A portfolio in progress

WORKINFRAME.

Fictional creator in a sculptural black jacket, lit from the side.

Objects. Spaces. The moment
something starts to make sense.

See the studies

Mara Vale

Image-making & art direction

I pay attention to shape, light and the space between things. Occasionally, the things cooperate.

A closer
look.

Three original example studies.
Open a project for the idea behind the image.

Original fictional object-design study exploring folded forms and light.

Object study · Original example

Folded
Light

An ordinary surface with a less ordinary way of catching the light.

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A change of angle.

This study starts with a small question: how much can one form change when the light moves around it? Folded edges give the eye something to follow, then let the shadows take over.

The image keeps the setting spare. The object has enough to say without a supporting cast.

Focus
Form, light and surface
Format
Object-design image study

A fictional portfolio project, created as original example artwork. The study describes a visual idea, not a client commission.

Original fictional printed graphic study with parallel black ribbon lines on white paper.

Graphic study · Original example

Printed
Motion

Parallel lines finding their own way across the page.

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A page with a pulse.

Black ribbon-like lines bend across a white printed sheet. The study follows their spacing and direction, looking for a sense of movement in an image that stays perfectly still.

The paper is part of the composition. Its surface brings the graphic back into the physical world.

Focus
Line, rhythm and print
Format
Printed graphic image study

An original fictional print study made for this portfolio example. It represents an imagined creative direction.

Original fictional architectural model study shaped by daylight and open space.

Spatial study · Original example

Room to Pause

A small space that gives daylight somewhere useful to land.

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Leave something open.

This imagined architectural model uses simple openings to make the light part of the composition. Solid planes provide the structure. The empty areas give it a rhythm.

The aim is a frame that feels inhabited by daylight before anything else moves in.

Focus
Daylight, openings and space
Format
Architectural model image study

An original fictional model study. The image is a creative example rather than a built architectural project.

A few
notes.

I like a clear composition with one thing slightly out of place. It gives the eye a reason to stay.

Stillframe is a fictional portfolio by Mara Vale. The portrait and three studies are original example imagery. Replace them with your own point of view.