Tag: photography

Photographer Brandon Wilder on Collectives, Community, and Cats

self-portrait of the artist. Brandon Wilder, 2021.

I started working as a bartender shortly after school; it allowed me to meet a great deal of people with all kinds of different personalities/morals/viewpoints on life. It allowed me to see thing from others’ eyes. Not that I’ll ever truly walk in their shoes, but I know what size they wear. I actually only started creating Art and Photography fairly recently, about five-ish years now, although I have collected Art my entire life. It started with Comic Books as a kid, Ansel Adams prints in my teens, and progressed from there. My wife & I actually had to thin our collection to move down to Fayetteville. 

Taking a photo is me freezing a second in time, telling a story that deserves to be told. Past achievements include, but are not limited to: three exhibitions at The Delaware Contemporary Museum (Wilmington, DE); one showing at the Center For the Creative Arts (DE); shot various bands and DJ’s (EDM) throughout northern Delaware & Philadelphia PA. I created album covers for musicians I’ve had a strong creative relationship with and been published in various music trade magazines. My work can be found on Instagram where I have separate pages for Art and Photography.

3 Things making your life richer & why
1- My Wife is absolutely amazing, and in so many ways: she is insanely creative, one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, as well as supportive of all my craziness. 
2- Our Cats: Armond, who is a savvy 17 year old Russian Blue that’s always at my side. Lazlow, who is just the cutest thing you ever did see: a very vocal 2 year old Ocicat weighing in at about 15 pounds at his last vet visit. 
3- My camera, and by extension the equipment I have collected over the past couple of years. I have tendency to buy the equipment that most photographers think “why would I ever use that”. I have so much love for these smaller companies that make really original offerings in a market where everyone tries to copy the same things their competitors are doing. A personal favorite is Lensbaby out of Portland OR.

Local artist you admire: I moved to Fayetteville a little under five months ago from Wilmington DE and I’m still getting woven into the local art scene. I hope to be more in touch with the community and meet many of the artists that reside & create locally, but that just hasn’t happened yet. It’s been tough finding ways to reach out given the pandemic and hurdles created because of it.

What is one of your current artistic experiments? I am currently collaborating with my wife on a multi-media experiment involving her amazing x-acto(tm) knife skills and silk screening experience with my portrait photography.

Also for the past few years I have been working with an organization called Tri-State Underground. We are a music/arts collective that puts together events with various rock/hiphop artists and then use those gatherings as an opportunity for locals to feed the less fortunate within their communities. Currently, we are working on expanding our outreach that began in the Philadelphia market to encompass the area from Raleigh to Fayetteville.

What changed about your practice in 2020? Will you keep this change? 2020 was tough and 2021 hasn’t been a picnic. It definitely led me to broaden my horizons as far as subject matter for photography. When you’re a live music/event Photographer and all that comes to a screeching halt, you either give up or move on. I moved on to creating photography where loneliness and fear of being alone was a central theme. I had to do that for myself more then others, to remind myself that it wasn’t just carefully planned courses that stopped without much of a warning. Art is definitely a form of therapy, for the Artist & the audience. 

Where do you practice your art? Describe your work space. I practice in the streets, music venues, just about anything or anywhere that catches my eye. I never leave home without a camera bag. I pretty much work out of a Jeep Wrangler/a well organized Pelican case/a smaller grab & go sling bag set up for street shooting. 

How do you find your subject (next piece, idea, voice)? In Delaware I was pretty setup with contacts that would call me about various projects, but here has been a bit more difficult. Social media definitely helps. I have had some amazing shoots down here with some of the local Hip Hop collectives. 

I have also worked in tattoo shops as a Body Piercer for the better part of fifteen years, and that has taught me more about art, in a real day-to-day sense. The thing is most tattooers create much more than just the tattoos they sell. Be it visual/physical/writing/etc. it’s very much like a pseudo-Art school for the thick-skinned. If you put ten people with strong personalities from all walks of life in a room everyday for years that only have one real bond (Art), guess what they are going to talk or argue about.  

Advice to newer artists in your genre: “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” -Andy Warhol. That quote in particular has definitely stuck with me over the years.

Micro World, Macro Happiness: JRoss Photography

JRoss

I was born and raised in Camden, NJ. I’ve been doing art in some form or fashion for most of my life. I started out drawing superhero characters I saw in comic books. Once I got to high school I learned how to paint and after I graduated I joined the Army where I served for 10 years. During my time in the Army I dipped my feet into Graphic Design and Digital Illustration, but it wasn’t until I left the military and went to college at Fayetteville Tech that I started taking Graphic Design seriously. However during my studies I had to take couple of photography courses and fell completely in love with it. 

I consumed all things photography and anything related to it. Fast forward to 2004, I left college and started doing portraiture out of my house, where I still shoot from time to time, and then I discovered drones and the world of 360 photography and added those to my creative arsenal. I’ve been able to use the skills I learned and was able to combine them into what is now JRoss Photography – Fayetteville, NC, where I create traditional as well as custom portraits, sports banners, posters, and wall art. When people ask me what I do as far as art, my answer is usually “that depends on what you want done.”

I do have a regular job that I work during the week, but when the weekend comes, the cameras come out. I use Social Media exclusively for my business. You can find me on Facebook and on Instagram.

portrait of the artist

3 Things that make my life richer:

1. My family makes my life richer because they are my biggest cheerleaders. Whenever I have to go on location for a shoot I can always count on my wife, sons, or even one of my nephews or nieces to help me with anything I may need. I use my wife as my unbiased art critic whenever I create something because she will definitely tell me if what I create sucks or not. Fun fact: my wife and mother-in law went in to buy me my first professional DSLR camera so I guess you could say they were my first investors!

2. Art makes my life richer because I always try and figure out how a particular piece of art was created. The colors the artist used, the thought process behind it…I mean everything. Whenever I’m around art of any type, whether it’s music, video, traditional, etc, I just feel at peace in that moment because I can embrace what the artist created for that moment and put my troubles to the side.

3. Education makes my life richer. I’m a firm believer in the saying; you’re never too old to learn something new. I will find myself watching a random YouTube video on a skill that I might be able to use to create some art, and before I realize it; a few hours will have went by. I just find learning something new exciting and fun.

Local artist I admire: I really don’t know a lot of local artists; I have however gotten the chance to work with a talented music artist named Jamie Davis. I met him at an art show we both were featured in and I ended up creating the album art for his project entitled The Village. I admire the fact that he takes his art seriously and the fact the he gives back to his community.

One of my current artistic experiments: I’ve been delving deep into the 360 Photography / Tiny Planet branch of the photography tree. I first saw Ben Claremont (the top 360 photographer in the world) on YouTube about a year ago, and saw how he creates his tiny planets, so I bought a 360 Camera and have been creating Tiny Planets ever since, when I’m not taking portraits. I eventually want to get a coffee table book of all my 360 planets.

What changed about your practice in 2020? Will you keep this change? Like most businesses that deal with customer service, when the pandemic hit, I had to adjust from doing studio sessions to doing more on location sessions. That’s also when I took up doing 360 Photography, and yes I plan on keeping it.

Where do you practice your art? Describe your work space. I have a spare room in my house to store my equipment and where I work on new designs. It’s usually messy…I’ll just leave it at that. When I have a shoot I’ll either use my living room, or dining area, otherwise I’ll most likely be on location.

How do you find your subject (next piece, idea, voice)? For my 360 photography, I’ll usually ride around town, or even go out of town and just look for interesting buildings, bridges, trees, etc. Basically anywhere that I think would look good as a Tiny Planet. I’ll usually spend a few hours shooting at a space and then cull the images to create a tiny planet.

Advice to newer artists in your genre: I honestly don’t know too many 360 Photographers, but as far as photography in general: never stop learning new techniques, absorb everything you can from more experienced photographers, learn how to take constructive criticism, and most of all remember: YOU are the artist, so create art that makes YOU happy.

La Scintilla Grande: Photographer and Painter Maura Trice

I was born in Italy in a very creative family: my grandfather was a music teacher and organist with a passion for oil painting, my brother a talented illustrator, and my uncle a professional painter. I started singing at 11 and performed with my band until I came to the States in 2017. 

When I moved here I was inspired by the urge to learn about a different culture and mentality. I inevitably started seeing similarities and differences in how people perceive and treat others with the same curiosity of a child observing the world for the first time. I started exploring this concept representing the beautiful diversity I saw through portrait painting. I had a new way of looking at the world and painting a face made me feel as if I was pointing a microscope to the soul.

In recent years, due to life circumstances, I had to transition from acrylic painting to digital art with which I continued exploring new styles of portraiture. Finally given the opportunity, I then polished off my old dormant passion for photography and started integrating photography with digital art resulting in a mixed media artwork. I’ve been studying several techniques and tools, and I’ve taken several online classes searching for my own style.

3 Things making your life richer & why:
My creativity. I have always felt the urge to create, to express in a visible and shareable way my vision of the world in the hope to make a change.
My family. My husband and my son who make my life and house lively, noisy, and full of love. My family at home and the one that I found here. They are encouraging toward my art and patient with my quirks.
My curiosity. I love to learn new things, meet new people and see new places. The world is so big and diverse that life would be wasted without trying to know more about it.

Local artist (any genre, Cumberland County preferred) you admire: I haven’t been here very long but I’ve had the chance to meet and sing with a very good local musician: Zack Guinn. He’s a great bass player and a very good person. I’m happy to call him a friend.

What is one of your current artistic experiments? I’m mixing photography and digital art. I also like to add symbolism to my art so that every time you look at it you can notice something new.

What changed about your practice in 2020? Will you keep this change? 2020 was a year of discovery. That’s when I started experimenting with different media: I work with wood, made moulds out of bottle corks, I tried watercolor, glitter, I scanned paper and imported it in pictures. Some idea worked better than others and I will keep using them.

Where do you practice your art? Describe your work space. I have a studio in my house. My husband and I put it together piece by piece. We put in a new floor, painted the walls, decorated, set the equipment. On the walls I hung some of my art and some art that inspires me.

How do you find your subject (next piece, idea, voice)? Sometimes it’s an interesting face I see on the street. I’ve literally stopped random people more than once to ask them to be in an artwork. Other times it might be a movie, a picture, something on the news. Literally anything can ignite the spark.

Advice to newer artists in your genre: Experiment and learn your craft. Everything else comes with time. Today you’re better than how you were yesterday and tomorrow you’ll be better than today as long as you keep working on it.

Painter Angela Stout Expresses All the Emotions

Painter-Sculptor Angela Stout

Angela M. Stout is a contemporary Painter, Printmaker, Photographer, and Sculptor living in Broadway, North Carolina. Angela is a disabled veteran originally from Warren, Ohio. She is a member of Cape Fear Studios and teaches art classes to the public. She is a graduate of Fayetteville State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Arts. Angela exhibits frequently in group exhibitions and competitions locally, nationally, and internationally.

3 Things you can’t live without & why: I cannot live without my family. They are my constant source of love and inspiration. I cannot live without my laptop because I use it to ideate and create my references using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I cannot live without my workspace as it is my place of quiet retreat and the hub of my creativity.

Local artist (any genre, Cumberland County preferred) you admire: Professor Soni Martin is an amazing generalist and my mentor. She is a major inspiration for my journey to be an art educator. She has an amazing work ethic and teaching style. I am enamored by her artwork.

What is one of your current artistic experiments? I am currently exploring overlaying my portrait images with abstract textures. I use a mixture of achromatic with chromatic colors to create an emotion. My purpose in my art is to evoke a feeling in every medium I do.

work in progress in studio

What changed about your practice in 2020? Will you keep this change? I focused more on the mental effects that were caused by Covid 19, the Black Lives Matter movement, and my own personal losses I experienced in 2020. My art went to a darker place when I felt compelled to create. I will continue to explore societal issues and the emotions connected to it going forward, but maybe not from such a dark place.

Where do you practice your art? Describe your work space. My workspace is a converted bedroom. I have four easels, a small printing press I made, a sculpting table, and storage for all of my canvases. I have my paint accessible on a rolling cart. I am a disabled vet, so I have difficulty standing to paint. I sit down on the floor and brace my arms on my knees so I can paint vertically without my muscles becoming fatigued and shaking.

How do you find your subject (next piece, idea, voice)? I am always taking pictures of people. I begin with an emotion or idea I want to express. I search through my archive of photo references until I see a person who speaks to me. I open Adobe Illustrator and begin sketching. I start overlaying the textures until something begins to emerge that guides the direction. I move with in the process until I see the potential in a piece.

Advice to newer artists in your genre: As artists we are always putting pressure on ourselves to be original, develop a style, and to make technically great work. We can be harder on ourselves than anyone else. My advice to younger artists is to not look at failure to achieve your vision as a negative. I have learned far
more from my failures then my successes. Another sage bit of advice is to be flexible and not hold on to the original concept with a death grip. Instead remain fluid while you are going through the process of creating and allow yourself to change direction if you see a new possibility.

Tony Murnahan Cultivates Creativity to Calm

all photos courtesy of Tony Murnahan

Fayetteville based multi-media talent, Tony Murnahan, has been honing his skills in still and moving images since 2006.  He has worked with many local recording artists and models to create award-winning music videos and short films. He also co-produced “Pieces of Talent”, an independent feature horror film, that won multiple awards on the film circuit including “Best independent horror film – 2014”.

Tony is also a gifted musician himself and has nationally toured with bands showcasing his musical talents on guitar, bass, and drums.  In his spare time away from his visual media work, he enjoys creating soundscapes with his handpan. Tony is a critically acclaimed recording artist on acoustic baritone fingerstyle guitar.

3 Things you can’t live without & why:

My photography equipment – My creative eye never rests. I am always studying lighting and looking for different ways in which to capture images. I enjoy the entire creative process from start to finish. 

My musical instruments – Creating music keeps my blood pressure low and relieves any stress that accumulates throughout my day. I would be miserable without them. I continually play music throughout my day, especially when I feel like I need a little decompression.

My ping pong paddle – When I was 16 years young, I was really into skateboarding. One day that year, it was raining and my friends and I could not go out skating. So, my friends invited me to play ping-pong. We visited the U.S.O. in Jacksonville, NC and there I met a Marine by the name of Joe Billups. Billups was a master table tennis player. He told me I had lots of natural ability, and suggested I continue playing regularly to develop my skills. So, for the next few years, I trained with him several hours a day after school. Today, I am a (USATT – USA Table Tennis) certified state coach and I continue to play for fun and exercise. I’ve competed in over 100 tournaments and have earned dozens of trophies over the years. I challenge anyone in Cumberland County to a game. You can meet me at the Cape Fear Table Tennis Club (http://capefearttc.net)

Local artist (any genre, Cumberland County preferred) you admire: I really admire Raul Rubiera. He is such a loveable guy and a fantastic photographer of course. He has this great way of making you feel like family. His family is very talented and creative and this area is fortunate to have them here.

What is one of your current artistic experiments? Currently, I am cultivating soundscapes from my handpan. I feel like the handpan is my soul instrument, and every time I play I feel a little piece of my soul is repaired. I really wish I would have started playing handpan a decade ago. I have the Covid pandemic to thank for learning handpan. I figured I needed to learn something new if I was going to be spending so much time at home.

What changed about your practice in 2020? Will you keep this change? You know… I do not think much changed about my practice in 2020 aside from avoiding large gatherings. My photo & video endeavors pretty much continued on as normal thankfully. Musically I have been rolling solo for the last few years so nothing much changed there either. I have not been performing live because I mainly focus on recording and creating videos for my social media pages.

Where do you practice your art? Describe your workspace. I practice my music in the peace and quiet of my uncluttered home. I practice my photography & videography everywhere. I’m inspired by life, and by the people and things around me.

How do you find your subject (next piece, idea, voice)? I gave up hunting for my next subject or idea. I usually come up with ideas when I am not absorbed in work or practice. I have found it is more effective and efficient for me to just stay aware throughout my day. There is so much around us to feed off of, and if you stay observant and perceptive ideas will find you.

Advice to newer artists in your genre: My advice to newer artists is to keep your mind open. Spend lots of time with the people you trust and with the people who inspire you. Make your own rules and experiment with different ways when it comes to your art.

Photographer Shane Booth on Stories of Self and Place

Photographer Shane Booth, with Helen.

Shane Booth grew up in central Nebraska where he would spend hours looking at family photos with his grandmother, sparking his love for photography. He graduated with a BA in art from Nebraska Wesleyan University and an MFA in photography from the Savanna College of Art and Design. Currently he is a Full Professor of photography at Fayetteville State University. His diverse body of work has taken him all over the world where he has taught workshops and exhibited work in Sweden, Africa, Taiwan, and most recently Russia. He received a grant to work with HIV positive orphans in Ethiopia with Artists for Charity, and was awarded a another grant by the US Embassy in Moscow to work with the LGBTQ and HIV positive people in Russia. He has many honors including being nominated for Sweden’s favorite TV star by QX magazine for his stint on the wildly popular reality tv show Allt for Sverige, tackling the subject of being HIV positive. It was his time on this show that took him back to his roots and he began photographing Nebraska and its people. He also photographed Laura Bush for The National Willa Cather Foundation. His camera of choice is an antique studio camera from 1867 which he found in a junk shop in Alma NE that he has converted to shoot 8×10 film.  

3 Things you can’t live without & why: I cannot live without Coffee (Starbucks is the best).  I learned to drink it in Sweden and have been addicted ever since! Pandemic Taylor Swift ( her last two albums were brilliant). I have literally listened to nothing but those two albums for 6 months now. And of course my camera. Or actually any type of camera will do. I love making images!!

Local artist (any genre, Cumberland County preferred) you admire: Hmmmm, that’s a hard one but I am gonna have to say Sara Meyers Sourcier! I would love to have the ability to paint like she does! Oh the stories I could tell if I had that ability!!

What is one of your current artistic experiments? I am currently working with Cyanotypes combining my love for graphic arts and ancient photography techniques. I love combining new technology with antique processes. I combine digital photography and graphics with the cyanotype process.

What changed about your practice in 2020? Will you keep this change? During the pandemic I have had the motto “just make it”. All of my work is deeply personal and with so much time, I have had the opportunity to flush out some of the ideas that live in my head. Some have been successful and others not so much. Being your authentic self is so important when making art. So much soul searching happened during the pandemic and my photography has been a great way to express that. I will definitely continue to work with this freedom!

Where do you practice your art? Describe your work space. As a photographer I practice my art wherever my subject is. This is consistently Nebraska and my home in Benson NC.

How do you find your subject (next piece, idea, voice)? My voice comes from my life experiences  and my Nebraska upbringing. My artwork often revolves around pastoral scenes that have deeper meanings. The Landscapes are self-portraits, and the portraits tell stories. My love of the Nebraska author Willa Cather is also a great influence on my work. Her ability to connect the reader to the subject is something I aspire to do with my photography.

Advice to newer artists in your genre. My advice to artists is always be your authentic self! It is so important to make work about what you know.