Paul Gravett
Paul Gravett, photographer
Each of my series starts with a challenge to myself: find an aspect of something that is not immediately apparent.
For the Elemental Light images, I start by looking for captivating patterns, light and colour – the building blocks of all photographs and art. I then use photographic techniques to ‘see’ beyond the physical object, revealing something hidden to create abstract, painterly images. The process relies on randomness and a bit of luck, and no two images are ever the same.
The challenge for the Museum Portraits and the Thrift Store Finds series is finding a degree of artistic control in the crowded, usually harshly lit, restricted and distracting spaces. The results can be alternately serene or surreal.
My career has alternated among pianist, tapestry weaver, and arts administrator. With photography, I return to my original exposure to the creative arts.
History
I have exhibited fibre art at ArtSpring on Salt Spring Island. For a number of years I created scarves that were a combination of floor loom weaving and inset tapestry weaving. The scarves were sold on Salt Spring Island and in galleries in Vancouver and Winnipeg.
It is my intention to exhibit the abstract, painterly photographs.