Filtering the World

Omaste Witkowski always begins with photographs. As a professional Web designer, she works with all the standard tools and techniques, but in December 2012, a new avenue opened up. A business owner wanted to put some of Witkowski’s macro photos in hotel suites. Up to that point, Witkowski was only a Sunday photographer, taking shots on the weekend to complement her day job. But after this new opportunity arose, she built her own website (http://omaste-witkowski.artistwebsites.com) and began accumulating hundreds of abstract ne-art images, rooted in photography, but all of which she end-manipulates in Photoshop. Now her work is for sale in bakeries, glass shops, galleries, and hotels. One of her most gratifying sales was to a bride who used Witkowski’s design on the skis the bride wore to get married in. Not a bad goal for a graphic designer. “I was pleasantly surprised that people seemed to connect with my work and I was able to start selling it as soon as I listed it online,” she said. “I hadn’t realized how much I loved creating art and was also blessed to have so many people reach out to me and enjoy my work. It makes my day when I get a message that I helped someone with my art.” So, Witkowski regularly hits the streets and inltrates nature, armed with only a camera. Macro shots are a favorite technique, after which she implements any number of digital-manipulation schemes, primarily to produce images that don’t even resemble the original source. “I am like a kid in a candy shop with technology and digital images,” she admits. “I get so excited when I create. My favorite thing to do is to say, ‘I wonder what will happen if I ....’ So, I am endlessly coming up with new ideas and applying them to my photographs and digital designs. My only regret is that there is not enough time in a day to express all that is in my imagination.”