When my friend Jay approached me for a new piece, we knew we wanted to push the boundaries of neorealism. We landed on a surrealist concept that merges the soft, organic features of a portrait with the intricate, rigid engineering of clocks and gears. The design process was a true collaboration—experimenting with how the "internal mechanisms" of the gears could appear to drive the expression in the portrait, creating a piece that feels both alive and manufactured.
The customer experience for a project this complex is all about the "long game." We spent hours mapping out the depth of the gears, ensuring the 3D effect of the clockwork didn't overshadow the emotion in the girl’s face. It was about finding that perfect intersection where the skin meets the steel. Seeing this piece come together for a friend made the technical challenge even more rewarding. It’s a showcase of the ALXNDRITE philosophy: taking high-concept ideas and anchoring them in flawless black-and-grey execution for the Charleston community.