PATTERNS AND TONES

"Big Sur No.1" from The Detritus Series Here are a few new portraits of nature for my Detrius Series . These forms crafted from the ocean to the desert were set in plaster against a light absorbing flat black duvateen. The contrast elevated these stunning structures to artistic forms that I feel help highlight their natural structures. In Big Sur I found  Sea Oak with their pod shaped "air bladders" curled into a natural form. The salt that remained clung to the seaweed echoed the sand covered shapes I found out in Twentynine Palms. Grasses and fallen redwood fronds rounded out the natural flora I found to and from the sea. The more extreme environment found out in the low desert of Twentynine Palms was reflected in the gnarled and spiky sticks and yucca bark I chose to photograph. Twisted and sharp, these pieces looked like they had been dried from the inside out creating exaggerated natural patterns and forms that were in high contrast to the smooth plas...

"Garvanza No. 2" from The Detritus Series de·tri·tus dəˈtrīdəs/ noun noun: detritus Waste or debris of any kind. "streets filled with rubble and detritus" Synonyms:  debris , waste , refuse , rubbish , litter , scrap , flotsam and jetsam, rubble ; remains , remnants, fragments, scraps, dregs , leavings , sweepings, dross , scum , trash ,  garbage ; informal dreck "areas littered with military detritus" gravel, sand, silt, or other material produced by erosion organic matter produced by the decomposition of organisms I have started a series of portraits that don't involve people. I wanted to explore black, white and grey tonalities through an exercises I created for myself to apply  Bauhaus theories of design and space while using the photographic technique of the  zone system . Thinking about ways I could explore these tonalities as a subject, I set up a Duvateen in my backyard and in open shade, began to ponde...

Twentynine Palms , 29 Palms or Twenty-Nine Palms. Any way you look at it, this city in the Mojave Desert in Southern California is indeed "A Beautiful Desert Oasis" and the northern gateway to Joshua Tree National Park.  Home to The King of Surf Rock -  Dick Dale  and Allie Wrubel who wrote the hit song  "The Lady of 29 Palms"  back in 1947, Twentynine Palms has always attracted artists, musicians and independent folks for generations. It's broad brush stokes of muted colors in coral, wheat and sage set the backdrop to its expansive, remote surroundings. It is truly an Oasis of tranquility and a study in light and form. My dear friend Karen Shelver turned me on to Twentynine Palms years ago. Stories of her Grandfather's homesteading adventures in the desert eventually turned into a visit when Karen lived out at the Adobe. Hand built back in 1936, it was if timed stopped when I entered the Adobe and the delicious, cool temperature (thanks to the swa...