My name is Patty Maher, and I am a conceptual photographer from Ontario, Canada. I use photoshop to create surreal conceptual photography. This year, during lockdown due to COVID-19, I spent my spare time creating this series of self-portraits called "The Alchemy of Being." It is a series about the process of creativity that was inspired, in part, by Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Big Magic."
Like so many people around the world, I have found this year to be both stressful and extremely difficult. As a way to combat those feelings, I decided to create a lighthearted series with bright colors and whimsical subjects. I live in the countryside, so I was able to find isolated places to take these photos, and in some cases, I superimposed subjects into the backgrounds using photoshop.
This series celebrates the joy of imagination and the magical things that can happen when we allow ourselves to become immersed in a world of our own creation. Working on each of these photos allowed me some respite from the isolation and stress of the year, and helped me to feel more balanced and positive. I have always found creating art to be a magical endeavor, and this year, it is what has gotten me through the darkest moments.
I hope you enjoy this series and I hope you are keeping safe, well, and happy wherever you are in the world!
More info: Instagram | pattymaher.com | twitter.com
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Collaboration
I get a very Alice in Wonderland feel with this. Though it seems like there are two "Alices" together in wonderland now.
Surrender
Dialogue
My subjective interpretation is that this is looking back to the branches of the past, and realizing there is no longer any life in it.
Listen
Sometimes it's just helpful to sit in silence doing nothing. The silence makes it so much easier to hear your own inner thoughts and feelings, beyond what others keep telling you by the distractions of society.
Muse
Don't know honestly why I'm drawn to this strange unpopular photoshoot, but what I get here is that someone who is too shy to stand up for herself is trusting someone else with her ideas to spread to society instead. My experience in activism is that there are often people with ideas but who are too shy, and there are people who are very social but don't have much ideas. Would be nice to see those types of people pair up together -- extrovert and introvert pals, haha.
The Vine
What I personally get here is that the vines are trying to reach heights for her that she can't do alone.
Striped Ideas
This series is so dreamlike, it reminds me of Salvador Dali, a famous surrealist painter. What I personally get here is that someone has a set of two opposing worldviews and decisions, but she decided to take the path of combining these worlds together that have always been enemies.
The Language Of Trees
My interpretation is that human beings are like budding tree saps in many ways. You can water, fertilize and provide for a plant, but you can't force it to grow. The time calls for more patience. You guide others, but not force them. You guide yourself, but not force yourself.
Search And Wait
Even in this repetitive boring environment in quarantine, take notice of the details around you, to imagine that you are seeing the things around you for the first time. Like a child. Then making use of what is around you beyond the conventional use of them.
The Alchemy Of Being
I get something like this advice I remember being given one time. "Rather than imagining doing some grand dream for the world someday, do what small things you can do today in front of you to help. Over time, small actions will lead to bigger and bigger changes over a long period."
Magical Thinking
There's a bag of dominos on her head. I imagine that she in her fear of emptiness, looks for something wildly good or wildly bad to happen. The truth is that in this barren wasteland representing quarantine, what happens will often neither be that good or bad. Small bits of progress will happen, but not having radical progress that happens immediately does not mean the other extreme of no hope will result. Real life is more boring than TV. Perhaps the future will be something around the middle.
Perhaps only painting can be surreal, or drawing, graphics. If i would write theory about this that is one statement. Painting leaves space for imagination what photograph doesent. Painting says leaf its theree, but photgraf says here is add some leafs to landscape that those remind trees, but it doesent say leaf is tree. Or lave it to imagination is is far or close what painting do.
You mean you refer to famous surreal painting, Rene Magritte's cloud paintings. These aren't surreal, surreal means over realistic, above realism, nothing here what would make them zurreal. Margitte appoint, estabilish surreal, is in it's core what he's paintings are. Like in dream .... proportions twist, contradictions are real, far is close and big is small and small is big and such things. Falling is lifting up. Heavy is light and shadows are red and sky is floor and apple is head and head is being eaten. No gravity. Surreal things, what doesn't exist, like in dream. Not dreamy things but surreal. These can be dreamy but not surreal. Photograph is almost always realistic you cant escape it, heavily manipulated photograph is graphic, that is my opinion. Painting leaves you so much more to interpret, than what photo will never do, you has to face reality. It is not tree growing from back but plastic branch add under shirt, you can see it clearly, nothing surreal.
Perhaps only painting can be surreal, or drawing, graphics. If i would write theory about this that is one statement. Painting leaves space for imagination what photograph doesent. Painting says leaf its theree, but photgraf says here is add some leafs to landscape that those remind trees, but it doesent say leaf is tree. Or lave it to imagination is is far or close what painting do.
You mean you refer to famous surreal painting, Rene Magritte's cloud paintings. These aren't surreal, surreal means over realistic, above realism, nothing here what would make them zurreal. Margitte appoint, estabilish surreal, is in it's core what he's paintings are. Like in dream .... proportions twist, contradictions are real, far is close and big is small and small is big and such things. Falling is lifting up. Heavy is light and shadows are red and sky is floor and apple is head and head is being eaten. No gravity. Surreal things, what doesn't exist, like in dream. Not dreamy things but surreal. These can be dreamy but not surreal. Photograph is almost always realistic you cant escape it, heavily manipulated photograph is graphic, that is my opinion. Painting leaves you so much more to interpret, than what photo will never do, you has to face reality. It is not tree growing from back but plastic branch add under shirt, you can see it clearly, nothing surreal.