Tom
Hawkins: Artist Statement
Fine Art Portrait photography has the power
to arouse the imagination and evoke emotions. My purpose with
portrait photography is to explore unique and captivating
ways to depict human beauty in its most natural form. Although
my photos deal primarily with glamour-based figurative studies,
my aim is to expose absolute beauty, not beauty in the sense
of flawless skin or body type, but beauty revealed through
genuine depiction of human spirit and life-force.
To create genuine portrait photographs requires
a deep sense of interpersonal relationships. After achieving
technical requirements and artistic vision, what remains is
to determine the mood and emotions conveyed by the model.
The interactions between the model and the camera are of paramount
importance. Part of my photographic strategy is to invest
extraordinary time and effort to ensure that the model reaches
a state of contentment and openness. When the model is free
of any fears or anxieties they may have in the world, even
if only momentary, the true essence of the persona emerges
and is revealed in all its splendor.
My landscape scenes are motivated by the
desire to stimulate in the viewer primal feelings of awe and
comfort in the natural world. Most of my technical efforts
are focused on reproducing a sense of depth and spatial relationship
between elements in nature. Rather than limiting myself to
conventional film latitudes, which can be restrictive in representing
the full tonal range in a dynamic landscape scene, I use Photoshop
in order to achieve the tonality and colour relationships
present in original vision, never combining more than one
scene.
I am influenced by the work of Michael Thompson,
renowned for his stunning and impressive imagery. Many of
his photographs use the surrounding natural environment to
enhance the richness and depth of the scene. Using the environment
and scenery, I admire his control over mood and presence.
Mario Testino's exotic and bold style is
true to its purpose--pure glamour. Dedicating his work to
visual impact instead of intellectual importance, Testino
successfully uses intense colour and strong composure. These
two elements--the bold use of colour and strong composure--inspire
and influence my own work.
For my current projects, photographs will
be captured on high resolution digital format as well as on
film. All photographs will be processed in Photoshop to ensure
that the original tonality and colour are reproduced as accurately
as possible.
|