About The Artist.... Simone Hester

Simone Hester was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised on the far south side of the city. She found an interest in art at an early age. At the recommendation of her teachers, she began private art lessons at a small art studio in the suburbs of Chicago. She was tutored, mentored and exposed to a variety of art mediums from calligraphy, etching, Chinese watercolors, acryllics, and oil painting. There she developed a love for drawing and painting. She broadened her art education by taking a variety of elective art classes in high school and college. Upon college graduation, her first professional position allowed her to work in graphic designs and further her knowledge of computers. Once given a digital camera, she combined her love of computers, painting, and photographs to develop her very own technique in creative digital photography. The computer has become her paintbrush and allows her to stretch the natural boundaries that a typical photograph is held to. She recently left the traditional workforce to work on her art full time and contribute to her website (http://www.simonehester.com/) and write her blog on photography, art, and everything else she finds creative.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Passion For It...

I absolutely love shooting architecture.  I vary from subject matters because I also love to shoot anything that captures my eye.  It could be a beautiful flower, a sunset, shadows, people in their everyday life, and so on.  But there is one thing that I still turn to because I adore the subject matter.  It is architecture.  The way a building is made is an astounding process.  But as an architect, how fulfilling to know that your masterpiece will stand the test of time, that it can be filled of life with people going to their corner office or grabbing a cup of coffee.  It can bustle with the latest fashions or help heal the sick.  The buildings in any major metropolis defines their skyline.  How many movies have you seen where the opening is a skyline and you instantly know the city and you haven't even had the opportunity to visit? Skylines are iconic, and there are those buildings that help define the city.  My beloved city of Chicago has the Willis Tower (Sears Tower for true Chicagoans), New York has the Empire State Building, San Francisco has the Transamerica and the list can go on. 

Yes I love these iconic structures, but what makes me a true lover of architecture, is that I love all buildings, old and new, crumbling and remodeled, historic and modern, simple and abstract, rusty and pristine.  So the next time you walk around a city, no matter how large, just take a moment and look at the structures around you, the impact on the community and the history that they hold.  I am certain that you too will become a fan of the wonderful architecture around us and the pieces of art that they truly are.  The image below is of the Chicago Riverwalk with the Butler Brothers Warehouse in the background.  It is an iconic building because of the history and that it just pops with the beautiful red brick.  The first shot is the original image and the second is the one I grunged up a bit creating a gritty and abstract image, because I just love to do so. 



 "River Walk" (c) 2012
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