The Petty Project

Britt Dietz has been recreating the classic George Petty pin-ups utilizing photographs. You can view the website for the project HERE, as well as check out the Facebook Album and Britt's FB page.

"George Petty was a wonderful Pin-Up artist for Esquire magazine during the late 30s and the 40s. Especially during World War 2, his art was the most famous of the time. Painted on the noses of aircraft during the war by the crews, the 'Petty Girl' became a symbolic reminder for service men of what they were fighting for. I've always been interested in Petty's work, I believe he was the 'classic' pin-up artist and there's not been another like him. The Petty Girl was innocent, teasing, but never full revealing. The classic traits of a true Pin-Up. I came up with an idea last year to 'recreate,' through photos (as close as I could), all of Petty's artwork from the late 1930s to the 1950s. It's a daunting task that will take years to do, but a fun project that I'm very excited for and will including as many different models as I can shoot with till the project is completed."

The Original George Petty Indian Artwork.

Petty Project Image #021

Model: Tiffinie Stowers

Slideshow of the whole process: http://petty.momentscapture.com/finished/slideshows/show.php?ID=021-Indian-Tiffinie

Just a sample of Britt's process.

The Original George Petty Blue Bikini Artwork.

Petty Project Image #107

Model: Kelly Tarbet

Slideshow of the whole process: http://petty.momentscapture.com/finished/slideshows/show.php?ID=107-BlueBikini-Kelly

The Original George Petty Inner-tube Artwork.

Petty Project Image #124

Model: Alisha Winter

Slideshow of the whole process: http://petty.momentscapture.com/finished/slideshows/show.php?ID=124-InnerTube-Alisha

The Original George Petty Witch Artwork.

Petty Project Image #010

Model: Kayla Emerson

Probably the longest and most painstaking Petty image I've recreated thus far, and this was the second attempt at it! The final image came out one of the best yet, matching the overall original artwork almost perfectly. I was really happy how the hair came out, which is made from 5 different shots of her hair flying in the wind generated by two opposing wind machines. One of my favorites yet and a lot of fun to shoot!

Britt created a nice little write-up on his process using this photo shoot, to explain in more detail of how he manages to recreate these stunning images.

http://petty.momentscapture.com/behind.php

Jean-François Rauzier

The hyperphoto realism of Jean-François Rauzier. When you got to his online portfolio, you can zoom-in almost so close into his pieces, and it still retains a crisp sharpness to it.

Fascinated by photography since childhood, Jean-François Rauzier starts his studies in the “Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière” in 1976. For 30 years, he has been exploring painting, sculpting, asphalt… Enriched by the learning of the commercial photography he practiced, pionner of the numerical collection, he invented the “Hyperphoto” concept, which enabled him to fulfill his approach.

Jean-François Rauzier was immediately captivated by numerical photography when it penetrated the professional market 15 years ago. He has been exploring the multiple opportunities offered by computer’s retouching since then, turning himself into a “virtual” painter.

In 2002, he created the “Hyperphoto”, a concept which enables him to deal with the impossible: to combine both infinitely big and infinitely small things in one same image, out of time.

To simulate the illusion of reality, Jean-François Rauzier first had to cope with all the inherent limits inherent of the photographic and technological equipment.

He found his way by juxtaposing, duplicating, twisting images with Photoshop, making it possible for him to reproduce human vision more accurately. This way, he generated a genuine numerical puzzle, in which the pieces, cut out, “drawn again”, come up along on top of the imagination of the artist.

From this technique is issued numerous fascinating and unusual details on which the spectator can dwell on.

The multitude of images invite the spectators to an inside journey, in dream-like, fantastic and timeless worlds. These worlds are filled with icons and references born of the artist’s cultural hall of fame.

http://www.rauzier-hyperphoto.com/?lang=en

Day of the Dead

Fernando Matos has created some very intriguing Day of the Dead images.

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated by many in Mexico and by some Mexican Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 2 in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration when eating and partying are common. Due to occurring shortly after Halloween, the Day of the Dead is sometimes thought to be a similar holiday, although the two are celebrated differently.

Human Canvas

Kim Joon has an interesting approach to painting.

The pictures and images of tattoo which he works on look that he takes a nude photo and compounds with them, but he works on the upside of the digital body produced by computer graphics from the beginning to the end. He makes a large group of people by making a phase and coating a tattoo with his computer mouse, like a virtual person produced by computer. He intends to use 'mouse ainting' instead of 'brush painting'. It is unique to use a 'One Source, Multi Use', which is a source made of digital data outputs through a digital print, beam projection, a monitor, and so on.





In Mr. Kim's current works, which the artist likes to describe as "paintings", he uses water based markers to create the designs. His process involves taking a piece of sponge and covering it in a layer of traditional cloth that is used as fabric liner in Korean sewing. The lining is then covered with very transparent fabric, and painted two coats of a skin colored hue. He also layers on mediums and finally varnishes the surface to create a more firm appearance. Mr. Kim remains fascinated between the tensions of the mind and body. He is also intrigued by the concept of the permanence of tattoos as a vehicle for marking ones soul.

View more of his work at his website.

Alexia Sinclair

Wow! Found this amazing artist on a recent romp through blogs.

Aussie photographer and digital artist Alexia Sinclair has some interesting work in her site but the cream of the crop is her Regal Twelve series with which she won 2007's Harper's BAZAAR & Canon Fashion Photography Awards.

"The Regal Twelve" series is a suite of pictures depicting powerfull historical women combining photography, illustration, European backdrops, fashion models, historical treasures and symbolic references, digitally montaged to create works based on historical truths.

There are Wikipedia links to each of the ladies bios, in their title.

Elizabeth Bathory (The Countess of Blood)

Eleanor of Aquitaine (The Eagle)

Boudica (The Celtic Queen)

Marie Antoinette (The Extravagant Queen)

For the other 8 images, go to the blog for "Your source for all things wicked and awesome" or visit Alexia's personal site and view more of her stunning work.