For the last four years I have been creating digital art using these images. Every piece begins with one of my original photographs whether it is a close up of a Bull snake, a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, a Box Turtle or wild flowers like Tufted Evening Primrose in full bloom. The images and the moment I captured them resonate with me as I transform them into playful or dramatic images that conjure up new ideas and memories. Working with Becca the Bullsnake I created an image that reminded me of the Incas; a headdress that would have adorned their crowns. From a close up of a Box Turtle a resemblance to ET emerged. In all my art pieces the original photograph still peaks out at the viewer but only if one looks closely, often distorted but still present.
I try to bring alive the color and vibrancy present when I photographed the reptile or flower, to spark the imagination in people who would normally be afraid, even disgusted to look at an image of a snake. I want to make the viewing fun, to have the public figure out what the original fauna or flora was captured on print. I hope that each piece conjures up different forms and feelings to the viewer.
I have loved the outdoors since I was a small child, spending summer holidays scrambling in the Alps, and collecting and pressing wild flowers. Since moving to New Mexico I have spent the last 15 years photographing the desert wildflowers and reptiles. My husband, Bob has been rescuing and relocating rattlesnakes from around Socorro for over 30 years. During the summer months we explore the desert seeking out the local lizards and snakes. We often keep the snakes we come across or rescue in cages for a week to two months during which time I take close up images of the snakes. We always set the snakes free where we found them or in the cases of relocation well away from human habitation.
For the last three years I have been creating digital art using these images. Every piece begins with one of my original photographs whether it is a close up of a Bull snake, a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, a Box Turtle or wild flowers like Tufted Evening Primrose in full bloom. The images and the moment I captured them resonate with me as I transform them into playful or dramatic images that conjure up new ideas and memories. Working with Becca the Bullsnake I created an image that reminded me of the Incas; a headdress that would have adorned their crowns. In all my art pieces the original photograph still peaks out at the viewer but only if one looks closely, often distorted but still present.
I try to bring alive the color and vibrancy present when I photographed the reptile or flower, to spark the imagination in people who would normally be afraid, even disgusted to look at an image of a snake. I want to make the viewing fun, to have the public figure out what the original fauna or flora was captured on print. I hope that each piece conjures up different forms and feelings to the viewer.
