Transformation + A New Gallery Show

I’m participating in an upcoming group exhibition at the Blue Door Art Center in Yonkers NY called Yonkers Thru The Lens – A Photographic Perspective. It’s going to be all photographic works of art from a variety of photographers – 2 of which are my friends which makes it even more fun! Each image must somehow represent the city of Yonkers.

5 pieces were submitted for consideration and 3 were selected – one color and 2 black and white. The color one you may have seen before but the 2 black and white pieces are newer and a stray from the style I’m most known for. It’s always fun to try something different!

After the opening event happening on Saturday March 11th from 1-6PM EST I’ll show you the newer pieces, but I thought it may be interesting to give you a little bit of the behind the scenes and thought process in the making of my piece called Transformation.

The foundation of my art is a photograph but then I put my own spin on it to create the final art piece.

It was a few years ago that I started spending time at a public garden in Yonkers called Untermyer Gardens. It’s a great place to visit. Lots of inspiration! On that particular day the butterflies were out and being pretty cooperative – hyper focused on what looked like eating the flowers.. I took a bunch of photographs but was waiting patiently for the wings to open up. That’s the thing with nature photography – you need a lot of patience because you can’t really direct the subject! You’re on their timeline!

This is how the image looked straight out of the camera….

Butterfly on vine - straight out of camera by stacey Natal

I saw the potential in this shot but I had a different vision for it. I wanted more vibrancy and energy so I adjusted the crop, changed the colors and added a texture to the background and this is the final piece…

I love this piece because it’s a reminder that we’re always evolving and can still transform into the greatest version of ourselves. I had this as the background on my phone for quite some time to have that daily reminder.

I’ll make this piece available in my shop after the close of the show. If you’re interested in it now, there will be a framed 11×17 print at Blue Door Art Center.

Let me know if you found this interesting and if you’d like more behind the scenes and showing you the before and after process – or does it take the mystery away for you? Let me know and I’ll consider your feedback.

If you want to stop by the show, here’s the info…