Road and Tree, Adin, California
Is this a photograph, or is it a painting? Well, … it’s both! It is an example of what is known as a “textured image,” created by blending a photograph of a landscape with a photograph of a fairly uniform rectangle of “texture,” usually made by paintbrush strokes of similar hues. (I use a set of textures that I purchased from Flypaper Textures.) Some artists have explored this in much greater depth than I, generating entire portfolios of such images. I find the effect especially pleasing for pastoral scenes, as well as certain landscapes. Here are some of my more successful efforts in this realm:
Abandoned House, Vale, Oregon
From the Mogollon Rim, Arizona
Cape Blanco Lighthouse, Oregon
Stone Lagoon School, Orick, California
If you find these images intriguing, you might enjoy the work of Karen Klinedinst, who works exclusively in this manner. My good friend John Juracek has a portfolio of fly fishing photographs that are textured, and much of the imagery in Jack Spencer’s wonderful portfolio This Land is textured as well. (I highly recommend the coffee table book of this portfolio.)