The approach to making art (not portraits) has so many threads that the journey to completing the tapestry can be overwhelming. That is what art truly is; a tapestry that must be woven with careful precision and flawless understanding of a single thread and the whole, at the same time.
Hence the overwhelming.
This is where I have always fallen back to storytelling as the first thread to begin the journey. Who is the person before me – what is the story they are prepared to tell; what stories lay beneath the surface? I rather enjoy the process of weaving through those threads of stories to complete the tapestry of the person. This is the normal day-to-day of my work at Legend, however I occasionally have the chance to photograph a model who waits for the story to be put on them, so they can portray it. The tapestry is up to me to decide, the art is mine to make.
Ashleigh and I have a long history of working together. Long ago when I took a different path of art-making through photography, I attended an event that her wonderful mother organized, and Ash was one of the first talents I got to create with. That event opened my eyes to the realm of working with models – working with people who waited for me to set a scene for them to play. I remember on the drive home from the event, I knew that my method of creating art had forever changed and merging the world of clients, storytelling was as simple as discovering what the tapestry needed to look like.
Many years later, Ashleigh, her mother Tina and I were once again in the same space to create art and Ash waited for me to guide it. So, I chose a single thread that would be the only “story” that I sought to create; colors to balance against those piercing blue, beautiful eyes of hers.
The first choice of her wardrobe was the purple lingerie set that I put into a scene of natural light. That scene and look was short lived as I wanted to move on to a red piece of lingerie that I would balance against the old wooden door of the location we were creating at. I chose to position the camera (or the “audience” as I refer to it often) on a lower viewing level to Ash. I wanted the viewer to feel what I felt being in the presence of someone who has that mysterious allure, hidden just under the surface of those piercing eyes and a wondrous smile.
Too many good images and I forced myself to let go of that scene and complete our journey with one of the bedrooms available at the location. Always a challenge when I work in locations that are not my curated studio environment. However, that’s part of the joy to the challenge of art-making: adaptation.
The final series was focused on creating the feeling as if Ashleigh, this room, this story was almost part of a dream or another life that only glimpses of could be held onto and remembered. I wanted the allure, the story to remain a mystery, barely told through the threads of colors balancing against timeless beauty.
I think it’s safe to say that she knocked it out of the park.
All great legends begin with a story – let’s create it together. Be the Legend.
