Mobile Photography & Art – Portrait of an Artist – Seeing Through The Eyes of Catherine Caddigan

I am Catherine Caddigan, and I am a mobile photographer and artist. I was educated in art, concentrating on photography and printmaking, always involving photographic captures.) When the iPhone 4 came out I got one and the world of iPhoneography opened up to me. I have found a supportive and extremely talented group of artists in this community.  I am grateful to Joanne Carter for her support of this new genre and to be participating in it.

Being creative means to express, though images, words, music or even with your body a unique look at the world; engaging with our mind in a way that helps “notice” or interpret the world in a new way.

I always liked to draw and make art, but when I was young, I went to a museum on a field trip, and when I saw the art on display in these places I think I knew that was what I wanted to do more than anything else.

The stories that emerge when I work are sometimes personal, but always meant to be taken by each viewer to their own personal place. My experience of the world I think can seen though images I make, whether about a simple emotion or a large scale cultural issue.

I have been interested in portraits for a long time. I started with my DSLR, and then moved to mobile art. As my medium changed, I have become more interested in using a portrait as a starting point for something larger.

Firstly, I am not that comfortable with my own image, but I think when I use an effect on a portrait it should be in the process of telling a story, not disguising a person or myself. I am an available subject, when I have an idea I want to pursue.

That is hard to say and changes with time, and with the different results I am getting with my work. It’s usually something very recent.

That is hard for me to say. I can work on something a long time and because of the nature of mobile art it is easy to generate endless variations. My mistake is to want to post it too soon, and not let something percolate. I sometimes come back to an image and rework it. I heard somewhere that a work of art does not get finished it just stops in good places.

Actually, the beginning of the process is, for me, to constantly collect images, no matter how mundane they seem. When I have some time to create, I will begin to go over images that I have on my camera roll, looking for something that inspires me. I often work in Procreate, and come to a dead end, then will just build a new image on top of an old one, deleting and adding layers. Very occasionally, I will begin a project with an image in mind, but that is rare. It is often the process that engages me as an image develops.

As with my childhood experience of going to a museum, I am definitely inspired by seeing other works of art, I collect images from social media, I have books of artists and shows that have affected me. But often the simplest thing can inspire me, literally a cloud, the look of a frozen pond, an old handwritten letter. I have boxes of old letters, and photos, which I go to, looking for inspiration.

I like my iPhone 8 and my iPad Pro. I often use Procreate and less often IColorama for painting and layering images, For finishing, I take an image to another level by taking it into Snapseed, Hipstamatic, Stackable’s or Distressed FX.

Push things beyond where you think they are finished.

Experiment and be open to new things. Enjoy and be inspired by the art and the world you see, but don’t compare, you have your own story to tell.

I have been seen through the eyes of Catherine Shell Caddigan!

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