Darren Cole was born in 1973 in the city of Bristol, UK. He was introduced to photography at
an early age by his Father and developed a love for the medium. A desire to produce complex,
fantastical images was limited by the black and white printing process. It was not until
Darren began his degree at The University of the West of England that he was introduced to
the software package Adobe Photoshop and suddenly any image was possible.
Following several years of experimenting with Photoshop and producing composited images in a
painterly style, Darren discovered a technique that would allow him to produce images in the
same way that a painter works with a canvas. By creating areas of colour on the screen, he
could use a digital brush to push and merge the colours into any shape he liked until the
desired effect was created. This approach allowed for incredible freedom of expression.
Darren prefers to begin with no fixed idea of what he is going to create and listens to
music as he works to prevent himself from producing images that are too literal. This
technique allows him to tap into his subconscious and he finds the experience very
liberating and uplifting.
'Spirit Guide' was the first image Darren produced using his new technique and he has been
told by a friend, who specialises in Tarot card readings and crystal work, that the image is
a portrait of his own spirit guide. This creation spawned 5 other works that were all
created in the space of several weeks. These include, 'Raising Beauty', 'Forest Spirit' and
'Mother Nature'. All of these explore spirituality and beauty.
Darren has sold some of his work at local exhibitions but would like to be able to circulate
his work further afield.
He can be contacted by e-mail [email protected].
Further works can be viewed at his web-site.
