Keith Ruddick

Having shown in art festivals since 1976, I realize that for my work to be truly of my own creation – thus giving me the full satisfaction to call it my own – I must do it entirely myself. To that end, I have always done my own color printing. I don't believe that an artist can truly call the work his own if he doesn't do the work himself, from the creation of the image to the final interpretation of what he saw and felt at the time of the exposure of the photograph. My color images are strong in their graphic appeal. Composition, light and texture are my tools to achieve the results I desire in my images. A sense of place is also important. After having spent the last 29 years in the darkroom doing my own color printing, I have now switched to digital. Though I certainly miss the direct hands-on experience of light and chemical processing, I have found digital to be a much more creative extension of what could never be done in the darkroom. Now, I feel as though I am an artist, not a craftsman. I am now producing exciting images in ways I had only imagined in the darkroom.