Maria Natalie Skjeset

Visual artist based in Hamar, Norway. Born 1990 in Bærum.

 

I work with photo-based digital graphic artwork, where the artwork is produced through digital processes.

 

I have a bachelor’s degree in Virtual Art and Design from Hedmark University College, and I've also studied photography, graphic design, history of ideas and art history. Since 2014 I've exhibited in several art galleries in Norway. Member of The Association of Norwegian Visual Artists (NBK) and The Norwegian Association for Fine Art Photographers (FFF).

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Artist Statement

My artwork can often be described as ‘poetic’. I work in a figurative, partially abstract artistic style with symbolist undertones. The subjects spring from my imagination, but are based on my observation of reality. In my work, I emphasize colors, surfaces and shapes, where parts of the subject are enhanced by adding fields with abstract color surfaces. The painterly expression is prominent in all my works.

 

Details and shapes are simplified through a decorative transformation of the subject. I create ornamental patterns and textures, and work layer upon layer with elements from photographs to create texture. This digitally produced ‘patina’ is inspired by how paintings over time show signs of change through cracking and changes in the surface.

 

I am inspired by philosophy, mythology and beauty, and my pictures consist of elements from nature, such as flowers and human figures in dreamy landscapes. I seek the connection between the nature around us and man's inner landscape. The pictures are an invitation to contemplation and a walk inwards through the ‘forest of symbols’. As a human being I feel an urge to contemplate the big and small mysteries of life.

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Technique

I work mainly with photo-based digital graphic work (D.G.A.), a printmaking-related technique produced through digital processes.

 

To create a picture, I edit my own photographs directly in a digital photo editing program. A single artwork can consist of several dozen photographs that I process digitally so that the photographic starting point slides into a painterly expression.

 

I combine the photographs in a digital photo collage, and build up the subject by cutting and pasting various elements, retouching and adjusting colors and contrasts. It takes anywhere from a few days to several weeks to complete a picture.

 

In digital printmaking, it is the original data file that is the work's origin, and which is to be regarded as the ‘printing plate’. The Photoshop file is my ‘printing plate’ where I create the subject. The digital process enables different artistic qualities and expressions than with the use of analog tools.

 

The finished artworks are printed on a large format printer with archive-resistant ink in 10 colors on acid-free cotton paper, and marked with edition number, technique, title and signature with pencil. All my original digital prints are usually in a limited edition of 12 editions (and maximum 30 editions).

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You are welcome to contact me if you require further information.