Featured Artist for August 2011 - 24 Works on Permanent Display

 

Imagine my surprise and delight when I was chosen as Featured Artist of the Month for the High Quality Images Group on Redbubble.  I was jumping up and down with excitement, but also paralysed with fear.  24 of my works all together under scrutiny by some of the best artists on RB, plus I had to write about myself!  That was the most difficult part.  I needn't have worried though, almost 300 visitors in the first day, and I was humbled and moved to tears by the comments, beginning with the introduction by the group's amazing host, Rosehaven, who said:

"If I had a purple crayon" by ChrisArmytage

"She’s a gorgeous girl ,our Chris & boy was I looping the loop when I finally managed to twist her arm to be our Featured Artist for August !!!
from the moment I happened upon Chris Armytage ,her work has captivated me , Chris shows so much soul , it lifts me beyond reality and flies me to the heavens , so touching ,so richly textured,so inspiring & so ,so beautiful! How honoured I am to present Chris and her wondrous images as August FEATURED ARTIST for HIGH QUALITY IMAGES"

Wow, what an exciting month it's been. Now, I'm gearing up for the SoJie 12 Exhibition at the end of the month. More about that soon ...

 

Photographer or Digital Artist?

I think of myself as a photographic artist, who uses digital enhancement and digital manipulation to create my images, but sometimes the lines get very blurred and I'm never sure into which genre I really belong. 

Many people viewing my images take a look at my work and think I've just popped a texture over a photograph.  Only rarely is that the case.

I began making my own textures when I started using Photoshop almost 3 years ago, and I now have hundreds of them and usually mix at least 3 or 4 into my photographic art images.  These textures are my own photos which I have taken then digitally manipulated, sometimes using several layers to get the effect I want.

Occasionally I use a stock texture, but very infrequently as I mostly prefer to use my own.

Also, I often add a part of another photo or photos from my own stock to my work - that could be a person, or a bird, grass, tree, or whatever - and I also use various brushes and sometimes add digitally painted colour, as well as adjustment layers for dodging and burning, colour correction, light and dark, and numerous other effects.

So, by the time the image is complete, I have a number of layers which are not apparent in the finished work, and although I always state in the description when I've adjusted or manipulated or edited, and I save my PSDs, it's not usually possible to say exactly what I've done because I work intuitively.

Most people think of me as a Photographer, but I'm not absolutely sure I agree with that categorization.  The lines blur and I'm not even certain if it matters really, because I just love doing what I do.

In this sequence of images, I began with the background
photograph of the seashore.

In the second image, I have added 3 layers of texture
and adjusted the light and the exposure and colour.

In the third, I added the boat which was cut from another
photograph, then more adjustments to light and dark,
plus some dodging and burning.

"Before the Storm" by Chris Armytage

In the final image, I have added the birds with a
Photoshop brush, and layered a stock photograph of the
woman and her reflection.

Photography, or digital art?  I would love to hear your opinion.