

New Semester, New Project

I feel like I could continue with my work from last semester, however I don't want to start beating a dead horse too soon. In short, I personally would like to try something different.

I was thinking something along the lines of artistic/commercial retouching. Using models and props to create my scenes I would create these over the top, "Barbie", retouch jobs and impose "Barbie" into a perfect/ideal world. I realize that commercial retouching his a big topic in the art world, but I would like to develop a different approach other then before and after. I would like to take it up a few flights of steps.

I believe creating the idea of the the real vs. the ideal would be a good starting point. Now all I need to do is a. find a doll house b. find models c. get started

please share any thoughts

here a few web pages to check out of some interesting works:

http://www.johnstonimaging.com/index2.html

http://www.studiosatellite.com/

http://www.photoretouchingrestoration.com/Blog/?tag=types-of-photo-retouch

I've Decided...

I have decided that I like the way my piece (chalice looks with the new crop). I struggled very much with the decision of whether to add more to the background or not, but decided against it because I wanted to really hit at one particular thought.

The fate of (a) man is dependent upon the outcome of battles that take place within. Do we let them continue to hold us back? Or do we fight through it and choose our own fate?

Hopefully that explains why I added no more compositional elements. I really want to home in on that singular idea, that the struggles within are the only thing that determine our fate.

stuck

So I have given form to my works (excluding the flower). I want the entire body of work to represent the man's fear of the unfamiliar. Every piece can be a metaphor for a problem with man. The sphere shapes represent man or an individual and the organism representative of a the "unfamiliar", a change that disturbs the status quo. For this reason I am stuck on my current piece. I would really appreciate some suggestions of what I should do to get the idea across even further.



I feel like the piece should represent the struggle to remain free from that which holds us back.

Updates

Just some updates.

Chalice - Update

Nothing new still working on this piece it still has a ways to go. Hope everyone had a relaxing spring break.

Chalice

This is a basic layout for a new piece I am working on. I am hoping to give everyone slight insight into my process as this one develops.

As of now there are no values applied to the piece. The plan is for the light source to be the small sphere in the middle.

Destroyer of Worlds

Decided to change the title and make a crop adjustment. You will also notice I have taken the "hump" off the back of the organism( the destroyer ).

I think I might need to push some values, otherwise I think this one is close to being done. Suggestions?

Planetary Homicide

This is the new piece I have been working on. The way I plan to crop it is below:

Flower...kinda?

I don't think this one is done. I think I need more values. Any suggestions on where I should push them further? Or any other ideas for that matter?

The Escape -

Possibly finished, any suggestions that might say otherwise?

Edit: I fixed a spot near the border of the planet I did not like. After looking at it again I might decrease the size of some of the stars. I might have made some too big?

New Thoughts

I have decided to continue what I had previously started for my final in Computer Art I. Basically, I created compositions(which have become more and more space/fantasy like) entirely within the bounds of photoshop, so no outside source material such as scans or pictures.

Here are a couple that I have started on:

Scratch that, try again...

After recent events, weather, and lack of overall time due to practice I felt I would be able to spend more time working if I wasn't traveling...



New Semester Ideas off the top of my head are:

1. I can try and continue to further develop my work from my computer art 1 final.

So Ridiculous by ~BDavisPhoto on deviantART

2. I can work with mixed media with the subject being artist's block: finding muses...

3. Mixed media with strong photography emphasis with the idea. "When I am weakest I am strong"

comments please

Let it snow...

Today the equipment came in (tripod and remote shutter release) so I took to the road and visited mt first site. The Pine Tree Barn and I saw and old silo on the side of the road which I pulled over to shoot as well.

On top of the pictures I have take I took some experimental ones as well and different HDR techniques. Let me know what you think. Keep in mind this is a very basic example you probably wont see a huge difference but on a full view its amazing the amount of detail it has achieved.



Original:



HDR with Photomatix:


HDR recreation with Photoshop CS4:

Places and more places...

I have been rigorously searching for sites that I can shoot at that are within a reasonable distance. Afterall, gas has not been reasonable lately...

Here are some places I have found and am considering visiting:
1. Mansfield Reformatory
2. The Arcade
3. Tallmadge Church
4. Garretts Mill
5. Marblehead Lighthouse
6. Medina Ice Festival (Feb 12 - 15)
7. NASA Visitors Center
8. A Christmas Story House

So far that is what I have. Hopefully visit at least one each week. Comments please.

Edit(1/24):
I found a few more places that interest me:
1. Johnsons Island - Civil War Prison Camp
2. Little Red Schoolhouse - Oberlin
3. Worlds Largest Basket - Newark

As I find more I will post them.

Light Boxes... Ugh

The other day I was estimating the cost of building a light box. The pricing was reasonable but the thought of having to wire my own fluorescent light fixtures into the box was a little overwhelming. I saw some fixtures with outlet cables already wired into them, however I felt they were too big. And the smaller (lengthwise) were to bulky much like the ones over the desks in the dorms.

For time concerns and perhaps my safety I may need to get fixtures that are already wired (no matter how bulky and inconvenient) or just have Home Depot teach me...

Edit:

Among other things I am still waiting on my remote shutter cord and tripod to be shipped to me. For now I am a little set back but I have been looking for and lining up subjects for my pieces.

A New Project

So I have already written my proposal for Computer Art this semester. I thought it would be very interesting to experiment with HDR ( High Dynamic Range ) Photography and print them on backlit film, eventually installing them into light boxes. A few examples of HDR are:


HDR Room by ~crazinessisay on deviantART

I like this one because it is so surreal and the amount of detail in the because of the HDR process. I feel calm and that I can just stare at it endlessly.


Eclipse V. - The fire arch by =realityDream on deviantART

This one I also like because it is so supernatural. I find the half ring very intriguing and aesthetically pleasing.