Rabobank Flower Art

When I was asked to create a series of commissioned fine art for Rabobank via Rienks/de Bont CS Architects Breda I didn't have to think twice. Interior architect Illse showed me around and had a specific request: with the building being very square and linear, the art had to be something completely different.

As I immediately had to think of using 'shapes of nature', being the opposite of squar and linear, I also was challenged. I didn't want to create just another panel with a close-up of a flower or landscape photo. Illse lent me a small book with old photos of the village, adding "it would be good to have some of the village's history present in the design as well".

The old photos were perfect for double exposures with flower close-ups. I wanted to use history and nature's beauty in one. History & Flowers was probably one of the first digital series of double exposures, which I created in 2005.

When I was studying fine art photography at the St. Joost Academy I already experimented a few times with exposing the same film twice. Rewinding the exposed film and marking it, as you can't see where the first photo begins, was always a bit of a gamnle. You can also put two negatives in the darkroom enlarger, a method called sandwich negative. Third analog option is to expose the photo paper twice with different negatives.

I used Photoshop, there weren't any double exposure apps available yet. In 2005 you couldn't take a decent photo with your smartphone, let alone retouch it. Also this was the time with the first digital DSLR's finally being good enough to shoot weddings with, or in this case, flower close-ups.

The result was overwhelming as the print size was wall size, 250x500 cm. (approx. 8x16 ft) During opening day I received a lot of positive reviews. And also this comment to the photo above: "wow, my mother was born in the house on the left, how very nice". It's good to use historic pictures in modern art, this way we remember our past. And adding beautiful flowers just tops it!

Double Exposure Design starts from €450,-

© Melanie E. Rijkers 2005-2016 Eyespiration

MOVED!

Looking for my older (English) blogs? Check PhotographerWanted.blogspot.com

This blog will be my writer's blog (in Dutch) from now on,
welcome!

World Wide Art LA 2014

Check out all photos of the opening night of World Wide Art LA 2014.

Impressed by impressionism

Claude Monet - Sunrise - Soleil Levant 1872

My love for photography wasn't always so. My 'creative career' started as highschool student at the Peelland College in Deurne (the Netherlands) with drawing (2D), music and 3D as subjects. In 3rd grade I chose to go to HAVO and was allowed to keep one of the above creative subjects as one of my 6 dissertation subjects.

Drawing/2D, as I found out I was a good designer and painter, mostly aquarel. The art history lessons were my favorite. [I wasn't allowed to choose a seventh subject, which would've been history]

Being only 16 when I passed my exams in June 1988, I figured to go study at an Art Academy and become a graphic designer of some sort. But both the academies I applied to thought I was too young and therefor I had to think of a 'temporary' solution; Graphic Design School Sint Lucas, which would take me 4 years with graduating at MBO level.

In the end these four years turned out to be an advantage, as it gave me four extra years of art education. I was introduced to photography here and after graduation MBO Graphic Design, I started my art education at the highest level, HBO, at the St. Joost Academy in Breda, main subject: photography.

Art history times three and never bored, even though there was some repetition of periods of time by different teachers of the three schools. During college I was introduced to Monet by my Dutch language teacher Vierhout, I think that was the moment I fell in love with Impressionism.

Looking back my love of the Impressionism is quite logical, being a photographer capturing the moment. I chose photography over graphic design and painting/drawing. But my love for Vincent (van Gogh) and Claude (Monet) never faded. In 2015 it's 125 years ago that Vincent died.

Wheatfield with Crows - Vincent van Gogh 1890

See like Vincent - Palms, Australia - analog photograph, 1998

Weefs, de Wave - Blue and Red

Redheaddays, Breda, the Netherlands 2013 - Photobook of artist Lenneke te Kiefte's very special project Weefs de Wave. In the Grote Kerk natural redheads posed with Weefs knittings. Photography by Hans van Nunen, Artstudio23.

Red Head Days 2013 by Artstudio23.com | Blurb

Post Pop Art Prints

Hotel Motel Holiday Inn is my latest series of pop art style prints available via this (Dutch) website or order a HR digital file (to print your own!) via e-mail. Post Pop Art!

Combined Photo Artbook

Combined Photo...

2007-2008

By MeRy.com

Book Preview

Check out my latest book! Available worldwide :)

In this book a selection a selection of my combined photo artwork of 2007-2008. Old postcard photos are merged with close-ups of Dutch colorfull flowers, this way the works are different everytime, depending on the available light, you see either the historic photo of the city of Breda or the flower.