WorkPhotography

Raindrop Blues: Fine art photographs that look like blurred oil paintings

"The rain washes memories off the sidewalk of life," Woody Allen once said in an old movie. And it forms the basis of a new series by Italian photographer Alessio Trerotoli.

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All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

Raindrop Blues, as it's called, is inspired by, you guessed it, raindrops. "Like a blues song, they fall with a repetitive but fascinating rhythm, awakening, as they were called in the 17th-century, the 'blue demons' – a suffused sensation of melancholia," explains Alessio.

Through his layered, fine art photographs, he tries to dip the viewer in a sort of "oneiric reality", where the rain seems to fall on everyone. "I want to create evocative images where every element – the street, the sky, the characters, the viewer – is involved in a romantic and, in at the same time, a melancholic feeling. As Bob Marley said, when it rains some 'feel' the rain, others just get wet."

To create the effect of his Raindrop Blues series, Alessio superimposes hundreds of different photographs to create fine art images. It's a similar process that he used for his popular Urban Melodies where he captured the buzz and pace of Rome, New York, Paris and Berlin.

Since his first exhibition in 2010, Alessio has won numerous awards and even published a book, Fuori Dalla Caverna, which features stories and photographs about his travels. Make sure you check out his website at www.alessiotrerotoli.it.

Rain-soaked narrow European street at dusk with illuminated storefronts, pedestrians and lampposts, layered with a dreamy cityscape overlay creating a melancholic atmosphere
Person holding a red umbrella seen through rain-covered glass, with blurred figures and red lights in the background, creating a layered, dreamlike effect
Layered photograph showing stone sculptured heads and a figure with umbrella viewed through rain-streaked glass, creating a blurred, melancholic atmosphere
Figure in black clothing holding a red umbrella in rain against a vibrant red wall, from Alessio Trerotoli's Raindrop Blues series
The Pantheon in Rome viewed through a rain-covered window, with blurred figures and wet streets below, created by layering multiple photographs
Figure in vibrant red clothing stands beside a blue car on a rain-soaked street, viewed through wet glass layered with multiple photographic exposures
Person holding a red tartan umbrella views urban apartment buildings and a bridge through rain-streaked glass in Alessio Trerotoli's Raindrop Blues series
Silhouette of a person holding a teal umbrella in heavy rain, with a stone building and arched windows behind them
Person holding a transparent umbrella with red hearts in heavy rain on a narrow wet city street, photographed through rain-covered glass
Person holding a polka dot umbrella stands in heavy rain on a wet city street lined with historic buildings
Ornate stone fountain sculptures in rain with figures holding black umbrellas and ochre buildings behind in Rome
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