Sia Aryai is an artist and photographer who creates stunning, unique interpretations of his photographs of trees which he prints on hand painted heavyweight paper. He displayed an interest in art from early childhood. He was born in Tehran, Iran and found himself in a stringent cultural environment. Aryai left Iran for England in the mid-70s where he received his formal education and was had the freedom to pursue his artistic passions. He later moved to the US where in the mid-80s, he immersed himself in the medium of photography. He has found that photography is the perfect medium and means to capture the beauty and the essence of his subjects through his own unique style, approach and vision. He’s very excited about his series entitled “KI” (tree in Japanese). He’s received 3 awards in a year with this process, which he began experimenting with in early 2012.
Subject matter and printing process are the 2 key points that identify his series, KI. In his production process, heavyweight, elegant stock is treated with multiple layers of tints and varnish to match shades of the photograph chosen. He then transfers the photo onto this processed background and enhances it as dictated by his hand and eye. For the process referred to as gold acrylic process, he starts by painting heavyweight paper using layers of varnishes and acrylic gold. This makes the parchment to be ready for the finishing layers. Varnishing, brushings and varied ink applications create the final rich effect.
