Ghost Skull
Acrylic on canvas, 8x16”. Painted in May of 2010. Original available for purchase.
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Inseyed
Original Photo taken on September 21, 2009 in my dining room, Costa Mesa, CA. Final edit on September 27, 2009.
Models: Jasmine (torso) and Emily Smith (eye)
One of my personal favorite pieces. Digital manipulation can be especially tricky when dealing with flesh. Getting textures and tones to match is tough as well, especially when you composite a macro shot of something that is over 100 times smaller than it appears in the final image.
About the edit: The two images used were shot in the same space, but different lighting, and different days. The eyeball was shot first, for a separate piece that didn’t pan out. So when I was shooting Jasmine the next time, I was struck with this concept, knowing I already had good shots of Emily’s eye. I edited the torso first, evening out skin tones etc. I matched the skin tone of the eyelid to Jasmine’s as close as I could, and pasted it in. I erased as much of the eyelid as I could, to get it to blend. To get the necessary depth on the finger impressions, and the ridges of the lid, I relied on dodging and burning exclusively. This is definitely one piece where my skills as a painter came in handy. Also, the shoot Jasmine and I were doing originally involved her wearing black liquid latex over her pubic area, so I had to cover it up and blend it digitally as well. Almost as much work as getting the eyeball in. If you’re interested, you can see that shot here.
