Through her keen observation and distinctive style, O’Keeffe invites viewers to see beyond the ordinary, encouraging a profound appreciation for the elegance embedded in even the smallest elements of nature. Jordan Anthony is a Cape Town-based film photographer, curator, and arts writer. She holds a Bachelor of Art in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where she explored themes like healing, identity, dreams, and intuitive creation in her Contemporary art practice. Jordan has collaborated with various local art institutions, including the KZNSA Gallery in Durban, the Turbine Art Fair, and the Wits Art Museum. Her photography focuses on abstract color manipulations, portraiture, candid shots, and urban landscapes.
Natural Form Artists – A Closer Look at 15 of the Top Artists
Thierry Despont is an artist and architect who has painted planets using very exciting mixed media. The painting below is created with asphalt, enamel, acrylic, ink and oil stick on copper plate mounted on wood. Peter Randall Page is an artist famous for his sculptures, drawings and prints. He states that he is “inspired by the study of natural phenomena and its subjective impact on our emotions.” His work has featured walnuts, seeds, plants and insects and many abstract ideas and patterns. The gestural brush marks and use of colour are so appealing in Michelle Parson’s artworks. She paints lobsters, crabs, fish and other animals which are all ideal for a natural forms project.
Each subject is photographed using a technique called “light painting”, a method which I have subsequently used in later projects. Amateur photographer Panos Lahanas was the man behind the lens when this gorgeous, colourful waterfall photo was taken. The beautiful scene was captured in November last year, the movement of the water captured by the shutter left open for a couple of seconds. Nature strikes in Egypt and amateur photographer Ahmed Waheed was there to record it. This clever point of view of this shot makes it look just like the lightning bolt directly hits the top of the building. If you have any questions about what is shape and form in photography, let us know in the comments.
Natural Forms
She was selected to take part in the 2019 ICA Live Art Workshop, receiving training from art experts all around the world. In 2019 Burger opened her first solo exhibition of paintings titled, Painted Mantras, at GUS Gallery and facilitated a group collaboration project titled, Take Flight, selected to be part of Infecting the City Live Art Festival. At the moment, Nicolene is completing a practice-based master’s degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town. His enduring commitment to translating the essence of the natural world into captivating visual narratives has positioned him as a luminary in contemporary art, leaving an indelible mark on the intersection of creativity and nature. Through her distinctive artistic language, Kusama continues to captivate audiences and remains a transformative figure in the global art landscape.
For the best results, make sure some background details are noticeable enough to create depth. Kate Malone is one of the UK’s leading ceramic artists with a career spanning thirty years. She has developed an unmistakable and highly regarded style and is loved by art teachers everywhere.
Trees, leaves and bark
Nature, with its ever-changing landscapes and resilient life cycles, serves as a boundless reservoir of creative stimulus. This symbiotic relationship between art and nature has given birth to a specialized cadre of creators known as natural forms artists. In the realm of artistic expression, natural form artists have emerged as a captivating and innovative cohort, their creations serving as a testament to the intrinsic beauty found in the world around us. This fundamental question serves as the crux of exploration for these artists, who draw inspiration from the wonders of the natural world. Channeling the essence of nature into their works, these artists seamlessly blend creativity with the organic, crafting awe-inspiring pieces that resonate with the inherent splendor of the earth. In this article, we delve into the captivating world of natural form artists, exploring their motivations, techniques, and the profound connection between their artistry and the natural world.
Klimt the Cat Lover – Unveiling the Feline Influences in His Art
Ross Hoddinott is among the UK’s best-known landscape and natural history photographers. He is a multi-award-winning photographer and the author of several bestselling photography titles, including The Landscape Photography Workshop (with Mark Bauer). Based in Cornwall, Ross natural form photography is best known for his images of the South West of England, but he travels all over the UK in search of outstanding views and atmospheric conditions. He is a Nikon Alumni, an Ambassador for Manfrotto and a Global Icon for F-Stop Gear.
- The artist works with many natural materials provided by the environment, from mud and rocks to pebbles and earth.
- One such case was his 2012 show at Tate Modern titled In and Out of Love, which contained live butterflies in two windowless rooms.
- Digital artist Kushagra Gupta is one of the most talented emerging 3D artists, whose organic and surrealist prints and NFT artworks convey his early fascination with natural forms, organic and flowing states, and synthetic elements.
- Natural forms served as both muse and metaphor in Kahlo’s oeuvre, offering a rich tapestry of symbolism and vivid imagery.
To soften flash light, create diffused lighting by adding layers of diffusion, with light modifiers such as softboxes instead of bare bulb flash. A handheld diffuser is also great for softening natural light if there’s no shade nearby in which to place your subject. The magic ingredient of form is light – specifically the highlights and shadows it creates when it hits an object. Mosses form dense, green ‘cushions’ on woodland floors, rocks, and tree stumps, often creating attractive natural patterns that are large enough to photograph using almost any focal length. Plants such as moss, lichens, and liverworts may seem uninspiring at first glance. However, many form interesting patterns that photographers can reveal in isolation.
Yet in spite of Emerson’s wordy expositions of naturalistic photography, it is difficult to detect much difference in technique between the fine realist landscapes of the first generation of photographers and his own. The flowing lines within a natural form are often more forgiving than a manmade object. Naturally made art refers to creative expressions and formations that emerge organically within the environment, shaped by the forces of nature without deliberate human intervention. This can encompass a wide array of phenomena, from the mesmerizing patterns created by wind-blown sand dunes to the intricate designs found in the veins of leaves.
They all feature at least one important element that makes form photography stand out. Another botanist, who this time is also a photographer, is artist Robbie Honey. My students have been really inspired by his work, enjoying dissecting, arranging and photographing flowers. Australian artist Sophie Munns is a great artist to use in the art classroom. She creates drawings in a wide range of media, beautiful artist books with simple construction methods and they all ooze with wonderful colours and textures. A natural form is an object found in nature that has not been changed or altered.
We invite you to contemplate the importance of natural forms of art and the innovative, and seemingly unusual, ways that contemporary artists have reimagined natural form art. What is a natural form in art, and how do artists incorporate natural forms in art? The concept of natural forms refers to a material or object from nature that has not been altered or changed. Natural forms include materials like leaves, bones, flowers, and other related materials from the natural environment that are non-human and non-manufactured. The terms “natural forms photography” and “organic shapes photography” are often used interchangeably, but there is a subtle distinction between the two.
Natural form art usually manifests as a new art object or documentation of the real source, which was left to decompose or disintegrate. Natural forms, in the artistic context, transcend their physical existence to become conduits of storytelling and aesthetic exploration. They encapsulate the essence of organic shapes, patterns, and structures found in the world, acting as visual representations of the interconnectedness of life. From the sinuous flow of riverbanks to the intricacies of a spider’s web, natural forms encapsulate the harmonies and irregularities that define our surroundings.
Well, when you light a subject from the front, it also doesn’t create form, because front lighting doesn’t result in many shadows from the subject’s features (in portrait photography this would be nose, cheekbones, brow etc). Form in photography is where light and shape collide to create images with depth and what I like to think of as touchability. Form makes an image lifelike, so the photo stands out, because the viewer feels that they can reach in and touch the person or object. With a sensitive feeling, Emerson rendered at all sessions of the year the atmospheric conditions of this low-lying land intersected with rivers and lakes. New patterns and fresh photo opportunities are created within nature every day, and winter can prove a particularly productive time of year for discovering and photographing natural patterns. However, most images of patterns and textures come from smaller subjects, captured at relatively high magnifications.
Diffused lighting often works best, and will help you capture minute detail and accurate colour. If you are new to close-up photography and are unsure about the kit available, read our Introduction to Macro Photography Equipment. Her enduring legacy as a sculptor and environmental artist resonates as an exploration of the intersection between human creativity and the timeless beauty of the earth. Her legacy as a Natural Form Artist endures, as her work continues to inspire a connection between art and the organic beauty that surrounds us.
- However, most images of patterns and textures come from smaller subjects, captured at relatively high magnifications.
- Pictures of East Anglian Life (1888), a copy of which Emerson gave to every English photographic society, was intended to elucidate his views set forth in his textbook Naturalistic Photography, which had no illustrations.
- Specialising in nature photography, Storman’s portfolio states, “Seeking or making the right moment to find a proper light which reveals the beauty of reality – this is my reason for photography.”
- Renowned British natural form artist Andy Goldsworthy is widely celebrated for his approach to site-specific installations and natural forms sculptures, which are commonly understood as part of land art.
- Jordan is working for artfilemagazine since 2022 and writes blog posts about art history and photography.
- Through sculptures like The Lightning Field, De Maria sought to amplify the viewer’s connection to nature, transforming the landscape into a canvas for artistic expression.
Born in 1938, Smithson’s innovative approach reflected a deep fascination with the earth’s geological formations and the interplay of natural forces. Smithson’s work often drew inspiration from the dynamic forms found in nature, as seen in his seminal work, “Spiral Jetty” (1970). These world-famous and leading modern and contemporary artists have introduced new ways of viewing and understanding how natural forms can manifest in different practices and decades.
How form in photography brings subjects to life
I have always been drawn to natural forms, finding a lot of artistic inspiration in the details of life. Up close and personal, this beautiful macro photograph captures every tiny detail of this colourful creature in its natural habitat. Semi-professional photographer David Pritchard shot this small, female Azure Damselfly using his Nikon D300 camera. Pritchard has a diverse portfolio, which includes an awe-inspiring collection of landscape and nature photography. This shot proves that even a simple flower can produce the most magical of images. This beautiful bunch of Eldeweiss was captured by photographer Edvard – Badri Storman in the village of Doslovče, Slovenia.
