Natural Whimsy
Photographic image and acrylic on canvas
Natural Whimsy is a photographic composite printed on canvas with archival pigment, developed and enhanced with acrylic paint. The photographs were taken in the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and are part of a long term study of that environment. An environment is in itself a collaboration and the complexity of factors such as living things, water, soil, and climate that create an ecological community.
Key to our collaboration was viewing Linda’s art and evaluating what I thought were her strongest attributes. Especially seeking the skills that could add a new dimension to my work. She had a fabulous, bold and fanciful element that I appreciated. She liked my work with wildlife and a current project emphasizing the environment at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. We decided to play with that theme. I created a photographic composite of images taken at the refuge. It was printed with archival pigments on canvas to produce a somewhat ethereal quality that would allow for Linda’s imaginative stamp and a whimsical evolution to nature’s realism. Hesitant at first, her acrylic brush strokes brilliantly developed the quality and vision that we both sought. Ultimately, the collaboration was a delightful merger of personalities and artistic vision.
Artists
Linda Allen
Grosse Pointe Park
www.facebook.com/LindaAllenInMI
Acrylic, watercolor, enamel, collage, drawing.
Linda Allen earned her BS degree from WSU and worked in the Interior Design field for 15 years. Afterwards she went back to her first love...ART. Linda creates mixed media art using drawing, paint: watercolor, acrylic or enamel and collage. Her art is in collections in Michigan, California, Florida, New Mexico and New Jersey. Linda maintains a studio at the Pioneer Building in Detroit.
Linda is an eclectic artist who paints, draws, assembles and likes to mix it up with collage and combined mediums. Painting in acrylic, oil or watercolor is a celebration of color and motion. Linda develops textures and dimensions by varying the brush strokes and combining mixed mediums and collage to enrich the tactile surfaces by applying papers or cloth to the surface. She wants you to feel and touch it. Linda is an artist who appreciates movement and action in her life and it is reflected in her drawings, painting and assemblages. Emotions are significant to her and she strives to find happiness in her life and art. Sharing that joy gives her the greatest satisfaction when people connect with her art.
Jamie Feldman
Southfield
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Photography
@dbajamie
The visual arts are a lifelong pursuit for Jamie Feldman that included various media. Right brain and left brain attributes have always worked conjunctively to provide control of the media to create a viable perspective on life and the environment. A remarkably diverse background in art, technology, and science proves especially advantageous.
Much of his formal art training was at the Interlochen Arts Camp over several years and the Society for Arts and Crafts that became the Center and then the College for Creative Studies. Yet, his dental, surgery training, and a Teaching Fellowship also played important roles. Dr. Feldman credits his knowledge of psychology and the physiology of human vision as significant in creating his visual art.
Currently, Jamie is a digital photographer, teacher and fine art creator. Even with extensive training and experience in film, his digital photography is largely dictated by his research in medical imaging, MRIs and CAT scans. Unlike the chemical reaction in film, creating a digital image involves collecting data and interpreting that information with software to produce a final image. Mastering the particular capabilities of the camera, lenses, and software allows for a unique perspective, meticulous exposure, effective composition, and giving the viewer visual cues to define the story.