Artwork of the Week, February 19: Painting and Photography

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

A friend of mine has been taking photos, something new to him. As a painter, my own photography has been limited to documenting artworks, and some frames I have never really shown anyone.
Photography has interested me a bit, I even taught it for a few years, but have always remained a painter at heart. Improvisation, experimentation and a dialog with materials has kept me interested since I was a kid. When I did take photographs, I looked at them as source material for textures and compositions, although I can honestly say I haven't used a photo as a direct source for an artwork since I was in undergraduate school. Being an avid hiker and fisherman, I have often toted a camera to capture interesting details or to have an artistic outlet when it was not practical to carry drawing and painting materials on a 35 mile with a huge pack on my back. Obviously, this has had a direct impact on the subject of the photos, which inevitably have continued to revolve around water.
I started to think about how being a painter affected the way I look for an image with a camera, and what I do with it after I shoot the frame. All of these photos were processed and printed by me in the darkroom a few years ago when I had access to the equipment. I manipulated each print, changing exposure, toning prints, and even repeating portions of the development process to manipulate the effects of value and subtle color. Macky lines (reversed values and iridescent edges along value changes) appear in some areas, create tension in depth and surface.
All of these photos were shot with 35mm Kodak Tri-X black and white film and printed full frame (you see everything that was shot, they are not cropped, the black "border" is light escaping around the edge of the negative, exposing the paper). They were shot on various trips over the course of a couple of years, but all of these prints were made in the darkroom over the course of a few days. I have not titled these photos, and right now they are titled with only the location in which they were shot.

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

I printed multiple versions of each photo such as those below, and manipulated them individually as separate pieces, working intuitively (but taking copious notes so I could do it a gain, but I never felt compelled to reproduce the exact same photo, perhaps this is the painter in me..)

St. Mary's River, Virginia

Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

St. Mary's River, Virginia

Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

So what do you think? Can you see the connection between these photos and my paintings? Do you think being a painter has affected the way I have approached these photos?
These one of a kind, manipulated prints and more are available for sale. Drop me a line if you are interested in any of the photos.