PA I N T I N G AND PHOTOGRAPHY

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Play with creative arts

键⼊⽂本

Wing-like photography and painting ➕

microscope ➕

Mouse with butterfly Wings

-by Zhang Yifan

Plumage under the

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ince the dawn of photography, photography and painting have been a collision of technology and art, influencing and promoting each other. Photography and painting have always been enemies and friends, attracted and repelled by each other. The common denominator between the two is the discovery of beauty, simply, the photographer retains beauty, while painting is the processing of beauty. A painting, more or less cohesive with the ideas and views of its creator, is what you see very much like a shot, in which the person painting has processed, for example, to highlight the subject more, weaken the background, blur the dividing line, and also to show a person or scene, which can be expressed in straight lines, curves (in terms of the language of lines), or in drawings, Chinese painting, oil painting, watercolour, gouache, prints etc. (in terms of the form of drawing). And all this is also a personal philosophy or subjective consciousness in terms of the choice of the above painting language or painting form. Painting and photography are two rivals, they exist in a dialectical relationship, painting is an artificial and subjective process in which the painter's consciousness is added to the formation of each painting, photography is a momentary capture of a real object.

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hotography, of course, is not a substitute for painting, which is not an exact copy of the model but an artistic manipulation of the model, but a momentary capture of a real object. The existence and development of the art of photography has, to varying degrees, drawn on the aesthetic elements of painting, with the aim of making itself more expressive and aesthetically pleasing.

A collision of technology and art

CHRIS PERANI, 20, IS A SUPER MACRO PHOTOGRAPHER WHO SPECIALISES IN PHOTOGRAPHING BUTTERFLIES ON A MICROSCOPIC LEVEL

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hen Perani lived north of S a n Francisco, they might have been surprised by this feature. San Francisco is known for its picturesque location, and Perani explains that the flowing waterfalls, giant redwoods and sweet green hillsides can be seasonal. In the summer, the waterfalls dry up and the mountains turn brown, which diminishes their appeal. To challenge himself for one summer, Perani invested in a macro lens. He was amazed by the beauty that surrounds us, which we pass by every day. Things like the various textures on a leaf or a tiny

drop of water on a cobweb provide a whole new playground for capturing amazing things. Perani runs around the golf course with his web, desperately trying to capture butterflies and dragonflies. He wanted to really show the texture of the insect wings, but needed the control and lighting provided in a studio environment. This also proved to be seasonal and Perani ended up capturing as many butterfly specimens as possible during the spring and summer months, as the butterflies began to look dirty after the long summer months.

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ne day, when Perani was feeling frustrated and depressed about the dwindling number of insects available for photography, he visited the San Francisco Academy of Sciences butterfly exhibition to photograph his favourite subject. At the exhibition there was a table with butterfly wings and a microscope. For the first time, you could see every detail of these beautiful wings and Perani knew he had found his next project.

WINGS THROUGH THE LENS OF A MICROSCOPE

To clearly document the scales and fine hairs on the butterfly's wings, Chris Perani used a 10x microscope and a 200mm lens to photograph them. Because the depth of field in macro photography is so shallow, the photographer then had to use the stacked focus technique to combine 2,000 micrographs with different focus points to create a full close-up of the butterfly's wings.

Moreover, the lens must not be moved further than 3 microns to achieve a more precise focus when shooting. He has now photographed 100 different species of butterflies in this particular way. There is no doubt that the wings of butterflies have inspired countless fashion and textile designers and each of Perani's magnified wing images reveals layers of

colourful, feathery scales that look like thousands of glittering sequins. Perani has really taken macro to the extreme, creating some impressive pieces. It is amazing to see the texture and richness of the colours up close. At first glance you might think you're seeing fish scales, but what you're actually seeing are butterfly wings!

following the wing element again into the world of the costume designer. We would like to introduce you to a very creative painter, Lisa Ericson from Portland, Oregon, USA. Lisa Ericson was originally a costume designer by profession. As a result Lisa Ericson has a strong sense of spatial construction for both flat and threedimensional patterns. In addition, Lisa Ericson is very sensitive to colour combinations. Her career as a costume designer has not only allowed Lisa Erickson to build up a strong basic skill set, but has also allowed her to develop a sufficiently rich sense of creativity. Of course, there are still many commonalities between costume design and her current career in fine art, such as the matching of colours and patterns. Of course, it is the imagination that counts. That day, Lisa Eriksen went out into the garden to sketch, as usual. Inadvertently, she saw a small squirrel nibbling on a pine cone and, coincidentally, behind the squirrel, a colourful butterfly was fluttering happily. In a flash, inspiration struck!

Lisa Erickson thought, why not blend these different little creatures together? Maybe the result would be very interesting! Once home, Lisa Erickson began to work on her art and after a month of work, a creative piece was created. We are all impressed by Lisa Erikson's uncanny creativity when we look at her small animal paintings. The squirrel in this painting, for example, has a pair of wings growing out of its back, and on closer inspection, these wings are so colourful that they are the wings of a butterfly! The artist's imaginative ideas are a real eye-opener. What is most amazing is the artist's skill. Lisa Erikson has used the brushwork method to sculpt the details in her work with great detail and realism, as befits a master of hyper-realistic painting. The squirrels and butterflies in the painting are all clearly visible, in terms of texture, colour and fluff. No wonder people say, "It's incredible! It's just so beautiful!”