Darlene Foster’s artwork is cloaked in mystery. . . from her shadowy subjects to the amazing digital photo-editing techniques she employs.
Darlene began her art career in drawing and painting at the Sarah Brown School of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. She moved to New Jersey in 1977, began incorporating photography into her work, and for seventeen years worked in a prestigious photography studio as a retouching artist.
When digital photography techniques emerged at the end of the 20th century, Darlene jumped in head-first and began creating beautiful photographic images enhanced through digital means.
Starting with a photograph, she manipulates her images to give them a dreamlike, imaginary feel. . . and to make sure that each one tells a story.
The following images are from Darlene’s series of abandoned buildings. By casting a sepia tone over her photos to age them, and increasing her subject’s contrast, she is able to heighten their visual impact to the point of surrealism.
Though the old shed and fence above are real, she’s set the stage and created an entire story by making it look dreamlike and ghostly.
In this next image, Darlene took a simple photo of a neglected shed, then manipulated the space around it.
Among other things, she lightened the darkened sky and placed two birds within that lightened area to add interest. The movement of their wings adds a new dynamic to this scene, and the birds also give a balance of life to the dying structure.
Darlene describes these old buildings as having “a soul of their own.” I couldn’t agree more, and I think the image below especially showcases this sentiment.
While this photo could have been left alone as a worn rocker on an old porch, Darlene has made it into something much deeper. With its aged look and eerie brightness, it seems to be the setting for a rich, textured story that we can only imagine.
I invite you all to take a few minutes and visit www.darlenefoster.com to explore more of her wonderfully rich, story-telling photos.