Fauvist Graffiti
Every photographer has a style. We like to be distinct and unique. We want someone to see our work and instantly recognize that it’s ours. I’m no different than any other artist in that regard.
It took me a long time to find my voice in photography. I tried weddings, portraits, landscapes, you name it. While I was adept at those things, I never found myself separating from the crowd and grew frustrated with what I saw as “rules” on my art.
Within the last year, I’ve dedicated a lot of time to figuring myself out. I’ve experimented with digital and film. I’ve frequented museums and art galleries almost more than my own home. I’ve studied art movements ranging from Impressionism to Cubism and everything before, after and in-between.
Undoubtedly, I’ve been most stirred by images that evoke a sense of the abstract. The colors and emotions I can draw out of a scene are more important to me than the subjects themselves. This is relatively simple to do with inanimate objects and landscapes. I just scout locations until a color palette speaks to me and from there, set to work figuring out how to use my camera in unusual ways.
Recently, though, I wanted to see if portraits could be done this way. How would a human being look in an abstract photograph? Could I get the same surreal sense from it or would the model take away by putting in a more concrete, human element.
Yesterday, I got my answer. I took local actor Ashley over to graffiti alley by the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood. We took the time beforehand to pick out a decidedly Fauvist inspired wardrobe. From there, I drew inspiration from a Matisse portrait and had her face painted in bold, flat colors of gold and blue. Her features were outlined in black. I imagine she was quite a shocking site to see for the people on the streets!
Below are the results of my experiment. For those who are curious, these were created completely in camera. There are not Photoshop edits, tricks or manipulations here. The only post-production done was a slight enhancement of color and minor noise removal due to night shooting and a higher ISO.
