Methods

Images containing multiple photographs: I start with a large, blank canvas, and with Photoshop “paint” in individual shots. Photoshop’s Mask-tool lets me exclude elements I don’t want. Then I begin to play, moving each segment around. I pick Transform/Warp, Distort, Perspective, and Scale to adjust / treat each layer. Eventually they all start to fuse into a new, combined, whole Image. When the bones of the structure are in place, I start applying multiple filters to each separate element. Again, Masks allows me to keep only those parts of a new alteration that bring new life to the Image. Eventually I combine all layers, save as a new file, and begin playing with yet more filters and Masks. At some point a kind of shock goes through me, telling me this Image is now complete. Total time: anywhere from 5 hours to 50.

For Images made from a single photograph: the exact same methods except I’m playing with just one shot.