What is the Process Path?

In this climate of ai art being thrust upon us, I've found it necessary to take steps that present the provenance of my work. Taking a cue from galleries who traditionally have a small card with each piece of art, showing the name of the art, year it was created, the mediums used and the artists name. I find myself hyper aware of art that might be ai instead of human created. So I've created the Process Path to allow a viewer to see at a glance how it was created. 

The Process Path is the name given for how I create my art and the various mediums used. Its my hope that whether complex or simple, artists begin to show their process. Such as simply stating "watercolor" gives us an understandable path to how the art was created. It also stands to show provenance, which is necessary in the art world.

To be precise I call my personal Process Path an Evolutionary Process Path because different mediums are applied at different stages. It goes in directions that would drive some artists to madness (including myself), but its crucial to understanding what I do. The steps in the Evolutionary Process Path are in chronological order, each step building on the step before it.

IDEA - This is where the art begins. The idea phase can take weeks and even months to complete. Its a basic idea of what the artist will be creating. While some debate whether the "idea" can be considered a medium, the artist feels its crucial to his work to be considered as a separate medium with the same amount of time and attention as any other step. A play book of sorts is created to work off of, but without fine details which should only happen spontaneously.

SETS/PROPS - Once the initial idea has been formed, extensive work is done to create sets and props for it. A 3 dimensional immersive set is created where eventually models will be placed. This set is fluid and changes along with each set of models who might use it. 

BODY PAINTING - Once the sets are complete, models are brought in to participate in a body painting session. The painting is an abstract where the paint is never allowed to dry but is continuously added to the model to create a morphing effect. Each pose reveals a different side of the painting. 

PHOTOGRAPHY - Throughout the session the model is photographed by the artist. Painting, Posing, Photographing is a repeated process until the artist builds up anywhere from 500 - 2,500 photos. 

DIGITAL ART - The photographs are moved to the digital studio where the artist goes through every photo, choosing only the best of each pose to be finished through digital art. The average is 10 finished pieces of art for every 1,000 photos taken. It is time consuming but the final art is distinct.

PORTRAIT PAINTING - One in every 25 pieces of art is chosen to move onto the next phase. The art is reverted back to a black and white format and then printed in 24" x 36". The final print is then reimagined as a new work of art which is painted in color and mounted. 

DIGITAL X2 - Beyond this, the artist sometimes chooses to merge the original digital art and the final painting back into a single work of art. 

END RESULT

In the end the artist is left with art in many different mediums. Art that crosses the medium barrier over and over again. At any time the artist can being back up any aspect of the work and do something new.