S T E V E F E R G U S O N Fine Art Photographer
This bio/artist statement stuff is not my cup of tea, though I will take a hack at it one more time. It changes about every month anyway, according to the mood. It's even more apropos since I dislike tea immensely. Don't look for flowery motherly nature type language that you wouldn't understand anyway, so...as simply put as necessary, I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. Whether it be photography, drawing, painting, ceramics, or any other art medium, I am an expressionist in any form. I simply see things differently. The longer I live the more I am beginning to recognize that expressionism is a way of thinking and doing, as well as a style of art. Ask my wife!
I got my first computer in 1994, and one of my sisters, who teaches graphic art in a nearby college, gave me a limited edition of Adobe Photoshop. It was so limited it didn't have a number! I taught myself to use it as I painting tool. One thing led to another and a digital camera was purchased, along with a scanner, CD burner, printers, new software, and you know, all the other tools and toys. I thought about trading all this stuff in on a Hummer so I wouldnt have a car payment anymore but....think about it.
Just one little goodie about using Adobe. I was the only computer fine artist to get an artist profile in Adobe Magazine. Those were reserved for graphic or commercial artists. Gloat gloat! But as I look back, and like many artists, I hate the stuff I did then, so don't bother looking it up. It wasn't that good. I rarely showed my work early on, but am leaning in that direction once again. My mortality is showing!
Since I began using the digital camera in earnest, I have become more fascinated with the human face and figure, something I didn't paint or draw that much since college. The initial image is merely a starting point now, and with the integration of soft wares like Adobe Photoshop, nothing is impossible in the world of photography.
I currently teach high school art: ceramics, painting, drawing, design, sculpture, and computer fine art and graphics. Whew! You have to be flexible to teach high school art! I graduated from Western Illinois University in 1971, and reside in Galesburg, Illinois.
As far as digital painting is concerned, I started with strictly painting without the use of any filters, and the images resembled watercolor and oil paintings. I have since in incorporated various filters in most of my work, including the digital photography. My images are done in a very high resolution, and each image ranges from 35 to 90 megabytes...that is per single image. The detail is amazing. It bothers me that I have to downsize them to 72 resolution for internet use.