Peter Berry studied Fine Art at the University of Georgia where he focused on Jewelry and Metalworking under Gary Nofkee, and graduated in 1991 with a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Georgia State University, studying under Medford Johnston.
Artist’s Statement: Peter Berry, The Fearless Fractaleer
Art is an investigative process for me. I often start with just a general idea of what I am trying to accomplish and allow the work to guide me as much as I guide it. I feel I am most successful when I am able to quiet my mind and follow my intuition. At times my creative process feels like a meditation that leaves behind images.
My love of making art with fractals came from the period of time after my family and I moved from Colorado to Tallahassee. I had a beautiful painting studio that I was not able to bring with me in the first part of our move to Tallahassee. So, for 2 years, I began to explore digital art starting with photo manipulation. That was fun but not as satisfying as creating an image from nothing.
As a painter, I have always painted as investigation - creating a dialogue with the image I was working with until the conversation was over. Even though I may have had a general idea of what kind of structure I was starting with, I never had an image in my mind that I was trying to reproduce; I am much more interested in exploration through imagery.
Once I began working with 3D fractals, I found the same kind of relationship and creative process. Even though the media are different, the concerns are the same: formal composition, systems and interconnections, color and space, and a desire to create layers of detail that engage the viewer at multiple levels. I enjoy creating images that have a feeling of being real somewhere in the universe but that exist solely in the image I have created.
The process of creating 3D fractals is using specific fractal software on a computer. I use various fractal math equations to create an object or “world” and then explore it. When I find an area or structure that is interesting, I light it, set the colors and textures, set shadows, reflections and depth of field. Once I have everything the way I want it, I set the image to render at 6000 x 9000 pixels and let the computer go to work. Most images take 1-2 days to fully render although some of my pieces have taken as long as 11 days. Once successfully rendered, I then set up the image for printing; perhaps 5% of the images I create make the grade to set up for printing.
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