Carolyn Beever
In 1987 an Apple G4 with Paint Works Plus Software was placed in my art room at Godwin Middle School in Prince William County. That small machine sparked a completely new creative world for me. From that moment on I knew that I wanted to produce art works on a computer. At that time, it was completely revolutionary to create art on such a machine. Creating graphs and posters were even a maybe, but fine art was a no-no. Time has changed that idea and all types of artist have begun realize that the computer is just another media. The images created cannot be compared to any other type of art. It is a media on its own terms and seeks respect from the viewer. The creative process may be the same, but the tools used on the computer allow a totally different result than any other media. There is always a surprise awaiting as images are combined, changed, and distorted. Artistic creations made on a computer are just valuable as painting or photographic print. The artist has a vision and works to complete it with the same struggles as an artist using oil paints or camera.
As far as my work, I am not a complicated artist with a grandiose theory about my creations. Each creation, whether on canvas, paper, photograph, computer or a combination of these, is always a surprise. Whatever idea sparked the creative mood, the end result usually does not reflect the original thought. When creating an art work and finding my understanding and insights about a subject, the feelings of exhilaration and satisfaction are wonderful moments. The very act of creating transports me into a state of mind where moments fly by and I am in a world of my own. There are moments of frustration as well as satisfaction, but these are the moments in which I experiment and find new solutions. Whether I use paint or the computer, it does not matter. The very act of creating my visions gives me these special moments.
In those moments, I strive to show something new about my understanding of the natural and manmade world. There is a rhythm, balance and beauty in every facet of a subject that I try to convey. It is that “something” that might never be seen unless I uncover it. From junk yards to pristine landscapes, there is an intriguing mystery in every place and object.
Taylor Cullar
From an early age Taylor enjoyed painting and photography. In Texas as a child he began painting on his own with water based tempera paints. During high school he became interested in photography and participated in a photography club. His formal study of art was at the University of Florida where he took some entry level art and design courses as requirements for a degree in Landscape Architecture.
While his professional endeavors did not include art or photography, he renewed those interests following retirement and a move to the Falls Run Community in Stafford County, Virginia. Taylor first joined a watercolor class in 2011 and later joined a painting workshop at the Falls Run Community Center where he began to paint with water-soluble oils and acrylics. Later he joined the Fredericksburg Photography Club to increase his photographic skills.
Taylor prefers to photograph natural landscapes, architecture and abstractions. He enjoys using digital photo editing software to alter, enhance, and combine his photos for artistic effects. Several of his photographic compositions have shown in the Frederick Gallery of The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts.
His composited photographs on display in the FCCA Members’ Gallery in June 2021 have been crafted using Lightroom and Photoshop using multiple layers of photographs and textures to hide, expose, alter and blend various parts of the photographs and textures into single artistic pieces of work.
Robert Hunter
Biography — Robert S. Hunter is a Digital Imaging artist who earned BS and MA degrees from James Madison University. He was the High School Art Instructor at Colonial Beach High School for 32 years and also instructed at Rappahannock Community College and Radford University. He has been recognized for Excellence in Art Education by the VA Governor’s School of the Arts, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Teacher's Institute of Contemporary Art at the Chicago Art Institute. After discovering the possibilities of computer based imaging he completed an 18 hour certificate of study in Digital Imaging at Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC. Now retired from teaching he now actively exhibits his prints across the United States and has been invited to show his work in national print exhibitions such as The Boston Printmakers Biennial, The Delta National Exhibition of Small Prints, The Bradley International Print and Drawing exhibition, and The McNeese National Annual Works on Paper Exhibition. His work is in numerous private collections as well as in the collections of Arkansas State University, Purdue University, and the K.Caraccio Fine Art Print Collection.
Process - Digital Imaging provides tools to produce color, texture, change size and placement, and modulate transparency that are nonexistent in any other print process. I take full advantage of digital layering and my work generally contains very dense and rich surfaces. Each image is printed using archival pigment inks on cotton rag paper and is usually produced in an edition of ten to fifteen prints.
Artist Statement — Carl Jung observed Art is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play of instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves, and so my saucer prints reflect Jung’s observation. The focus of my UFO series is essentially comparisons and contrasts. Taken as a whole this series of prints explore the subject of “Flying Saucers “in a Pop Art and in a Neo Surreal context. They reflect my interest in popular culture as well as in subjects that inspire surreal expressions of the divine and sublime. Diana Pasulka, a professor at the University of North Carolina suggests that UFOs, much like myths and religions deal with mystic and non-rational experiences. Surveys show that nearly half of all Americans believe aliens have visited earth in the ancient past or recently, and that percentage has been increasing. Do I believe? I certainly think that UFOs represent a cultural dream that transports us to the frontiers of our own imaginations and it is my hope that my prints will provoke intellectual curiosity as well as providing aesthetic satisfaction viewed through the lens of Pop Art and Surrealism.
