I was talking...
about one of my recently sold, experimental pieces using an historical photographic printing technique called Gum Bichromate (see the process behind creating the piece "Rhapsody In Bloom" with volcanic ash) and one of the pieces I shared had a blue and gold colour combination that caught my client-to-be's eyes. This was an experimental piece where I enlarged a negative on silver gelatin paper and then printed a cyanotype version of the same negative over it.
A cyanotype printed over a silver gelatin print using the same digital negative. A man walking on Cattlewash beach, Barbados
They were interested in...
the fluid interplay between the colours while remaining distinctly "photographic". I was asked to produce a quote to create one piece to be hung near the QP Bistro's Bar (a bar which at that time was under a complete re-build). Thankfully, the client was really open-ended with their instruction and gave me a few adjectives to work with:
"abstract / colourful / lively / tropical / ocean"
How does this photographer sketch?
Pencil and paper may work for some, in certain circumstances, but I've learnt more that I prefer using video to begin the sketching process. I call these videos sketches, because much like an illustrator or animator may need to draw their subject material over and over, or draw things related to their subject, I use video to spend time with the experience of my subject material... Hah! Maybe it doesn't make sense, but it is part of my process.
Even though the final pieces may not look much like my sketches below they were most certainly informed by them! I learn by doing, and the experience of going out into the water moving, blowing bubbles, watching the play of light and shadow, thinking about the movement, the salt, the sand and everything in-between informed the work to come.
With video...
With photos...
I spent quite a bit of time going to the beach at different times of day, with different intentions experimenting with the colours, light, movement and textures. At this point I hadn't gotten into a flow with the work but I was about to...
One morning
around 5am I woke up and immediately got to work in the dark. I prepared a fresh "negative" with the chemistry and decided to use a of Pride of Barbados leaf as my first subject. Shortly after I set it out in the sunlight it began to pour with rain, at first I was a bit panicked and then wondered, what might come of the interaction between the water, glass, chemistry and sunlight? So I left it for about 6 hours, allowing for the water to become a true character in this project.
After exposure to sunlight...
The pieces must be developed in a chemical bath to bring out the details and remove any unexposed chemistry from the paper.
The original pieces are ephemeral...
The chemistry has been pushed beyond its normal limits and so pinks, yellows and browns show-up where only black white and grey should. Because of this stress that's placed on the pieces, and because all the materials are light sensitive the colours and contrast can vary substantially from one minute to the next. Not to mention the effect that the various lighting conditions have.
They must be photographed!
An important part of my process was photographing the pieces as the colours flattened to grey. I did this in a variety of lighting conditions, from direct sunlight to super-indirect shade. I was using glossy Ilford RC Multigrade IV paper for this project, and so reflections became both a concern and a tool to produce the images I was after. The black 'flag' on my back was used to reduce the glare on the image.
I experimented a lot...
In any project...
Presentation is important! So I purchased a license for an online tool called ArtPlacer which many artists use to assist in the selling of their artwork. What it does is creates beautiful mockups on a variety of wall-spaces TO SCALE! Which to me was the essential aspect of it. Using ArtPlacer I was able to contextualise the artwork for my clients so they could see which pieces might or mightn't work.
I produced...
A huge amount of variety for the client. One of the incredible things about the process, is because of the constantly changing chemistry and lighting conditions, I am able to get significantly different final images, from the same original piece. I've tried to demonstrate that above, using one of the pages from my PDF presentations.
Once the pieces were chosen...
It was time to figure out what the correct scale was for the location. Too big and it might dominate the space and feel rather distracting, too small and it may not fit anywhere!
Printing & framing was...
Of course another massive consideration. I had my preferences of course, but they made the project ever-more challenging and expensive to execute. Luckily The Frame & Art Co.
Paper type...
Glossy...
paper drew attention away from the image, and was too easily damaged.
Canvas...
paper was too textured and flattened the colours significantly, while also reducing sharpness.
Metallic Luster
was the most similar to the Ilford paper that the original print was made with. There was colour even in the reflections of the ambient light! This was my preference by far!
Premium Luster
had great colour, but reflected a lot of the ambient light but instead of the reflections being colourful, they were grey/white.
Having chosen metallic luster...
I was confronted with a problem. I couldn't dry-mount the print on a backing large enough and strong enough to protect and support it. Whereas I could have had the canvas printed and mounted on a stretcher, I had to get my prints framed.
About framing...
I knew the right frame would not only compliment the piece, but elevate it. Choosing the right one is no easy task when working at such a large scale. I asked Frame and Art to mock-up three gold frames with either double-mounted frame, or a mat. It was clear that we the Vintage 2 Gold was the right choice, but after a lot of deliberation we decided to double-frame these pieces rather than frame & mat them.
The Big Three
These three are final large pieces which can be seen on-location at the QP Bistro at the Cliff, St. James, Barbados. Two of them are in a prominent place, but have you spotted the third one?
The Small Six
These pieces were also ordered, printed and mounted, but not all of them have been hung yet. Have you seen any of them while walking through the Bistro?
The Hallway Ceiling
I was also asked to...
Produce artwork and manage the logistics for installing it so that it would cover the entire length of the hallway that runs from the entrance to the lounge area.
In this case I took direct inspiration from the experience of being neutrally buoyant underwater: being above the sea floor, but below the surface, with the deep blue horizon stretching into the distance. I loved that by changing the orientation, the deep blue became a leading line for patrons to follow down the hallway.
So I produced...
A digital mockup of the space, using an artwork that I produced to suit the dimensions of the ceiling . The client and I loved it!!
Printing & mounting became challenging...
Getting the colours right, was the most difficult aspect. The conversion from RGB colour space to CMYK for my printer just caused for way too much detail to be lost, or for the print to appear green. Especially when using a low-res GoPro Hero 7 image (but it printed to scale quite nicely I can't lie!) There was also the added complication of ensuring that the print could be mounted to the ceiling seamlessly, while keeping costs low, in the end both things weren't possible at the same time for such a large single piece.
The printer offered many layouts to keep costs low...
we were using vinyl as the substrate and planned to mount it on alucobond to avoid any seams from the underlying material showing through. However, it was harder to do than it seemed.
My aim was to keep things simple...
the problem with having many panels, like in the diagrams above, is that then there would have to be many cuts or joints in the artwork (making panels rather than one continuous piece), likely ruining the visual experience of one long flowing hallway of the middle-place in the sea. So I asked for the least number of cuts to the mounting material, which increased the price significantly! I'm sure you can guess what happened next.
It wasn't meant to be...
Well, if you've been to the QP Bistro at the Cliff in Prospect St. James, you'll know that my artwork isn't what's on this hallway's ceiling. The cost of printing and mounting vinyl at those dimensions, to the quality that I wanted was prohibitive and the idea had to be scrapped.
All in all...
This was one of the most incredible opportunities I've been given. Having studied as a fine art photographer at the Savannah College of Art and Design and being trained by the infamous, Pete Christman in the alternative processes darkroom, it was such a pleasure and a privilege to be asked to do the work that I always dream of doing, but never get the chance to. This project gave me the opportunity to let go of the anxious feeling of 'needing' lots commercial clients, and produce a fine art body of work that I'm proud of.
Thank you to Mirara Construction for the recommendation and for going out on a limb, professionally, and supporting my craft.
Want your own Logan C Thomas original artwork?
I continue to produce work in this series, and others. Please feel free to reach out if you're interested in commissioning your own Cyanolumen inspired by the wind, waves, natural beauty, and sunlight, or perhaps you'd like to collaborate on something completely different.