I am a photographer and drawer and painter and musician finding art in the ways and means of life.

 

©tjlewis All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved. Please do not use my photographs without permission.

 

As an artist educated by the hard knocks of life, school, work and community, I have battled, pleaded, sneaked up on art, lay hidden behind art with indifference, earnestly persisted in pursuit, even gave up on art; yet somehow my obsession to create beautiful frivolous creations out of nothing driven me year after year from 1965.

 

I mostly figured things out on my own, with a little help from courses and lots of close observation. I used paper, pencils, paint, crayons, linoleum, rollers, inks, photography, and computers to create images, shapes, and objects. I explored, meditated, and visualized them all from the heart and mind, feeling a sense of wonder and excitement.

 

Photography

My Photography is about capturing light into a print making medium. The manner this is accomplished has varied through out my journey as a photographer. The first way I learned was by putting black and white film into a SLR camera and pointing it at what I saw in the world around me. Then chemically processing the film and again using light projecting that image on to a paper print and staring at it. For many years this had been the way I produced photographic images.

 

That all changed with the advent of computer digitization in photography. Initially, this revolution merely replicated the analog nature of photography. However, after the digital transition, it opened up the concept of capturing light onto an electronic light-sensitive material and processing it by a computer, which we now refer to as algorithmic photography. The image I perceive is processed through computer programming logic processes known as algorithms. Similar to the “chemical accidents” of classical photographic methods, algorithmic photography expands the realm of image creation to extraordinary perspectives.

 

Drawing and Painting

Works that are a product of putting pigments onto a two dimensional surface is an art form that takes up another portion of my output. I have played with pen and inks; pencil and crayons; watercolor and polymer paints on a variety of papers and other two dimensional media.

 

The primary subject of my drawings are depictions of twin characters. When inquired about the significance of twins in my art, I simply respond with a shrug and explain that my portrayal of twins stems from the inherent duality of human communication. Additionally, I have twin cousins who used to tease me when I was younger, which has undoubtedly influenced my fascination with twins.

 

Landscapes serve as another avenue for my artistic exploration. Panoramic vistas of the world captivate my imagination.

 

Abstracts represent the purest form of visual representation, devoid of any direct references to the real world. However, they hint at and evoke perceptions of what is commonly considered to be real.

 

My work capturing light and dark and hue, tone, tint and shade encompasses all methods, known to me, for making images and if I haven’t yet explored it I certainly hope to before I can’t anymore.

 

I am grateful for my existence,

beyond that I will be dust and am grateful;

in between, my presence is illusion and I am grateful.

  

©tjlewis All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved. Please do not use my photographs without permission.