Work such as that by Malcolm Morley pays "closer attention on the dialectic between the virtual and the real, and the role of a work's context and aura"(Greene, 27)

          I have just recently begun my studies in painting and find that I really enjoy it. I strive towards detailed and realistic renditions of whatever I am painting so I greatly admire Malcolm Morley's ability to paint with in a photorealistic style. So far, I have only painted from still life setups, but I strive very hard to capture the essence of the real objects. The painting below is from a still life that I composed to play with the tropes of portraiture. I used a vase to represent a female form and the curtain like shapes of the fabric behind are intended to evoke the idea that in art women are often objectified and put on display. Though it was just a few items arranged in a box, I felt like I created a whole scene and small world through my translation of the setup into a painting. This is similar to the way Morley uses different objects such as model planes and paints them in a detailed fashion, but arranges them so that they make a more complex scene.





          In my current painting class I am beginning work on a photorealistic project based off a manipulated image (see above). I feel like this project will echo Morley's works in the way that he creates a sort of collage in photorealistic images (see below). I collaged together different images using Photoshop and will be painting it in exact detail. My manipulated image strives to create a certain aura of the mystical and mysterious while Morley's images have an overtone of violence. Our works show how digital mediums and devices can aid analog work without completely obscuring it.