I am a fine art nature photographer, and these are my reflections on making art: the inspiration, the process, and the business.
Market Flowers is a series of abstract nature photographs that explore the surprising complexity of the common flowers that can be found at our neighborhood markets and grocery stores. When choosing which flowers to buy, I ignored the fancy arrangements made for the latest holiday and head straight for the bargains. There, in a row of buckets on the floor, would be handfuls of more modest flowers…
An artist residency I’m applying to shared a list of their alumni. All had a BFA and most had an MFA as well. Ah, well not me! Here s hoping they re curious to work with someone who walked a non-traditional path towards becoming an artist. In college I didn t study art, I studied cognitive science and linguistics (which I loved). I was work-study and taught myself graphic design to help pay the…
This year I made the goal to get accepted to an artist residency. I was reading an article about MacDowell, one of the most well known residencies in America, and realized: I need this place. Artist residencies can take many forms, but the kind I am looking for is a place that offers artists dedicated time and space to work on a creative project. They provide physical space: a room to sleep in,…
The central focus of my artistic practice is investigating the natural world that is found at our feet, not on the horizon. Our primary interaction with nature is through the parts we can actually touch and hold — leaves, seeds, twigs, grasses, and flowers. I believe these common and often overlooked things teach us that “nature” is not something separate from humanity, but fully integrated into…
This is a first look at my exhibition, Market Flowers, which will be opening this summer. This is a collection of new photographs that explore the surprising complexity of the common flowers found at your neighborhood markets and grocery stores. These are the flowers of first dates, dinners with friends, sudden condolences, and just because . In other words, some of the most important moments of…
My latest art exhibition, Collecting Shells on the Beach, was inspired by my family’s summer vacations down the New Jersey shore. A visit to the beach doesn t fully begin for me until I pick up a shell. It doesn t have to be a particularly beautiful shell — in fact, the more broken and weathered the better. But when I hold it in my hand, and feel the play of its textures as I brush away the sand…
Every summer my family goes down the shore to Cape May. It s a beautiful old New Jersey beach town with Victorian homes, shady streets, and a long beach. We spend the week taking walks, shopping, eating out, climbing the lighthouse, and hanging out at the beach. And it wouldn t be a visit to the beach without hunting for shells. Whether we are pitching our umbrella for the afternoon, or taking a…
Spring seems to be struggling to stick this year. A day will start out warm and sunny, only to end with wind and snow. The flowers have come out, but cautiously, resistantly. Our crocuses bloomed suddenly during a brief warm spell, but quickly vanished before I could photograph them. (This photograph is from a few years ago.) Even the hawks who were nesting in our oak tree seemed to have decamped…
As I write this, the temperature outside my New Jersey studio is finally reaching the 60s, and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of the first flowers and buds of spring. It wasn’t a hard winter, but it wasn’t easy either. This photograph of an orchid reminds me of that light, expansive feeling you get when you finally put away the shovels and coats for another year. As a sign that spring has…
I started working as a full-time artist when my kids were born. So for them, “Dad going to work” always meant me walking up the stairs to my home studio. I have learned to not underestimate the importance of that simple act — them seeing me work as a professional artist. Doing something creative as a career is a rare thing, and kids seem to understand that, and appreciate its specialness. By…