Last year I began a series of paint-by-numbers entitled Southern Sensations. Each of the images began as a photograph, from which I removed all color, shading, and most of the intricate detail in favor of black lines, negative space and numbers which correspond to the colors that were present. It was a long and drawn out process that basically reduced my original photographs into line drawings on watercolor paper, which would have taken me years to make otherwise (needless to say, drawing is not a strong suit of mine). At first I felt a little dirty. I thought, “here I am, a photographer, resigning photography again to just a tool with which to create a drawing/painting. My early photo for-fathers would not be proud.” The term “impotent painter” ran through my head more than once, along with a few other choice labels, however, I was eventually able to put my historical guilt to rest and realize that without the transformation, the end goal of my pieces would never have been realized. This series is a satire on stereotypical “southern” things and as photographs, they were unable to evoke the humor that was needed to realize this. They were just too real and stereotypes are not, in my opinion, reality.

People always seem to react differently to their idea of something, than to the real thing itself. One might laugh at the idea of the “bare-foot and pregnant woman with 10 children”, because they can envision the situation as humorous. This is much harder to do when you are a witness to someone in a similar circumstance and are no longer in control of how they are portrayed in your mind. By converting the images into line drawings I took the “truth” out of the images and allowed them to become more imaginary, giving the viewer more room to create their own ideas about the objects and places. (I would like to note that I traveled extensively to obtain this imagery, it was not a situation where I crossed the Kentucky line, threw a rock, and couldn’t help but hit an outhouse, skinned deer, rebel flag, etc. These things do exist, but not in the generalized way that stereotypes perpetuate.)

In turn, by pushing this further, and making the line drawings into usable paint-by-numbers, I am allowing the viewer to also elevate the imagery. Perusing through the stores I realized that most paint-by-number sets are of grand mountains, wild horses and quaint cottages nestled quietly in the woods, all things majestic and beautiful and respectable. These were images worthy of the time and effort they would take to complete, something that, when finished well, one could be proud of and possibly display. If you were to take the time and care to complete the paint-by-number outhouse, as you would say The Alps, then it too would be your one of a kind masterpiece that you may proudly display. It may even transform one’s idea of it from “hillbilly toilet” into “a rustic scene of days gone by”. Through the process of photo transformation and participation the stereotype can become personal to the viewer, negating the idea of a “stereotype” all together by transforming it from a generalized idea into a singular object.

In the end, the photograph comes full circle, and the “truth” is re-instated, however it is through the participation of the viewer/owner that this happens. Without the process of individual creation there would be no elevation or personalization of the object and the idea that these are generalized scenes, instead of singular images, would be intact in the minds of the viewer.

This series is still ongoing and I am working to develop my imagery, ideas and techniques further. Soon I am going to begin painting the pieces, and perhaps this will change how I interpret them, we shall see. At present I just wanted to share my thoughts on the idea and I would like to hear any and all suggestions, critics, etc. that anyone may have.