Here is one of the studies I created for Maybe Something Beautiful due out next April. The story was inspired by the work we have done with many dedicated volunteers in the East Village of downtown San Diego. I was looking for mood and atmosphere as the story written by Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell starts with a little girl who lives in a grey city.
I wanted to try something new and challenged myself to experiment with this book. Riding around on my bicycle I shot photos of buildings in our neighborhood. I then painted the outer shapes of the structures using acrylic paint on wooden boards to get the texture background. One of my favorite downtime pastimes is photographing textures and these came from my urban file. This was compiled digitally to deliver the grit I was looking for.