Forest for the Trees: Frames Project is a public art initiative in Seattle’s Pioneer Square that transforms the neighborhood into an open-air gallery through a network of large-scale frames installed throughout the district. For this project, I was hired to document participating painters on location as they created new works specifically for the Frames installations. The videos focus on artists working in situ, capturing process, decision-making, and the physical relationship between the artwork and the surrounding urban environment, offering an intimate view of how the paintings come into being and ultimately inhabit public space.

          Because the project featured a large number of artists painting simultaneously, and I was working as the sole filmmaker, I needed to adopt a nimble and responsive approach to capture enough material to construct a complete edit for each artist. I chose to shoot with a compact handycam, which allowed me to move quickly between painters while remaining unobtrusive in the space. The resulting footage carries a subtle nostalgic quality while maintaining a distinct visual character. I filmed with an emphasis on conveying both the environment in which each painting was created and the fine, tactile details of the artists at work, giving the audience a sense of place alongside an intimate view of process and personality.

          Audio was captured informally throughout the painting sessions, prioritizing natural conversation over scripted dialogue. These recordings were later shaped in the edit to form the narrative backbone of each piece, allowing the artists’ own voices to guide the viewer through their work and thinking. Each video was structured for vertical presentation, with the moving image occupying the upper portion of the frame and a static image of the completed painting anchored below. This format was designed to function intuitively on social platforms, enabling viewers to listen to the artist speak while simultaneously referencing the finished work, reinforcing the connection between voice, process, and final image.