by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
At a time when digital photography eclipses traditional photo processes and when computers are used for virtually everything from composing music to ordering groceries, two local visual artists are joining the “photographic” portrait revolution.
Diane Uhley, owner of Jacksonville Photo, Inc. and Ed Fernandez, a videographer for Executive Reporting Services, have collaborated on various mixed-media projects for nearly 20 years. This year, they’ve ventured into the realm referred to by industry groups as “photographic painting” by using the process to create a portrait of Judge James L. Harrison, who was honored at a ceremony June 21.
The process for creating one of the paintings, which has been around for nearly 20 years, involves no paint but instead attempts to create what looks like an oil or acrylic painting using only digital photos – or a blend of several. Special imaging software programs like Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop are used to create the painting.
“It’s almost virtually impossible for the untrained eye to detect that the painting is in fact a photographic creation,” said Uhley, who photographs all subjects modified by the duo.
“It’s a testament to the high efficiency of our technology today and the things we can accomplish when using it.”
According to Karen Sperling, the author of “Artistry Tips and Tricks,” a newsletter dedicated to helping photographers perfect their painting skills, one of the programs, Corel Painter, employs something called an artist “atalier,” which is comparable to a dark room, and uses a stylus-and-tablet Wacom to create brushstrokes. Photoshop is another program that allows more immediate transformation of photos through single key commands.
Sperling, who has taught and demonstrated Painter for more than 16 years all over the United States for a number of companies and schools, including Disney, American Greetings and the New School for Social Research in New York, said although programs vary in techniques used, personal preference usually dictates the best choice for a project.
“It all boils down to taste,” she said. “If a certain piece appeals to someone and sings to them, then that’s what’s important, not necessarily which software program is used to create the piece.”
Sperling said the simplicity of the photo-refining software available and its affordability, allows almost anyone with a digital camera and a computer to create work that rivals aged and set painted pieces in some of the finest amateur galleries.
“As long as you know the three components – know the software, understand the art concepts and practice –,” she said, “you can learn to create (photographic paintings) in as few as three days.”
Sperling herself, who previously never considered herself an artist, produced her first photographic painting in 2001. One of her latest creations now hangs in the prestigious Monkdogz Urban Art gallery in the Chelsea district of New York City.
Although the practice of city municipalities contracting photographers to photograph community dignitaries – the way Uhley and Fernandez have been-city structures and monuments to later create a “painting,” is not as common today as it could be, the future of such practice looks bright.
“The computer is just another art making tool, like paint, and it’s just a matter of time before it’s utilized more often for municipal purposes,” she said. “After all, reality is always more interesting through the prism of art.”