Surrealism
Tommy Ingberg, born in Sweden 1980, is a visual artist who includes surrealism in his work. He works with photography and digital image editing to create minimalistic and self-reflecting pieces. Ingberg describes his work as a kind of diary to express human nature, thoughts and feelings in abstracts ways. However, he leaves the interpretation up to the viewer saying "I want the viewers to produce their own questions and answers when looking at the pictures, my own interpretations are really irrelevant in this context."
Ingberg's work is very in depth and deep with regards to the emotions they can convey to the viewer. Working in black and white echos the tone of isolation and sadness his art depicts. The images always take place in what appears to be vast, empty landscapes; this also reflects the mood of the pictures. The openness of what look to be desserts give more scale to the subjects, making them seem small when they are in fact taking up the majority of the frame. This is a representation of how the human nature is tiny in the grand scheme of life, a common theme running through his galleries.
With regards to the surrealism of his images, it is clear Ingberg's work is edited. The first image has been created by editing the hat onto the body of a man, making it large enough to cover him and perhaps then editing the man out altogether from feet up. The overall image is very dark. The only light is coming from the sky in the background. This image could be representing the feeling or illness depression, since the hat could be swallowing the man. This is a description often giving by those with this illness, the feeling of being swallowed into darkness. The hat could also be the man trying to hide from the world because he is embarrassed of something or so sad he just wants to hide away. The interpretations of this image are endless.
With regards to the surrealism of his images, it is clear Ingberg's work is edited. The first image has been created by editing the hat onto the body of a man, making it large enough to cover him and perhaps then editing the man out altogether from feet up. The overall image is very dark. The only light is coming from the sky in the background. This image could be representing the feeling or illness depression, since the hat could be swallowing the man. This is a description often giving by those with this illness, the feeling of being swallowed into darkness. The hat could also be the man trying to hide from the world because he is embarrassed of something or so sad he just wants to hide away. The interpretations of this image are endless.
Marco Escobedo (a Peruvian artist) is another example of a surrealism artist who uses digital editing in order to create his images. His early career in painting lead him to develop in the field of graphic arts and design.
From these two pieces of his work we can see that he focuses on editing faces into vibrant fantasy creations. There are also clear, unnatural textures present within these images - the effect of water and smoke around the women's faces. When asked about the influence on his work, Escobedo describes it as "perceiving reality beyond our senses might seem fantasy however, fantasy is a real reality, at some space in the universe."
In this first image, entitled Delights, although the entirety is bright, bold and striking, it is the eyes that appear to stand out the most. This use of contrasting colour between the piercing blue of the eyes and deep pink of the edited skin make for an interesting and vivid centre piece for Escobedo's work. It is evident he appreciates the use of colours and textures in his work.
Escobedo's artwork is a complete antitheses of Ingberg's with regards to the way they make the viewer feel. Ingberg's black and white pieces make for sombre expressions of human nature whereas Escobedo uses imagination to create vibrant and much more cheerful feeling images which convey visions of the human imagination, rather than emotions.
From these two pieces of his work we can see that he focuses on editing faces into vibrant fantasy creations. There are also clear, unnatural textures present within these images - the effect of water and smoke around the women's faces. When asked about the influence on his work, Escobedo describes it as "perceiving reality beyond our senses might seem fantasy however, fantasy is a real reality, at some space in the universe."
In this first image, entitled Delights, although the entirety is bright, bold and striking, it is the eyes that appear to stand out the most. This use of contrasting colour between the piercing blue of the eyes and deep pink of the edited skin make for an interesting and vivid centre piece for Escobedo's work. It is evident he appreciates the use of colours and textures in his work.
Escobedo's artwork is a complete antitheses of Ingberg's with regards to the way they make the viewer feel. Ingberg's black and white pieces make for sombre expressions of human nature whereas Escobedo uses imagination to create vibrant and much more cheerful feeling images which convey visions of the human imagination, rather than emotions.
Initial ideas
From my research into various surrealism artist, I have taken inspiration from Marco Escobedo. I would use objects, along with some animals or people, merging them with different textures, to create a fantasy style image. If possible, I would also like to incorporate vibrant colour into this. These images would be created on Photoshop.
This is my first attempt at using Photoshop to edit an image. I used a water texture as an overlay over a photograph of a flower I took, then adjusted the colours to give the desired vivid and fantastical effect. With the smudge tool, I then attempted to merge the layers (the black and flower) together, giving it an almost flame like effect.
I am pleased with how this image turned out, although some people who have seen it have not been able to make out the flower. Therefore, if I were to redo this edit, I would try to alter the clarity of the flower so that it maybe stood out more. To further my work, I will next use similar techniques to edit a portrait.
I am pleased with how this image turned out, although some people who have seen it have not been able to make out the flower. Therefore, if I were to redo this edit, I would try to alter the clarity of the flower so that it maybe stood out more. To further my work, I will next use similar techniques to edit a portrait.
Here is a photograph taken of me which I then edited in Photoshop. Using similar textures as previously- because I found the fun and interesting to work with- I edited several layers on top of the image. With the adjustments, I again changed the colours and look of the overlays to give the final aesthetic. I like the look of this edit since it is like an illusion. The water texture looks like it could be flames in places, and it also continues my theme of fantasy and colour. Unfortunately, these textures are not my own images therefore I will not be able to use this as a final image. I have attempted to create these textures myself however I didn't feel that any of them, would be suitable to use as an overlay.
I would like to try this technique again using a different base image (a new subject) sticking to the theme of people. I can now try using new textures to edit in Photoshop to experiment.
I would like to try this technique again using a different base image (a new subject) sticking to the theme of people. I can now try using new textures to edit in Photoshop to experiment.
This is another example of the water textures being used in Photoshop to create a fantasy effect. This time I explored with the colour. In this edit I wanted to use minimal colour. I think this gives a more realistic effect to the image since the blue of the water seems more natural, however the intensity of the colour brings it back to the fantasy style as it is quite vibrant. Using bold colours was part of my original idea for this project and so I would like to continue exploring with brighter colours. The overall feeling of the image is rather cold because of the colours used (grey and blue) there is lack of warmth. This feeling is again reflected through the models eyes as the are just staring and provide little life. This feeling is again reflected through the models eyes as the are just staring and provide little life. Although there is little colour, the image still stands out due to the textures used, it is unusual.
I would still like to use different textures in a new edit to see what kind of effect they might give, since I connect water with a kind of isolating, cold feeling. I would also like to continue exploring with colour to change they feeling of an image and continue my fantasy theme. My next step would also to be to use my own texture images as overlays for my edit. Due to the technical difficulties some of my previously used textures, I will have to use different textures when taking my own photographs as resources. This may change the overall effect of my edits.
I would still like to use different textures in a new edit to see what kind of effect they might give, since I connect water with a kind of isolating, cold feeling. I would also like to continue exploring with colour to change they feeling of an image and continue my fantasy theme. My next step would also to be to use my own texture images as overlays for my edit. Due to the technical difficulties some of my previously used textures, I will have to use different textures when taking my own photographs as resources. This may change the overall effect of my edits.
I edited these images in Photoshop using my own images as examples or texture as overlays. This time I used feathers instead of a water texture which then also gave me the idea to edit the subject too. I used the smudge tool to feather the subject so that it would have to same effect as the overlays. For the second image I used a layer mask to remove parts of the subject so that it would appear as cracks, similar to the textures of the overlay, which are rocks. This image is also in black and white also adds to the creepy atmosphere of this image.
The overlay for this image is a technique called bokeh. It is the light affect giving the impression of circles. In this image, I found that the circles reflect the shape of the eyes. From this, I thought it would be interesting to use the clone stamp tool in Photoshop to place the eyes randomly around the image, giving the final effect. This is also the most colourful of my images and also, I think, has the most fun and cheery feeling. However, I do not think this is my most effective or powerful image since it may appear a little messy. Although, this is art and can be perceived in many was. The aspect of the eye throughout this images adds an intriguing atmosphere to me, as somewhat mystical effect. This links to my theme of creating fantasy style images since it links to the idea of magic. as well as this, this edit could also be seen as a many eyed creature of floating eyes hidden in a mist of lights, creating a mystical effect.