Surreal Project Planning

Going into my second year at college, my photography work will become more independent and I will finally have more control and more of a personal touch over my work like I have always dreamt of.

 For my new project, I will be creating mixed media pieces via the use of photographic elements, graphic elements, varied, deep and methodically-approached research, and a range of programs and techniques, i.e. photo-manipulative-friendly programs such as Photoshop and, in some aspects, PaintNET, and more personally graphic design-specialized programs such as the aforementioned PaintNET and FireAlpaca.

 Lots of planning and documentation of progress is recommended for these projects, which I am thankfully already fairly consistent with when it comes to my personal projects. I also find it easy to document and record progress along a project; exhibiting the journey to the lynchpin of a particular project is a skill I am thankful to possess.

 As documented below, I have conducted a mind-map of ideas. Albeit small, there are several routes I can take that are very resourceful and rich. The route I feel most comfortable taking is the mixed media path, with elements of photo-manipulation and other artists' styles to vary my work.

 Dissimilar to my recreations, I will be able to showcase my own personal work fully and freely with optional elements of other artists' styles, which I am happy to take on board. Two artists in particular I may attempt to incorporate into this project are Dela Deso and Tyler Spangler, both of which I studied and researched in my secondary school photography GCSE course.

 I have also been advised to, in tandem with my photo-manipulation and graphic design mixed media planning, look into surrealism. Creating brand new landscapes—essentially camera-less photography, exclusively on Photoshop—out of various other photographs and resources is an avenue I have not previously explored but would vary my work incredibly, and is an idea I will be taking up due to the pragmatic and metaphysical messages and meanings behind it.

 My lecturer has created concise and helpful notes regarding my exploration into surrealist art and how to approach an essay writing about Salvador Dali, a surrealist painter best known for The Persistence of Memory, a painting of several melting pocket watches across a coastline.

 I hope to create a piece reflecting my dreams and nightmares, including visuals of my biggest fears, such as heights and insects, and odd occurrences within my dreams, such as the world flipped upside-down, or walking around purchasing items in a shop, such as sweets or stationery.

 I will use photographs I have taken, as well as reference images which I will photo-manipulate to create something new from them. I may also be able to incorporate other programs into this, such as PaintNET and FireAlpaca, art and graphics programs I have used for some time for personal work, and even some college work showcased here.

 By the end of the creation of my first piece, I hope I will have established the framework of a basic style and will be able to tweak and adjust it as I continue to ease myself into Photoshop and surrealist art in general. I will need to keep my ideas fairly grounded in my own ability, but will also need to step out of my comfort zone to achieve variety.