Abstract nominee

Creating each image involves compositing together several of my original photographs. In this series, each image has from 5-10 layers that were shot during a trip to the Oregon coast. The separate photographs are of things like sandstone cliffs, moss, seaweed, fog, trees, and debris washed up on the beach. Each layer is manipulated for variables like transparency, color, saturation, and placement when composited (foreground, background), etc. My overall inspiration for compositing images is the impressionist painters. Informally, my work might be viewed as 'painting through the medium of photography.' None of these works involved computer-generated colors, textures, AI, etc. For example, when I manipulate colors, I'm working with colors that are inherent in the original photograph. If I'm looking for a specific color that is not already layered in, I add another layer that contains the colors I'm looking for. This is a very labor-intensive process, because I never know if the layers will work together until they're composited. There are many draft pieces that get tossed away. But it's also a very joyful process for me, as I play with each piece until my intuition says "it's done."

I graduated from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) with a B.A. in film and photography. My early adult years were spent working in film production primarily as a gaffer (lighting director). I was in love with light and shadow. I had a black and white darkroom at home where I played with my photographs, experimenting with variables like exposure time, different papers, etc.

I left film and photography in my mid 30’s. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, so I got advanced degrees in public health and social work. For the next several decades I worked with community health organizations and eventually hospice.

Working in hospice was transformative for me. There is the medicine of helping people (technique or tools), and there is also the light and energy of dying (their feeling states, being present with them). When I came back to photography recently, my hospice experience changed how I look at things. Now, I work from a feeling state. What does this piece evoke in me and others? What are the colors and light saying? I create images that speak primarily through light, color and patterns, rather than representing familiar places or people.