NOTE ON TECHNIQUE –
There are many elements in imagery that can tell time. Cars, clothing of pedestrians, street signs, lights and traffic, can all “date” an image. While a building’s architecture itself can be timeless, it is the small things viewed every day in society, that give one a place to form an idea or thought about a subject. To me, this is what documentation is made of. The color I put in the pieces can evoke a sense of nostalgia, or a moment that has passed --- exactly the intention. My work is an attempt to depict familiarity with a play on time. To recognize a place, but to wonder as to what is really seen.
I tend to photograph streets and places encountered in my daily routine. Even having lived in San Francisco for more than 12 years, I still do not cease to see something new on the same roads I travel each day.
From the photographs, I start by making a “sketch”. A hi-quality carbon copy of the photograph is printed on heavy archival paper. From there, I use white paint to tediously “knock-out” certain areas – usually the sky and/or pavement depending on the nature of the image, and what I wish to draw attention to. This stage directs the focus of the eye and begins to manipulate the subject into something other than a pure photograph. Glazes of color are then applied to the entire surface in multiple layers. Each layer is wiped away, and added to repeatedly until I reach the desired painterly effect. The color resists areas where the original paint was applied --- creating an otherworldly sense of light and texture. At this point, I may choose to use the print as a study, and begin the process over in a larger scale oil and silkscreen painting.
Appreciation of environment --- from a beautifully restored Victorian building in Cole Valley, to the run-down shack that barely stands on its own in Bayview. Each subject is just as important as the other. Just as attractive in its own unique visual moment in time. Everything depends on how a subject is viewed. Potential is only realized when time is taken to see it.
With the constant development inherent to all cities, some of the buildings I have painted are already gone. Replaced by new modern structures that are, in their own, a new part of history. I love the constant evolution. My work is a portrait of a place. This place is right here and now.
I wish to record all I can.
Stacey M. Carter 2002
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