The Forest Optimist 1

Samuel Palmer 1805-1881 thought there was more to existence than what science could measure. So, he painted that. With these photographs I tried to photograph what the camera cannot register... what is beyond it or out of reach.

I’ve been looking for a way to make digital art that references the work of the painter Samuel Palmer. I wanted to make digital art influenced by Palmers’ paintings. I wanted to try and make a connection with Romanticism using ubiquitous modern technology. Is it possible to use technology whilst thinking about Romanticism?

Palmer had a 'metaphysical approach to landscape' which somehow, for me, takes each image that he painted out of time, making it constant and familiar, connecting it with us today. There’s something really appealing about trying to step outside of progress to consider the essentials of life and I think his paintings do that.

With my abstracts I couldn't get near to that contemplative, timeless quality created by Palmers' use of silhouette and shadow, that hint at something ineffable. Have a look at ‘Late Twilight’ 1825 or ‘Cornfield by Moonlight with the Evening Star’ 1829 as 2 examples of what I mean.

I started to see the painters influence on the way I look at the world. When I took these photographs I remember I wanted to find a way to photograph a lack of information that almost needed to be completed by the viewers own imagination. I wanted to have the feeling that there is more beyond what the camera can register.