Another SFW Public Newsletter, 3-25-2024
Text heavy this time
Well, My posts have been in the NSFW category recently so since the images are the problem I figured I would share the text:
Regarding the Mirror series I am working on:
I have decided to do the Mirror Series in 6x18 format after creating (then deleting) a bunch of 5x7" and 6x12"s. This allows two prints on a sheet of 13x19 Epson Hot Press. For the mount, I plan to use 6x12 and a 6x6 cradled panels glued and screwed together. I worked up the entire mirror shoot and then settled on these 5 as cool enough. As usual, some of these were initially rejected but after working with them and changing the format size they became viable. I plan to use the 6x18"s as underprints (at this point) and go after them with acrylics and micron pens once they are mounted. Here is the one SFW image of the 5 chosen to be underprints. I will also be featuring this image in the 3rd segment of of my series dealing with painting on photographs.
Here is the text from the first and second video in the Painting on Photographs video's I am working. The videos are on site. Just tell me if you would like to see them. I will adjust things so you have access if you don't already... there be naked people...
Text from the first (1 min 23 seconds video):
https://www.rbcdart.com/create-a-multimedia-piece-using-a-photograph/
“Several things can be decided up front. First, pick the underprint. I break them into three categories. Contrived, Public, and Personal. Contrived is fiction. The source image is a snap taken in a created situation. Brushing teeth, leaping in an alley, holding up signs, playing in a DarkSpace are all examples of fictional themes I have photographed and then used.
Public Sources are landscapes, street photography, magazine clippings. I use landscape and street photography often. Magazines when I am making a reliquary for that issue. Public Sources could also apply to AI images and Stock images. I do not use them much as AI tends to break around a naked person and stock imagery is less fun and useful to me than what I can create myself.
Personal images are taken from my life… Model releases are problematic for those, and it adds a layer that is difficult for me to navigate intelligently. Many artists have no trouble with going 100% personal. That said, I do use myself as a model despite having the usual reactions and self judgements. It helps when I think of myself as a character actor... Also money saved and accessibility to someone who is all for what I want to try is an enabling bonus.
Voice in this video was accidentally created when a feature in Microsoft Word that I was unaware of turned on and started reading what I (Richard) had written..
Text from the Second (2 minute 1 second video):
https://www.rbcdart.com/create-a-multimedia-piece-using-a-photograph-session-2/
(Time available to finish)
Half of my time on a final piece is spent taking it and its sister images up to ‘First Look’ status. ‘First Look’ status is where I have developed the image in Lightroom as best I can, correcting perspective, cropping, value balancing, tone balancing, and other fiddly little details. One timesaver is that much of what works on one video snap or photo often works on the others taken at the same time. Occasionally I will push to make a show deadline, but that is not my day to day.
Day to day I am trying to be complete, going over videos, frame by frame and shoots, image by image. Eventually I begin to get a sense of each image set. I devote a lot of time to this process because I cannot predict which individual images I will use until I have played with them all for a bit.
For me, the culling process is less based on technical problems now than it used to be. Early on I automatically culled images when something was out of focus, cropped wrong, under exposed, pixelated, etc. Those problems were determining factors. Now, those problems can all be corrected or taken advantage of after the ‘First Look’ stage using multi-media approaches (pens, sandpaper, and acrylics). Every snap is usable. That said, I only have time for so many before I move on out of a desire to deal with another image series. I force myself to be complete in the beginning and take all the images up to a ‘first look.’ This ensures that I am spending time with the images I will eventually most want to work on. Over the years I often dip back into or redo ‘First Look’ image sets when my priorities and skills change.
I spend about as much time again printing, mounting and then working on the resultant chosen images. I will talk about that process in the next segment of this class #3 Finishing.
I made a painful visit to emergency where my gallbladder ended up being the culprit and was removed. I can go swimming in 2 weeks and the weight restrictions have been lifted. It is very much in the rear view mirror much like the hip replacement 2 months earlier.
Thanks for the support, it is very nice to talk to you about this stuff.
