Three Skulls

I spent a year studying both film and digital photography, which resulted in many exciting investigations and a versatile, creative outlet. The objective of this photograph was to recreate a piece of work from Caravaggio, Cezanne, or Rembrandt. After researching the three artists, I discovered a deep admiration for Paul Cezanne. Paul Cezanne lost his life to diabetes, and near his end, he was deeply frightened of his imminent death. He painted skulls to express this emotion, and I wanted to pay tribute to his courage. So, I chose his painting of 3 Skulls to recreate for my photograph.

Lucky enough for me, Halloween had just past, so I went to the local craft store and bought three miniature, ceramic skulls for $1.99 each. This would be the most inexpensive project in the history of BFAs! I laid down paper to act as a backdrop, created a palette of acrylics, and diligently began painting. Once I was satisfied with the stage setup of the paper backdrop and skulls, I mimicked the lighting from the original painting. It didn’t take many shots for me to know that I had the one. With very little digital editing, and a large format printer, I had my final piece. This was the first time I worked with ‘miniature sculpture’ for digital photography, and it developed into a style I still explore today.