artists I know
Fox Clark Gallery (Indiana, PA) | Feb - Marchish
It dawned on me the other day that I have not spent much time talking about my own work. I’m not for sure why that is. I’m not shy about my art, and I am producing and selling art. Well, whatever the case may be, I’ve decided to share a bit with this post.
These are from an exhibit I currently have at The Fox Clark Gallery in Indiana, PA. The exhibit is called artists I know (stylized with the lower case because that’s cool). I guess twenty years of writing books and articles for the academy has attenuated by ability to generate creative titles, because the small exhibit is exactly that: portraits of artists whom I know and admire.
These are photographs that I then manipulate in Lightroom and Photoshop - pretty dramatically, too. (I’ll touch on that again, presently.) It began with this photograph of Tim Toy, which I labeled “preacher” (note the lower case, again; très cool, n’est-ce pas?).
This picture was the culminating project for a photography (correspondence) class I took from Brigham Young University. I had enrolled in the course so I could learn how to take pictures of my artwork that would stand muster for online sales and juried competition. I appreciated the course, but I can’t say I enjoyed the experience. But creating this picture was something I really, really enjoyed.
I met Tim in his studio, and asked him how he wanted to pose. He struck a pose, and I started snapping pictures. After a few moments of silence, his corgi had had enough and ran over to him. (The puppers is cropped out of this picture.) That broke the silence, and Tim and I started chatting about art, fly fishing, cancer, and selling stuff online. For some reason, I kept taking pictures.
When I went in to edit the pictures in Lightroom, I fell in love with everything about this photo. I do not remember the precise moment this specific picture was taken, or what we were talking about. I do know that he was no longer posing. The pathos on Tim’s face is incomparable, and I’m grateful that I was able to capture it, even if only by chance.
I really enjoyed the taking-pictures part of the process, at least, once Tim and I started talking. Tim’s a friend, so the conversation was natural. But I had never been in his studio before. Being there felt very intimate, to me, and I think that intimacy is captured in this photograph.
I also found out that I really enjoy the editing process. I was surprised at how creative it actually felt. I just assumed it would be very technical, which, in all fairness, it was. And, just in general, the technical part of creativity is half the fun of making art, as most artists whom I know would agree. But I didn’t anticipate how satisfying it would be. It was the same satisfaction I feel whenever I lay down a wash of one of my favorite hues.
When I realized this, I stopped tweaking the image to make it more presentable, and started going hog-wild.
I loved it. Tim loved it (he made it his Facebook banner!). The puppers loved it (that’s not Tim’s corgi in the picture, that was another canine), too, I’m pretty sure.
At this point, I didn’t consider myself a photographer - and I still don’t, for that matter. But I wanted to keep experimenting with both the in-studio photo shoots and the editing process. So I asked several of my artist friends if I could take their photos in their studios media res. I was pleasantly surprised that each of them said “yes!”
So far, including Tim’s, I’ve done seven. They all are on display at the Fox Clark Gallery for the month of February and a little bit into March. Below are the other ones I’m exhibiting. I still have two more to do - one of BA Harrington and then one of myself (cuz why not), and then I’ll be content. :)
Limited edition prints of these works are available for purchase.
Price: $100 per print
Size: The image is approximately 8.5 x 11 inches, but it’s printed on a larger sheet of gloss paper that’s closer to 14 x 19 inches in size
Edition: Limited run of 20 per image
Message me if you’d like a print, or email at jcooper@joncooperarts.com.
I am also working on an art book that will feature not just these photographs, but several other photographs of each artist that I really liked, but didn’t “make the cut”. If you’d like to be notified when that’s available, email me and I’ll make sure you’re on the list. (He says as if there’s currently an actual list with real names on it.)
Thank you for your support!
Jon ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
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