The point of transition where a landscape is just over the threshold into a dream.
Exploring the borderline between: representational and abstract, real and mysterious, earthly and ethereal. Mystery and the ethereal play important roles - they help to extend boundaries.
Darkness represents the night, where dreams take place. Although these images are dark in tonality, the mood is one of positive affirmation. They seem illuminated with a special quality of light - light comes out of darkness.
With imagination, these scenes become newly discovered landscapes that can enrich our perceptions or awareness of the world.
“…a spectacular body of work.” - Brooks Jensen, publisher LensWork.
The light and landforms of the American Southwest have a fascinating aura of mystery, awe, and power.
There are several aspects to this series. The first is very simply - here’s something that’s delightful for your eyes to look on.
Then there’s the subtext - dried grasses in winter can often appear chaotic, among the chaos, grace can be found.
The third aspect is the three dimensionality is especially palpable. These intertwined forms moving closer and farther from the picture plane make an illusion of depth that you can almost reach into. This effect is heightened when the viewing scale is just right.
Six images from this series were published in LensWork’s Seeing in SIXES 2019.
On a personal note - a minimalist ventures into maximalism.
The stars were aligned when I visited these iconic locations. Before an hour had passed after arriving for the very first time at these Yosemite and Grand Tetons overlooks, I was a witness to something grand, spectacular and timeless.
Using an economy of elements, these visual poems evoking images of the natural world use suggestion instead of description, thus the viewer is free to have their own interpretations.
What first appears as drawings are not drawings at all, but are actually closely cropped photographs from nature. What was photographed is different from what seems to appear. A transformation has occurred, from one part of nature into another and from a photograph into an ink-brush drawing. Photographic grain resembles drawing paper with a textured surface.
Allusions are drawn to traditional Asian art and culture.