Susan Jones

My name is Susan Jones I have loved photography all my life, though I was rejected from the photography class at school due to not having my own SLR camera.

About 20 years ago a bought a DSLR and haven’t looked back, I love taking photos, mostly studio but as often as possible getting out and about, particularly London.

I have been using Photoshop for a few years, and to my joy found Sebastian Michaels Photoshop Artistry courses and then Awake and have learned so much about Photoshop and continue to learn every day. I love the program, I love changing plain photographs into fantasy colourful worlds.

I hope you enjoy looking at my work as much as I enjoyed creating it.

The Elaine Davies Inteterview

by VivienJane

My work is an eclectic mix of photographs, of collaged paperwork and painterly textures I have created, of scanned mixed media and elements taken from dismantled jewellery. These components are amalgamated into jewel encrusted, decorative, whimsical photo art.

I see myself as a multi-disciplinary magpie with a passion for art in many genres. My particular favourites are, textiles, photography, mosaics, collage, zentangle art, and mixed media painting.

Each discipline has led me on an exciting journey, but digital artistry has lit a fire in me that is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. It enables me to interchange between many contrasting techniques and to take concepts much further than only working with traditional media and the limitations they dictate.

When I was young my family used to have photography competitions on holiday. I remember vividly the first time I went round a botanical garden with my camera and really studied the exquisite beauty of natural forms. It was like I was seeing the world through completely different lenses, both my camera lens and my expanded vision. I attribute that awakening to my lifelong love of nature, art, textiles, pattern, colour and the magic of photography. The creative seed was sown and it has been a constant throughout my life.

Photo art was the key, the digital catalyst that removed limitations and enabled me to tie all my eclectic creative interests together into one magnificent, awe-inspiring bundle of inspiration and creative joy. I found that key when I joined Sebastian Michael’s Photo Artistry course in 2018

tBecause my interest in art is so wide ranging I find myself inspired by a mix of artists, mosaicists, designers, crafts people and digital artists. Instagram and Pinterest, museums, galleries and art books are constant sources of inspiration. Pinterest is a cornucopia of creativity.

I have also taken numerous painting and mixed media courses which bring me into direct contact with other artists and their working practices and methodology. In nature I find as much interest in the mundane as the awesome. The peeling paint on an old door or the Taj Mahal at sunrise can be equally inspiring.

Without a doubt my greatest source of inspiration has come from the immensely talented artists in Sebastian Michaels’ Awake and Kaizen Facebook groups and also the Living the Photo Artistic Life magazine and the UK’s My Creative Images magazine.They provide a never ending source of delight, inspiration, wonder and support.

their journey in the same place as myself. There is an old saying that art is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration and with endless practice I’d like to believe it is possible to become exceptionally proficient when creating digital photo art. I am frequently in awe of the work I see from other digital artists in these specialist magazines and the social media community.

I wish I could put Sebastian Michaels’ advice about journaling into practice by planning ahead and seeing the image in my mind’s eye before creating it. This rarely happens to me. I might have a vague idea of what I want to create, but each image leads me on a journey, dancing between Photoshop layers, tools and the blessed history palette - it’s like alchemy. I feel if I surrender to the process things sometimes turn out better than I can actually envisage them. An inadvertent accident or misplaced keystroke can be your best friend (or worst enemy!). My muse is in control so why fight her?

I am longing for the day when I become so proficient at Photoshop that my workflow is not hampered by a lack of technical knowledge.

Until that time arrives I am committed to learning progressively as often as life’s circumstances allow. My practice goes through intense periods of learning, only to be brought to a grinding halt by numerous other commitments beyond my control!

I have found I am much more productive when working on a set of images such as my Fantasy Animal series. Once a theme has been established I can concentrate on the details. On the creative journey I find that ideas feeds into one another as the original concept is developed. Gradually it takes form and then related ideas develop from the work in progress. Presently I prefer making groups of related images rather than singular statement pieces.

When working on my Fantasy Animals imagery I tend to create the creatures first, cutting out ,compositing and concentrating on the seamless blending of body parts and then adorning them with textures and jewels. Only when they are completely finished do I plan the background environment, so it is a distinct two part process where the landscape is inspired by the main animal image..

Could you tell us about the equipment and software you use and which item is indispensable in your studio?

All the above are indispensible in their own way, but the extra details I incorporate into my work come from the brushes, paints, mosaic pieces, jewellery components, gel plate prints and collage papers. Whatever is tickling my creative fancy at that point and anything which will make my work interesting to me. That multi-disciplinary Magpie always wins out!

Are they animal, vegetable or mineral? In truth they are a combination of all these plus mechanical parts and plenty of ‘bling’ scanned from my huge stash of beads, jewellery components, ribbons and trimmings that I use in my mixed media mosaics.

The series evolved from my wish to create 100 creatures for a 100 day Instagram project. However, it soon became apparent they were far too time consuming to just churn out on a factory conveyor belt! Consequently I stepped away from that idea and took the pressure off myself. This removal of a deadline has enabled me to be more detailed and to allow each piece to develop organically in its own time frame.

I adore all fauna and flora, but the amalgamations of random parts of animals

truly sent my imagination into overdrive. The devil is in the details- pink nail polish on Jelduckyring’s web toes, the stitching together with staples of the Horcamhino body parts (whimsical, if a bit gruesome, perhaps!). The chainmail armour on Octoeleino. I had a ball creating these animals and I hope that shines through in my work. Creating their names was fun too!

One day I would love to make a children’s book, a poetry book or just a picture book from this series;with the help of a writer of course!. It would be interesting to develop a back story and narrative, although the viewer is deliberately invited to create their own interpretation. So far I have finished 19 quirky animals but would love to create 100 eventually; so watch this space!

For me it was a revelation I could create digital art even though I was a very amateur photographer.

Don’t get obsessed with taking the perfect photo. It’s not necessary as it all changes and may even virtually disappear after multiple layers have been applied in Photoshop.

‘Don’t die with your music still inside you’(Dr Wayne Dyer) - or your computer come to that. You’re unique and that also applies to your art, so don’t let your creative masterpieces languish in a folder on your computer, never to see the light of day.

Be courageous and show it off - the world needs to see your artwork. If you’re full of self doubt (and let’s face it all artists are at some stage), the best place to get constructive criticism or support and encouragement is in Sebastian Michaels’ Awake and Kaizen Facebook groups.

I got such wonderful support for my series when gripped by a bout of artistic insecurity. I treasured the valued input and opinions of likeminded creative people. I am truly grateful that as community, through the digital social media platforms, we have the opportunity to reach out at any time. It is easy to question ones ability and become highly self-critical when in the thrall of the creative process. We all need interaction from time to time, especially when we are working in isolation.

Never give up - Photoshop is such a huge learning curve and the rewards of putting in the practice are priceless.

Have fun...always. If it’s not going well, give yourself a break or start on a new image. Artists used to sharpen their pencils when trying to find inspiration; we now rearrange our folders! Come back refreshed and with fresh eyes- you will get there!

You can find all this amazing artwork available to buy on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/octoeleino/