Embellishment of a photograph with ink and paint????
Until it was recently suggested to me, mixed-media usage on photographs was something that I had only briefly stumbled upon in passing but had never contemplated as an extension to my photography. As a “fine art” landscape photographer, the emphasis was always on creating the perfect picture both technically and in terms of composition. Yet when the captured images during the Bloody Bridge project started to evolve into a more abstract representation, and I was “nudged” by a friend in the direction of embellishing with acrylic ink, the prospect of something very exciting and quite powerful suddenly emerged.
To say that the initial steps were tentative would be an understatement as there was no easy way back should I have taken a wrong turn, and many expensive prints could have ended up in the bin due to a careless slip of the hand. Yet as my confidence grew and I saw the potential to develop something that I could never have previously imagined, I found myself actually shooting the core subject with the idea of creating a mixed-media composition as the final outcome. The idea that you can actually go out to shoot a slightly incomplete or imperfect “base” for an image opens up a huge expanse of possibilities where perfect subject matter is no longer a pre-requisite, but yet the beauty or emotion can still be captured as the foundation for the final image.
Mixed media is now something that I love to work with, but only when I can actually bring something of worth to the composition and where doing it is just not simply for the sole purpose of making it unique. Obviously, many genres lend themselves more readily to embellishment but, so far, I have found that ICM does not fit into this category. Maybe in time I will see it from a different perspective.
Every image is different and requires a unique assessment. Some may only require a fine ink touch, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, acrylic paint and brushwork may be used to provide the desired blending or emphasis. At times, during the process, my assessment and visualisation of how the image should be interpreted will change, and often the process is carried out over a number of weeks, where the evolving composition is displayed on my studio wall for frequent observation and occasional adjustment until I am happy. Even with simple photographs, the ‘walk-by’ assessment is a great test for any image. By the end of the period, you either love it, start to dislike it, or see imperfections that you may wish to adjust.
In nature, the subject matter is constantly changing. Should you return to your original base image at some later date, you will find that the process of visualising and embellishing also change. This makes the concept of embellishing a very dynamic and fluid genre of creation.
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