I received my first artist proof Catholic fine art print today. It came in a sturdy and wide cardboard roll from Printolino. I was impressed by the packaging. Although not completely flat, I felt tha the print was well protected.
Upon opening the artist proof print, I was happy with the translation of my image file to print. One small thing I noticed was that upon very close inspection, the stamen and pollen could be sharpened slightly. I realised that although I had output sharpened for print, I had missed an initial sharpening step in the development process. However, the print still had adequate sharpness. I also noticed a few marks/blemishes on the flower and floor that I removed with a careful application of the spot healing tool. So for the next print, there will be a small amount of sharpening and spot removal.
Now, to explain a little about artist proof. An artist proof is a print produced in the refinement process in creating the final print that will be used for a limited edition. So, for this fine art print of Catholic/Christian theme, I expect there to only be a couple of artist proofs, but I will update once the limited edition is released.
With regards to the limited edition print set, I will be releasing only a very limited number of prints. Around 15 to 20 (as of yet undecided).
This is my first direct attempt to create Catholic imagery. I have been Catholic since birth, and after a long “disappearance” from the Church, I have become a regular Church attendee again over the past ten years. In that time, I have been trying to improve myself, whilst taking regular sacraments. I have wanted to make Catholic imagery for a while, but first started with Pro-life photography . As a soon-to-be father, my interest in the pro-life movement increased, and I felt strongly that I wanted to create something as a memory of the moment, but also as something to reflect my views on the splendour of pregnancy.
After a time, I wanted to create again, but I had no real time spare due to being a first time father. It was at this point that I moved briefly into experimenting with AI to create pro-life imagery.
My feeling after this period was that AI was empty. | felt fraudulent as an artist, and soon felt the desire to move back to photograpy.
Now, with my daughter now 3 years old, there is a bit more time to create. And so, I have decided to leave the prolife world for a time, and move to Catholic Easter symbolism, and the incredible resurrection of Jesus. With fine art Catholic photography, symbolism is important in the creation of the work, as it is difficult, and perhaps, inauthentic, to directly represent biblical figures through the use of models. And so I utilised a lily, a symbol of resurrection, and also a cross made of light to portray the Easter message. The cross is shining in the darkness that surrounds it.
If you wish to be kept informed of the limited edition print release, then you can follow me on instagram (link above or below post), or sign up for the email list (using same buttons).
I hope to have the first, final image ready soon. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have regarding the limited edition release.