A Guy Named Joe

A Guy Named Joe ©2012 - This image was inspired by a conversation with my friend and incredible artist, Marcel Truppa.  I asked who he considered his greatest influence and he immediately answered Joseph Cornell. Influenced by the Surrealists, Cornell was one of the pioneers of assemblage and created beautiful art from found objects. He and Marcel became friends during the 50's and he recollected that every time he visited Cornell at his home, there was always a single rose in a glass of water somewhere in the house.  After Cornell passed away, Marcel would visit his grave in Nyack, NY whenever he had the opportunity and would always bring a single rose.  Marcel remembered Cornell as a quiet, unassuming man who, despite the fame his art eventually brought him, was just "a guy named Joe".  The figure in this image is a young Marcel.  The background is not the actual gravesite of Cornell, but my interpretation utilizing several different images of my own as well as a texture in the sky from one of Marcel's paintings to complete the montage.

The Barnyard

The Barnyard ©2012 - I discovered this lovely old barn, it's smaller outbuilding and crumbling silo on an abandoned property in Marlboro, New Jersey a couple of months ago.  It was late in the day and the light was fading, so after getting as many shots as I could, I decided to call it a day but vowed to return as soon as possible to take advantage of all the great photo ops in the area! The very next weekend, I was back in Marlboro hoping to explore an abandoned factory that I had found too late the week before.  Unfortunately, during the week it had been fenced in and demolition had begun.  However, all the disturbance had attracted a flock of beautiful black vultures cruising the area and I was able to get some great bird shots!  On down the road, I ran across a field of grazing emus!  Native to Australia, these fantastic birds are also farmed in New Jersey!  As I was putting together this composition, I needed one more element.  Lucky for me, an amazing full moon was just rising in my backyard providing the last piece to complete "The Barnyard".

2nd Place in JB Kline Gallery Photography Show!

I recently had the pleasure of having 2 of my images, "The Last Waltz" and "Little Bo Peep" accepted into a show at The JB Kline Gallery in the lovely town of Lambertville, New Jersey.  The opening party was a blast- I met lots of nice people, many talented artists in the show, and received some wonderful compliments on my work!  The show hung through the month of June and during that time, visitors to the gallery voted on their favorite pieces for 1st and 2nd place.  I was so excited to learn a couple of days ago that "The Last Waltz" took 2nd place!  It's always fantastic when you win something at the decision of a panel of judges, but it was made even more special coming from the  everyday people viewing the art!