No, they’re not “just” digital, although the digital environment is obviously where I’m working to bring the work together but I use a variety of sources drawn from nature, literally and in honour of it.
I literally work by hand in the digital world using a Wacom pad and pen, hand drawing and creating, weaving together multiple components to create each unique piece.
The backgrounds I create are from a variety of sources and creations. From camera movement impressions I create with my camera to using ‘real’ texture. The ‘real’ texture can be abstracts I create on wooden boards with things I find in nature; sand, leaves, twigs… anything really. These are then photographed and used often blended with other textures to create backgrounds to match the mood and texture of my subject.
Often, I’m drawing on other images I’ve created of light, texture and camera movements to create backdrops, interesting and unique effects and to sometimes ‘fix’ but this is not photographic editing in the way a photographer would do it. I create rather than correct.
This morning I picked up a little feather, all fluffy and gorgeously soft, this will be carefully photographed with a vintage lens later because I know will give me the effect I want. That image is then brought into the digital workspace, created into a digital brush and can then be brushed onto a piece of work using different settings it can be difficult colours, tonal variations or even texturey (is that a word?) strengths…
So, the work is by-hand, multi-faceted and always unique.
