Photography
My first pictures were digital. In 1999 I purchased a 1-mega pixel Hewlett-Packard digital camera. I had just moved back to NYC and was astonished to discover this new world of expression.
The absence of film did away with any financial constraints upon my artistic output and allowed me to fully explore this new medium freely and with great amounts of practice. Early on I had little formal training as a photographer, so I was able to find my own voice without the luggage of convention. It was a practice of pure bliss to find my subjects using nothing but my eye and an inherent sense of composition and aesthetic I had already learned from painting.
As I went on and improved at photography I found myself learning more about digital imaging, from color calibration and image scanning to Photoshop (digital manipulation) and printing. This proclivity made me useful to clients who would eventually teach me the more historical aspects of photography, grounding my natural inclination towards imaging with a wider sense of why I was compelled to take pictures in the first place. I slowly learned that the why of photography was even more important than the how...that technical acumen was no match for a good story or a meaningful project.
Since I was lucky enough to work for several different photographers as clients, I was able to form well rounded views on various photographic approaches from portraiture to more documentarian work. Since some of my clients were heavily invested in film photography, through scanning various different types of film, I learned how to emulate film grains so I could eventually imbue my own digital work with a more analog feel, if it would best serve the image.
Having many different photographic projects over the years further enhanced my understanding of digital image manipulation for printing, web design and film. The more I understand about photography, the more I see there is to learn. I see that with image making you never arrive but if you are open to and committed to seeing the world with new eyes, the journey itself is worth all the effort.
Art Direction
My personal journey over the past fifteen years of working as an art director has been an amalgam of self learning, design adaptation and execution all tailored to my clients' needs. This wasn’t just an approach to what they needed in the immediate, but rather a methodical and deliberate approach toward anticipating what they would need tomorrow and next year to successfully communicate their brand in the ever-changing landscape that is modern media.
Art direction encompasses many disciplines and various approaches to problem solving. It can range from filling a space in a pleasing, dynamic and engaging way to content creation that bridges the gap of understanding between two entities. I enjoy the challenge of designing visceral solutions and having a wide range of methods in my arsenal to execute them.
In the end, my being a multidisciplinary artist has allowed me to cultivate an aptitude for original content creation that serves the individual project, rather than a one-size fits all approach based off a limited skill set. Ultimately, I believe the best art direction is done with people, by placing the right talent with the right tasks and cross pollination between clients, artists and makers to produce outcomes that are bigger than any one individual. This is what I find most fulfilling about art direction. It leads me on to discover new approaches and methods of story-telling, which I think is the ultimate goal for any successful commercial art endeavor.
Fine Art
I have been painting for most of my life. It is my oldest discipline and my most intimate means of expression. Although I incorporate many different styles and mediums into my work, I always strive to create beautiful, honest images that will hopefully inspire anyone who might look at them. Of all my artistic endeavors, painting is my most personal. I prefer to reserve my paintings for less commercial projects that are more about the pure bliss of artistic creation. This is not to say that I wouldn’t employ my ability to paint for commercial projects, but that for me painting is more of a personal practice of self discovery.
I was formally trained at a young age to paint in water color, oil and acrylic. Although I love to paint in oil, time constraints have me mostly painting in acrylic these days. I also enjoy many peripheral adjuncts to painting such as fabric dyeing, works on paper as well as collage.
The best way to describe my current fine art approach is mixed media. I like to combine various mediums and approaches to arrive at my finished works, incorporating photography into my work as well. Whether it’s silk screen or printing directly onto canvas which I would then stretch and paint on afterward. Since the advent of post photography, I find that in the end whether hand painted or digital, my art is more or less about the final resulting image and not how I got there. In my most recent work, I like to explore the difference and similarities between my photographic process and my painting, as I enjoy them both so much. This melange of approaches allows me many different possibilities for both figurative and representational imagery.
Graphic Design
I would have to say that I find graphic design one of the most difficult things to do well. The reason for this is that it generally requires the designer to be both present and absent at once in order to be successful at conveying whatever message there is. What I mean by present and absent is that the designer must be studied in all the various aspects of conveying the message but yet absent enough to allow the message not to be stifled by the various methods employed by the designer. To bring all one's knowledge and skill to bear on a project, while at the same time taking one's own aesthetic choices out of the process enough to successfully serve the project.
Graphic design involves conducting the various aspects of the visual dialogue to move the audience experientially from A to B in a developing concept. It requires the most investment in study on the part of the designer. In fact, it requires endless study because the methods to employ are constantly evolving as the means of expression evolve. For this reason it is my favorite of the commercial arts.
Most of my experience with graphic design has come from involvement with package design. This would include everything from book covers to Music CD jewel cases. Additionally, I have designed many websites and print presentations with particular attention to design principles that lead to to a successful user experience.
Graphic design may seem like groping in the dark to many, but in actuality, it is a process fed by understanding and led by intuition.
Video
Video production is perhaps the most potent means of conveying a message because it can impart the fullest sensory experience to the spectator. If a picture is really worth a thousand words than 24 frames a second is priceless for the opportunity it affords to engage and interact with an audience.
Although video production is my newest skill set, it may just be my favorite in terms of the endless creative possibilities it affords. To blend film with motion graphics and music is a wonderful creative playground to explore. Although I have only had a handful of opportunities to work in professional video production, I hope to explore this medium more deeply in future projects.
What I have recently learned from my study of video production is that content is king. No matter how slick the presentation may be, if one doesn't have a compelling message or story to convey then one might as well not have bothered.
On the other hand this is a medium that is only just now arriving at its fullest potential. With outlets such as YouTube and Vimeo and production costs low enough to put the tools in the hands of almost everyone, video is just now presenting the full range of what is possible as people create from what they love, pushing the boundaries of the medium farther everyday.