My creative methodology involves portraying the information contained in 4x6 inch or even smaller photographs and expounding upon it in the content of my paintings. My aim is to faithfully depict the message contained in the photograph but with the small size of the photographs there is no way to get a clear look at them. It is this lack of clarity that is one of the major focal points that I seek to express in my paintings.
Read MoreWhy do I do it?
I want to know how the image contained in what I believe to be a perfect photograph will appear after being re-expressed through painting. The inherent differences would be related to the successive influences and interpretations of the differing forms and segments within the visual sense ... I want to explore how what I consider my ideal painting characteristics might be developed on the basis of a small photograph familiar to me. So I paint it, attempting to present her through my eye and hands.
The photos are merely familiar? I'm relatively more interested with the state of the photos imagery after the act of photography has rendered them into pixels compared to those things within the realm of reality. That's because what they possess is not limited to truth or reality. Viewing these snapshots of everyday life can simultaneously be a reflection upon one's own observational habits while also examining how perceptions are formed, operate and the means by which they are manifest.
Additionally, at those moments of observation while we are leafing through all (even more) photographic images, do those photos not have the effect of massaging or exciting our sensual feelings and not simply the significance of some minor media? Consequently, for me a photo is not merely a photo. Through the observational window of the photograph I attempt to root out clues as to its relevant significance and from therein collate that which I seek. I think that the photos themselves are the main issue, one that bestows upon us the ability to discern at a glance a sort of guide as to that which is possible within this world.
So just how do I select particular photographs as my subjects? My motivation in selecting a particular photo occurs at the moment in which I view it, whether it offers a mutual resonance with my own sensory perceptions, thus, the imagery within those photos that are selected are sorts of markers reflecting my own personal emotional state at that moment and the paintings are indicative of the attendant subtle feelings that had been aroused upon previously viewing the photos. Perhaps, as regards the selection, it indeed reflects my own reaction toward some sort of pro-active deed of this world. What further sparks my curiosity is this: to which photographic images am I personally attracted? And what is the reason behind my own selection of any given photograph? Consequently, the significance of the photo selection is actually what drives me to stop, look back and self-analyse, further attempting to question myself as to their form and composition as a means of then pondering the connections between myself, others and the world in general.
Text courtesy Lin & Lin Gallery.
