I am grateful this month to have a public place to display my work. Stop by the Irish Cultural Center (see website for business hours) during the month of September to see seven selected works from my visit to Ireland in 2012. Select images were printed on specialty metallic paper which represents exceptional color and tonal depth. All images were personally matted, framed and signed, and are available for purchase. I would like to say thank you to my good friend, Mary, who initiated this opportunity and loaned me a couple of framed prints she had previously purchased from me so that I could include them in the exhibit.
I came up with the exhibit title, West by Southwest because I came to the West of Ireland from my home in the Southwestern United States. I chose my Burren Tree image for the bill because it represents several points of importance for me within this portfolio. First of all, the Burren is not what people typically envision when they think of Ireland. The beauty of the rocky Burren landscape is quite a contrast, though equally exquisite, to the lush green landscapes one would likely expect in an image of Ireland. Much of my work is based on principles of abstraction and unique perspective so it seemed fitting to choose a cover image that would defy expectation. Secondly, the Burren gave me a strange sense of familiarity while I was there. The Burren is probably as close to the Arizona sonoran desert terrain as Ireland gets, so I felt a strange sense of acquaintance with the landscape despite being in an unfamiliar setting.
Several of my photographs were reworked and reprinted for this exhibition as my artistic vision has changed a lot in the three years since I made the images. Below are two different versions of Dunguaire Castle, processed from the same exposure file, as an example of how my process and vision have changed since the image was originally developed in 2012. The latter version is included in the current exhibit.
Dunguaire Castle, 2012 version
Dunguaire Castle, 2015 version
In closing, I’ll leave you with a teaser for my next exciting venture: Next month a major goal of mine will come to fruition as I exhibit my first solo show in an art gallery. More details will follow as the opening reception gets closer. In the meantime, here’s a link to the first press release, published by AZ Culture: Abstractions Press Release
