Untitled (Ship)

Dimensions 80"x60" Untitled (Ship) comes from a body of work that explores the relation of digital media to traditional media, and the baroque aesthetic to modern sensibilities. My process involves digital photography as well as oil painting in order to create an art object that brings both media and the cultures that created them together in a visual vortex. In order to transform my subject matter (in this case a gold guilt model ship from the 18th century) from its original form and context, I use the camera, against all logic, to introduce the element of chance by purposefully shaking it while taking the photo. Using digital photography in combination with a rich, feathered painting surface results in a painting that is even more baroque than the object it depicts (faberge eggs, gold gilt model ships, etc). From here I render the images into paint, returning them to the realm of High European Realism, consistent with the era in which the original subject matter, was fabricated.