From Travel Pictures to Art

                                                                         

I am an artist and my first entry as a blogger will of course be about my art.

In 2006, I visited Venice, Italy on a travel prize and used the experience to make new art. 

  

Because it was once a gateway between Western Europe and Asia, Venice has become a city rich in history and diverse cultural influences. The architecture there boasts examples from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque & Neoclassicism. The famous Basilica di San Marco attracts millions of worshipers and tourists from all over the world who arrive there by way of the Grand Canal. The artist Tintoretto lived and worked there for most of his life.  Venice hosts the Biennale Internazionale d'Arte which is famous for its art exhibitions and the artists who show.

With my camera I photographed just about anything and everything that caught my attention. Even during those times when I felt that I  had walked right into a labyrinth, as I meandered here and there, turning corners and walking into one dead end after another, there was always something to photograph. Palaces, churches, bridges, gondolas, markets, mansions, and the architectural details were all caught on my camera lens eye. The gods were always providing me with a Kodak moment at the end of the maze!

                                    

Calle  © 2012 Rafael Ferran

Calle was photographed during my stroll about the city. It is not grandiose and I snapped it for that reason. This photo became the ground work for a collage which I in turn enlarged using the image transfer technique. The architectural details and perspective of the street inspired me to create Arcade.

Arcade  © 2012 Rafael Ferran

      I overlapped and scaffold shapes and planes to imitate the space that medieval artists used in Gothic painting, sculpture and architecture.