Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day ©2014 -The first documented American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry of Morgantown, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris dated February 4, 1841:  "Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow,  he pops back for another six weeks nap.   But if the day be cloudy, he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."  Although it has origins in ancient European weather lore where a badger is the prognosticator, it also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar which is celebrated on February 1st, about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  My "Groundhog Day"  was inspired by a vintage photo of a beautiful little girl with a melancholy expression on her face that I picked up at an antique shop in Millford, NJ.   I placed her in an image I captured of a window in Lambertville, NJ along with a road through a field in Middle Valley, balloons from over Rt 202 around Flemington, a groundhog from my backyard and several crows from my travels.  Color was added to the girl (originally black and white) along with assorted filters and texture from an old daguerreotype.  Given her wistful look, I imagine she's hoping for a prediction of early spring from her groundhog while dreaming of blue skies full of magical balloons to whisk her away.       

New Show at River Queen Artisans Gallery!

The Boating Party

The Boating Party ©2013 - Some of the 7 images included in this montage have been hanging around in my files since the spring of 2011 until an idea for this composition hit me recently.  The base image is a lovely little stream running through the town of Spotswood, NJ that I photographed during a visit in April of 2011.  The boat, oddly enough, was inside an abandoned house in Middle Valley, NJ (the same house I used in "By the Light of the Moon" which you can find in the archives of this blog).  Speaking of moons, the one used here was taken in Lambertville, NJ just as it was rising, very full and golden.  The birds are actually Canadian geese from a lake near my house.  I decided to take a few liberties with their coloring to better fit the mood of the piece.  A young man from my vintage photo collection completed the gathering of "The Boating Party".

The Fortune Teller

The Fortune Teller ©2013 - Last September I attended an antiques show at the Hunterdon County fairgrounds in Amwell Township, NJ.  When leaving the show after a lovely afternoon of browsing for treasures, I happened across an interesting looking yardsale while heading down the road to Lambertville for dinner.  While perusing the sale, a building on the property with lots of texture and peeling paint caught my eye so I asked the owner if she would mind if I took some photographs.  She was extremely gracious, telling me it was an old garage badly in need of a coat of paint, but I could take all the photos I wanted.  She even moved her car and several other items out of the way to give me more room to shoot!  As often happens, the images were filed away until recently when the pieces of a composition came together in my head.  The vintage photo of the gypsy from my collection seemed to echo the mood of the building with the odd emblem attached to the door.  The crocodile I found a couple of months before on someone's front lawn in Lambertville and my curious backyard blackbirds completed "The Fortune Teller".

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!

A Quiet Corner

Another road trip, this time to the quaint riverside town of Lambertville, New Jersey. Situated on the east bank of the Delaware River just across the bridge from New Hope, PA, it's filled with art galleries, antique shops and wonderful restaurants. It dates from the middle 1800's and is loaded with historic homes from that era. Raritan Canal State Park runs through the heart of town with a picturesque path along the canal for walking or jogging. Many of the backyards of the row houses butt up against the path and this one became "A Quiet Corner". It seemed a perfect spot for daydreaming or reflecting according to the cat lying lazily across the wicker table.