"Envelop" + Step-By-Step

Hey Everyone! Today I have included my newest completed flower/plant piece as well as a step-by-step image to demonstrate how this particular collage was assembled. The featured piece below is titled "Envelop". 

(Click below to view larger scale)

Envelop

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

**NOTE: The title of the flower/plant series has changed. and has been corrected in previous posts. 

My collage "Envelop" is made up of approximately 35 photo cut-outs of leaves in various sizes and exposures. They were then coated with a spray adhesive and individually layered on top of one another. I kept the smaller and darker leaves under the larger and brighter ones to create more visual depth within the piece. See the image below for 5 detailed shots of the piece's construction.

"Sight Unseen" Show!!

Hello again! I'm excited to share that my work will be featured in an upcoming group exhibition titled "Sight Unseen" at the 11:11 Gallery. The show features work from several photographers who create unconventional photography. The show will include 5 of my original collages: "The Antagonist", "The Guardian", "The Siren", "The Illusionist", and "Consume". The opening reception will be this Saturday, September 13th, 7-11pm. The exhibition will run from September 13 - September 1, 2013. I have included the flyer for the opening reception below:

The show will also feature photography from artists: Eden Tyler, Aeron Nersoya, Brandon Johnson, David Roy, Erin Stone, Flip Cassidy, Jeff Alu, Joanne Chase Mattillo, Joseph Alexander, Lola Mitchell, Mark Reamy, Michael Bott, Nichole Huenergardt, Patrick Mcpheron, Rick Rose, Shaun Alexander, Shawn Waco, Steve Mereu, and Victor Koroma.

I will be attending the opening reception along with the other artists, so I hope to see you there!

"Beckon" + "Monarch"

Hello again, I took a mini hiatus over the summer but I'm back with 2 new color pieces! I typically prefer to work in black and white because I find that color pieces are far more difficult to conceptualize and execute from the beginning. When working in color, there needs to be a consistent color scheme to the entire piece or both subjects may end up looking incompatible or mismatched. But nonetheless, I felt the flower series was in desperate need of some saturation. Below are my brand new pieces titled "Beckon" and "Monarch". 

(Click below to view larger scale)

Beckon

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

Although "Beckon" is my second orchid piece in this series, it is the first one completed in color. When it came to assembling this piece, "Beckon" was constructed almost identically to my previous piece "Allure". My favorite part of this piece is that the speckled texture on the center of the orchid reminds me of freckles on the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

(Click below to view larger scale)

Monarch

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

The two spectacular flowers used in the piece above are dahlias. The dahlia flower is absolutely stunning in person and ranges in color from orange, blood red, yellow, white, magenta and various pink hues. Without a doubt, this intricate fiery red-orange flower needed to be displayed in color. The inspiration behind the title "Monarch" was influenced by the arrangement of the petals on the subject's head appearing like a crown and how the elegant female reminded me of royalty.

© Alexandra Bellissimo 2014

"Veil"

Summer is officially here! All this warmer weather (or downright searing if you live in SoCal) means I'll have a greater selection of flowers to choose from when it comes to my new series Efflorescence. As you can see below, I have completed my fourth flower collage thus far titled "Veil".

(Click below to view larger scale)

Veil

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

The delicate flower that I photographed in the piece above is called a Calla Lily, or Zantedeschia Aethiopica if you want to get all scientific. When I first photographed this stunning white flower, my first impression was that the structure of the lily reminded me of a dress or a cloak. Even the petal's texture reminded me of fabric. In contrast to the previous collage "Exodus", this piece was much simpler to assemble because it is only made up of five cut-outs. 

© Alexandra Bellissimo 2014

"Exodus"

Hello again! Here is my third completed flower piece of the year featuring many, MANY cut-outs of dandelions. The title of the piece below is "Exodus".

(Click below to view larger scale)

Exodus

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

To give you a better idea, this collage is made up of 40-50 cut out photos of dandelions printed in various sizes, exposures, etc. Each cut-out was individually adhered to this piece one-by-one. 

If the image above seems at all familiar, it's because it's an updated version of two previous collages of mine titled "Euphoria" and "Euphoria 2". I thought the other two pieces could be improved in a new collage with more contrast, better composition, and more exact placement of the dandelions. This might be the first of many "spruced up" pieces to come!

© Alexandra Bellissimo 2014

"Demure"

Hello everyone! As you can tell, I have posted my second flower-hybrid collage that pairs well with my previous collage Allure (see previous post). The image displayed below is titled Demure.

(Click below to view larger scale)

Demure

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

By comparison, Demure was much simpler to assemble than Allure because the flower was constructed to wrap around the female's face instead of blending into each of her facial features. Although I will say that the tulip used for this piece was slightly more difficult to photograph... 

When I first purchased the tulip it was closed and had a perfect oval shape. But by the time that I brought the tulip into my studio to shoot, the flower had already bloomed and lost it's beautiful shape. So the tulip that you see in this image was actually taped shut from the inside of the petals to "fake" it's closed configuration. In addition, the original color of the tulip was a fiery orange-red so I converted the colors to B&W and manipulated the tones so that the petals would appear to be a milky white color (like the female's skin tone).

Stay tuned for more posts in the near future!

© Alexandra Bellissimo 2014

"Allure"

Hello again! I have completed my second collage for the Efflorescence series, although you might say it fits perfectly with the Simulations series as well. The piece shown below is titled "Allure":

(Click below to view larger scale)

Allure

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : Efflorescence

As you can tell, I used a single White Moth Orchid as the subject for the piece, (perfect for the start of Spring!) I love how the soft and delicate curves of the orchid pair well with the female face. Orchid's have been known to be symbolic of many female traits, such as fertility and beauty. When combining the female and the orchid together, I believe it results in an eerily strange and beautiful hybrid of the two.

Unlike most of my other collages, "Allure" was fairly simple to construct because I only used 6 individual cut-out pieces total. To view a detailed shot of how each piece is layered onto the image, click on the image below. 

Thanks everyone, I'll post again soon!

All Images © Alexandra Bellissimo 2014

"Sanctuary"

Happy New Year everyone! I'm excited to kick off 2014 with a brand new photo collage series titled V. The inspiration for the title stemmed from the letter "v" and how it represents feminine characteristics and femininity as a whole. Each piece should be considered an abstract interpretation of femininity rather than a literal one (for example, using a doe's skull). As you can see below, I have posted the first completed piece from the V series titled "Sanctuary".  

(Click below to view larger scale)

Sanctuary

16in. x 16in. photo collage

Series : V

The two images below should give you an idea of how the piece was constructed. Each tree branch was individually cut out by hand (see the image on the right) using an Xacto knife. Although it is tedious and time-consuming to cut and adhere each branch separately, I like that I am able to control the overall shape and fullness of the "frame" to my liking. I honestly lost count of how many branches were used total...but it was a lot.

Cheers to the New Year!