Zachary Scott Synthesizes Tradition with Whimsy in a New Body of Work for a Heritage Brand

Agencies and brands are asking for more diverse content and asking our artists to take their specialties and use them to create imagery and motion that stands out. So, when Zachary Scott was approached by Lewis Cellars in Napa, CA to create a commissioned collection for their tasting room, Zack knew it needed to be a collection rooted in an artistic, stylized concept.

Zack developed a process for the project that he describes as mixed-media digital collage, combining generative works, studio photography, compositing and a hand-applied digital brushwork. The body of work that reflects the winery’s philosophy of sophistication, balanced with playfulness and merging tradition and whimsy. 

This project was incredibly demanding, with each piece evolving slowly, sometimes over months. There was a lot of iteration and critique, where Zack had to balance refinement with creativity to create the unique pieces. Built through a layered digital process, the collection balances realism with reverie.

When the project began, did you anticipate it taking this kind of mixed-media direction?

Not at all. I initially thought it would be a more traditional photographic commission, similar to past composite projects I’ve done. I worked with Designer Olivia French who co-collaborated with me on creative direction and styling. But early in the process, the direction shifted. The expectation was that this should live in the realm of fine art rather than photography. That reframing changed everything. I also worked closely with Bernard Jazzar, the curator for the Resnick Collection- the family that owns the winery. We began exploring different ways to build the images, pulling from multiple tools and approaches rather than relying on one method.

How would you describe the overall process behind the final images?

I think of it as a mixed-media digital collage. There are multiple layers involved: generative studies, studio photography, compositing, and then the hand-applied digital brushwork at the end.

I did a studio shoot alongside the digital build so we could photograph specific objects and textures that needed to feel grounded and intentional. Those elements were composited into the images. Then, once everything was largely built, I went over each piece and digitally hand-painted brush strokes across the surface. Up close, you can see that oil-paint-like texture. That part is entirely manual. It was important that the work feel tactile and painterly, not just constructed.

There’s a lot of conversation around generative tools in image-making. How did they impact your process?

They didn’t necessarily make the process easier. If anything, they introduced more complexity. Working with early diffusion-based tools produced a wide range of variations, which extended the process into a longer cycle of editing, selection, and reconstruction.

We would often find something compelling in one result, and something else in another, then build from those fragments. In many cases, it would have been faster to physically construct and photograph the scene in a more traditional way.

What I found most valuable wasn’t efficiency, but unpredictability. There was an element of surprise that could shift the direction of an image in ways I wouldn’t have planned. In that sense, it felt similar to working with people, where an unexpected gesture or moment can redirect a shoot.

There’s a kind of oscillation in that process between control and unpredictability, which I think reflects a more metamodern approach to image making. It became less about speed and more about discovery, response, and refinement.

The winery describes each piece as a “universe unto itself.” How did you approach building that sense of narrative?

I was really thinking about the work as a collection, not just individual images. They’re meant to live together in the tasting room, almost like a gallery installation.

Each piece was designed for a specific location. I was working from architectural elevations and had a clear understanding of the materials and overall environment, so the images were built in response to those spaces.

Within that, each image still needed its own internal logic. For the varietal portraits, the wine was the anchor. The grapes became the subject, treated almost like painted forms that feel more like wallpaper surfaces.

The rest of the images pull from a wider mix of influences, but the process was the same. 

There’s a thread of Dutch still life in how elements come together, even as the images lean more surreal. I wanted them to feel visually engaging up close, but also cohesive as a larger body of work in the space.

How does this project reflect your broader appraoch to image making?

My work is about drawing the viewer in. I’m interested in that initial sense of immediacy, something visually compelling that grabs your attention, that reveal deeper meaning the longer you spend with them.

The process is constructed and iterative. I shape and reshape the image, allowing for moments of unpredictability while guiding them into something intentional. The work often centers on natural forms and familiar objects, recontextualized into something more constructed and stylized, with influences from art history, particularly still life, alongside a more contemporary, graphic sensibility.

How do you want people to experience the work as they move through the space?

I want the images to feel open ended, something you can project onto, with just enough narrative to suggest what came before or what might happen next. The viewer ultimately completes the image.