Digital Art: The Caretaker (2022)

We all have someone special in our hearts from the moment we meet them. It could be the way they act, how they channel positive energy or just give you another reason to feel motivated. For the next piece, I would like to dedicate this to my late grandmother. Since my childhood years, I would occasionally visit her, and she would brighten up everybody's day. Even if she wasn't living with my family, she always had a special place in my heart. I title this digital art: The Caretaker (2022). The original photograph featured my grandmother holding me as a baby. I wanted to present it in a way that expresses creativity while paying homage to the photograph in question.

The Caretaker (2022)

To begin, I simply opened the photograph with Photoshop and used the magnetic lasso tool to select my grandmother's body. Once I had a basic selection, I utilized the quick mask tool to create a more accurate selection. From a basic standpoint, the magnetic lasso tool does a good job at finding forms and shapes, but there are times when you'll need the quick mask tool for more accurate selections. Once that was done, I pasted her onto another canvas with a photograph I took. The background looks like a faded-out sepia-toned photograph of the outside. This was an intentional design choice, as it contributed to a sentimental theme for the collage. Next, I took a selection of the background's photograph and pasted it onto another layer on top (the black circle). This was shifted to give a mysterious vortex behind the figure, and it intentionally doesn't line up with the background. How can we explain the scenery of what's going on? For a simple answer: we don't. It's just something to appreciate, much like those we love. The facial features of my grandmother and myself are removed in favor of additional textures. Think of this not as a sign of disrespect or removing identity, but as preserving the memories of somebody even if some details are gone.

For anybody interested, has there ever been a loved one that made you want to express how they inspire you? Possibly the way they make you feel? This is why I wanted to create a collage featuring my grandmother: the positive sentimental feelings that she still contributes after her passing. Every time I look at a photograph with her in it, I can't help but remember the positive interactions we've had, and how she helped our family.