Fine Art, Analog and Digital Collage, Photography
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NEWS
My present endeavor is to master digital collage.
Using point and shoot photography, the intent is to combine imagery of nature inspired by the rhythms of music. Color will attempt to interpret sound and form will be a compliment, varying according to the elements originally found in the environment. 
"Shadow Talk", 11 x 8.5 in., photograph, 2014.
"Emergence", 8 x 10 in., photograph, 2014.
The point and shoot camera continues to offer
challenges, obliging the artist to be severely critical with the "compositional eye." The simple camera forces one to be highly selective with shots taken - studying form becomes evermore pivotal. 
Study for "Four Freedoms" exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum, photo collage.
"Subtle Evocation", 8 x 10 in., photograph, 2014.
"Death Card" study in a reinterpretation of the famous Arthur Waite tarot deck, 2019.
"Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Believe" a study for the "Four Freedoms" traveling exhibition (20 x 24 in., photo collage, 2018).
FOUR FREEDOMS
The study above, "Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Believe", wishes to challenge the viewer into considering what is the contemporary role of faith and religion in the 21st century. It is a modern reinterpretation of American illustrator, Norman Rockwell's Post cover - "Freedom of Religion." Within the aforementioned piece, Rockwell places the statement -"Each according to the dictates of his own conscience." I too aim to provoke thought in the viewer . . . I leave to his or her gaze the quote: "Faith is the tolerance required, compassion the key." 
"Here and There", 14 x 11 in., photograph, 2020.
"Impression Rhododendron", 8x 10 in., photo collage, 2021.
"In the Darkness", 11 x 14 in., photograph, 2024.
"Rose Unfolding", 8 x 10 in., photography digitally manipulated, 2021.
"The Revisitation of Flora", 14 x 11 in., photo construct, archival pigment print, 2022.
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EXHIBITIONS
Paper Trail: JURIED WORKS ON PAPER
From July 3 - July 28, 2024, the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, NH is celebrating paper in innovative ways. The noted show, "Paper Trail", invites artists to reveal the breadth of unique ways paper may be used to create art. From drawings, collage, cyanotypes to prints, paper is revealed as an inspiring substrate, as well as primary material. "Musical Medley, Counterpoint in Yellow" is one this artist presented works. Revealing the joy of color as sound, it offers forms which dance across the page in a lyrical rhythm; the whole intends to elicit sensations of contemplation and joy. 
"Musical Medley, Counterpoint in Yellow, 11 x 14 in., mixed media collage, 2024.
BOTANICAL PONDERINGS
The year 2024 has been one of investigating and reminiscing about the kingdom of flora in all her beauty. Buds have been studied in their effulgence and precarious states . . . from a dying blossom to a storm tossed flower. Flora is enticing, drawing one into her secretive, as well as her proud and persistent stance. Below are some "portraits" of flora in diverse states of being. I hope you peruse and enjoy. 
"Natural complexion", 11 x 14 in., photograph, 2024.
"Amethyst Beauty", 8.5 x 11 in., photograph, 2024.
"Pastel Reverie, Mind Reflection version 2", 11 x 14 in., photo collage 2024.
24th Joan L. Dunfey Annual Juried Exhibition,
"MindFUL" Celebrating mental health awareness, MindFUL is an exhibition running from Nov. 1 through Nov. 26th, 2023 at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, N.H. The show intends to examine the complexity of mental health and its subtleties, with images ranging from introspective portraits to landscapes. Alluding to the vast and mysterious nature of the human mind, this exhibit offers much to contemplate and admire. Mind Reflection, seen below, is this author's contribution to the aforementioned show; the piece examines the elusive quality of memory, as both a lasting imprint on the psyche and as a fleeting aspect of the process of remembering. 
"Mind Reflection", 14 x 11 inches, photo collage, 2023, archival pigment print.
"Sea Shadows", 11 x 8.5 in., Charcoal rendering, 2023.
2023 NCOA PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD CONTEST-
Aging Well for All Extending from 6/12/23 - 7/6/23 are both an online exhibition (www.ncoa.org) and onsite gallery show, each to be announced by the NCOA (National Council on Aging) at their aforementioned site. The "Aging Well for All" exhibit is a national show dedicated to the inherent beauty and wisdom of older women. Photographers/visual artists were asked to create works which expressed not only the inner spirit and strength of mature women, but their critical value to their communities and society at large. A virtual show of accepted pieces will be opening on June 12, 2023 at the NCOA site (www.ncoa.org). Three of this artist's pieces were invited to the national display - "As She Grows", "Remembrances" and "Time Thoughts" (please view piece below). Each of the noted visual works celebrate the spiritual resiliency and rich character of the artist's octogenarian mother. The exhibit, with over 1000 entrants, should prove both inspiring and uplifting. 
"As She Grows", 14 x 11 in., photograph, 2023.
"Whisper", 11 x 8.5 in., photograph, 2023.
"Unfolding", 11 x 8.5 in., photograph, 2023.
CAMBRIDGE ART ASSOCIATION 2022
NATIONAL PRIZE SHOW Soon to be on view at the Cambridge Art Association's Kathryn Schultz Gallery is the 2022 National Prize Show. Over 900 works were submitted for the show and 77 were selected. The noted show was open themed and intends to showcase emerging artists. Works range from mixed media to photography and will be presented at the Schultz Gallery in two parts; Show 1 will run from May 31 - June 25, 2022. Show 2 will extend from July 5 - 30, 2022. An Opening Reception will be held online on June 3, 2022 between 6;30 and 8:00 pm. Included in this national exhibit are two works by this artist, "The Revisitation of Flora" and "Becoming" - both are photo constructs and presented as archival pigment prints. The former work, seen below, is a contemporary interpretation of the myth of Flora, goddess of flowers. 
"Mutation", 9 x 12 in., drawing, medium: marker. 2021.
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INSPIRATION
Creating art requires a good deal of effort and
an ounce of that intangible, inspiration. It is for this reason that the artist must consistently refuel his or her psychological or emotional gas tank. He or she must take time away, a break, from the process of art production, to "imbibe" more external imagery (visual nourishment), as well as ideas. The process of artistic growth is a constant one, with the "creator" steadily weighing information and external stimuli. Producing art is a perennial judging of factors and meanings - i.e. color, line, form, light, etc.- with symbolism often shifting as the work progresses. Thus, I would encourage one to dip one's feet into the other cultural arts - writing, theatre, dance. music. Excursions into the territory of these art forms rewires the brain, invariably stimulating other senses and abilities. One discovers new ground in exploring other visual and performing arts. A fresh light is often shed on given ideas or concepts, and with a different viewpoint comes a new, revitalizing approach to realizing or finishing a work. "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso "It is not enough to know your craft - you have to have feeling. Science is all very well, but for us imagination is worth far more." Eduard Manet "No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition." Claude Monet 
"in the Light", 10 x 8 in., photography 2020.
Snap and shoot photo. "Haiku moment", 8 x 10 in., 2020.
"Memento Mori, In the Name of Freedom", 11 x 8.5 in., photo montage, 2017.
"Kisses in the Dark", title of a poetry book. It results a study in publication design. The cover wishes to draw the reader in with a sense of the evocative and entranced.
PUBLICATION DESIGN
Book Cover Design is one of the more inspirational forms of design within the illustrator's or designer's fields of endeavor. The ideal, of course, would be to have a synopsis of the book's narrative as a launching point for the cover's actual ideation. Book cover design IS a visual challenge - as can be imagined - loaded with symbolism. But all begins with a first sketch, which filters out one's initial ideas. Certainly, a myriad of studies ensue from the first conceptual drawing; for the above cover, "Kisses in the Dark", love poetry was the launching point. One is compelled to visually state that the theme of love itself is not always focused on passion, happiness or predestination, but also regret and loss. 
"Hydrangea Blur", 14 x 11 in., photograph, 2020.
"Rapture", c. 8.5 x 11 in., digital photo collage, 2022.
"Illumination Reconstructed", 11 x 14 in., digital photo collage, 2022.
"Tulips - Pondering", 8.5 x 11 in., photograph, 2024.
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