The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own. I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before. In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find. Please DO NOT send me your work. I do not take submissions.
Today’s featured artist: Beth Galton
The Series of Textures was inspired by Robert Rymans series of white paintings which hang at Dia Beacon. Food stylist Charlotte Omnès and I had recently seen them and began discussing how we might interpret these paintings using food as the medium rather than paint. We drew further inspiration from Mondrian, Franz Klein, Rothko and Matisse – and set about creating this ongoing personal series.
Rather than purposefully arranging the food to appear appetizing as the primary visual goal, we focused on the textures, shapes and forms that the food was able to represent with some manipulation. We worked with a variety of surfaces as our canvass. I chose to light the series with a hard light bringing out the texture of the application of the food as well as the depth of the ingredients such as the jam and the catsup. By using this lighting technique, I hoped to further distance the food from its appetite appeal and allows the viewer to experience the piece for its form, color, and texture. The final images are graphic compositions that are both whimsical and structural.
As a food photographer, I instinctively set out to present food in all its yummy glory. I typically want viewers to see my food images and feel their stomachs growl or mouths fill with water. Taking on this project has allowed me to break with those constraints and play with my food. These images are abstract – but they make me hungry! Inspiration is everywhere.
To see more of this project, click here.
Beth has recently signed with Candace Gelman & Associates
APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s. After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty. Follow her at @SuzanneSease. Instagram
Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it. And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.
