title: 18th Century Still Life

(see the full-size close-up below)

The original picture for this was made long before we had the magic of computers and such programs as Photoshop.  It originated in the backyard of my folk’s home in Carmel, California. It came about when I admired the color and texture of some cups and saucers Mom had brought home from Mexico. Coupled with some driftwood and fruit, I set up the 35mm on a tripod to photograph this still-life.

The resulting transparency was satisfying. Viewing it I saw colors reminiscent of an 18^th Century still-life. That started me wanting to enhance what I had to more closely resemble those oil paintings. I began by sandwiching the slide with a clear one on whose back side was smeared petroleum jelly. With this combo in a slide-copier I “painted” the petroleum with a fine camel’s hair brush to get the brush strokes I wanted. Then I photographed the manipulated combination as late afternoon golden sunlight refracted through the slides.

Years later I scanned that slide into a high resolution graphic for enlargements. I did little to alter the original, changing only the contrast. Studying details of the final graphic one will notice the warm, golden colors, the textures suggesting heavy application of oil paints, and the light and dark chiaroscuro technique popular during the Impressionist’s Period. To me this is an example of a contemporary scene given the patina of age and the techniques of an earlier art period long before its time, but wearing them well.

This is a close-up image from the full-size print, showing the detail involved