I love experimenting with all kinds of imaging methods and processes. My father is a doctor. When I was young he would bring home his office’s powerful microscope for me to play with. It always blew my mind how things look up close… Years later I got an adapter for my camera.
I have tried everything from pond scum to my own blood. While exploring my blood, I came across this little area where cells were squeezing between air bubbles and thought – this is like some kind of biological hourglass.
I went out to catch the sunset, but was really inspired by the moon and wispy, colored clouds. When I got home to review the images, I realized I got a little blurry powerline in the image, so the only good shot, the moon was way up in the frame. Problems are good, because they create problem-solving. I then found a playful and surreal way to make the image work.
When plans fall through, go get some sushi, then make new plans… All I wanted was to go bowling for my birthday, something I have not done in years. We got to the alley and there was over an hour wait for a lane. I was incredibly disappointed. We left and walked down the road. “Let’s stop and get some sushi”, I said.
We then met the most fabulous waiter who told us to check out this other bowling alley in another part of town. We went and got a lane right away, some fancy drinks, and then I bowled a 186! Six strikes! Maybe I should join a league?
I try to make an image every day, just something, anything. Usually it’s new, sometimes it’s revisiting something old. It’s kind of for you, but mostly for myself. It’s a part of my practice as a maker.
I took my dog out this morning and noticed the way the light was coming through these trees. I knew it wouldn’t last long, so I ran back inside to grab my Fujifilm camera, a long lens, and back out. It was nice to know that the day hardly began, and I knew I had my image. All I had to do was edit the file.
Usually my blog is about art and creativity, but music is the biggest part of my life. I am always listening when at work, in the car, or especially when making art. In 2021, the Spotify “Year In Review” informed me that I listened to 103,815 minutes of music. That’s almost 2,000 hours, or 72 straight days of non-stop music. Weird brag, but this is my highest number yet… Not to mention my vinyl record collection that isn’t counted!
While I spent some time in a tiny cabin in the mountains, I really focused on “seeing”. To someone outside of the arts or photography, that sounds ridiculous, but to us, seeing is a really important skill. I went out every morning and every night with my camera, just looking for things that had texture, color, pattern, and feeling to them. Here were three images that I felt worked really well together to explain my attempt to “see” while out in nature.
I was hired to create art for a company website. It was an amazing experience because they gave me a few vague ideas of what they wanted, but let me take complete control on the entire project. Since I am such a Virtual Reality enthusiast, I decided to sculpt every piece entirely in VR (using Adobe Medium and Masterpiece Studio). I then textured and rendered each separate part on my computer (using Marmoset Toolbag), then edited each piece into a single scene (using Adobe Photoshop). It also includes a photograph I took, of course.
Although the final work was mainly for a website background, I worked on a huge canvas, so the final image can be printed out HUGE with stunning colors and details. Might be time for a few NFT’s… This is where Orman is currently exploring, and he’s going places!
I am staying in a tiny cabin in the mountains for a few long days. I adore the ocean, but the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains really got me feeling at home. I have been waking up to see the sunrise, walking my dog along the river, and photographing the stars at night. I instantly love this place, and hereby swear I will someday live in a small cabin – somewhere.
As artists, we want to always fit things into boxes. It’s photography, or digital art, or sculpture. We also need to divide things up, because sometimes there is a place for one and not the other. That said, I really do love when different mediums work together, and become more than each alone.
This started as a painting. I painted with bright colors under a blacklight. I then photographed it and manipulated the imagery in Photoshop. I don’t plan to stop there, for I am now going to cut them up and create animations with the paintings. What was a painting became a photograph, then digital art, then video.
Change is inevitable. Living near the ocean really allows you to realize how much things are constantly changing. We had some really powerful waves, and the king tides ate away at a lot of the sand. I went to visit the ocean to find out the beach is gone. But this is life. Ebb and flow.