Both pieces were done in Photoshop. I used the layers option to fine tune color and contrast of selected areas, allowing me to blend separate images. The use of filters was kept to a minimum to achieve a photo-realistic look. "Fallen Angel" is a composition of images from the United States and Spain. The wings were taken from a sea gull and distorted using Image/effects/distort. I used the rubber-stamp tool to delete details that I felt were distracting.
In "The Nature of Mind," I created a puzzle structure that frames the image . The outlines for each area were saved as paths. This allowed me to have a large number of saved areas with minimal file size, by using the paths palette/make selection option. A photograph of stone was pasted into each selection, and the density and color were adjusted to give the illusion of depth. The statue was placed on its own layer, then duplicated and filled with the sky photograph. The shadow details in the original statue layer were selected and stroked to bring out more detail. I used the opacity slider on the layers palette to blend these elements.
David Blessum
[View Artist's Statement]
