At Water's Edge

I have lived most of my life where water meets land. Whether hiking along the Potomac, rafting the McKenzie, fishing a mountain tarn or strolling coastal beaches, the water/land interface is where I am most at home. At Water's Edge is a series of altered photographs defined by this intersection of two natural resources and their impact on the surrounding environment.

This work centers on Florida’s Gulf Coast where I now live. The shifting sands and changing tides can’t be separated from the condos, sea walls and dredges that helped make the area popular. It is this contrast and dichotomy that lies at the heart of my work.

Each of my works begins as a photograph. The specific elements of that photograph dictate the direction of the final art. By manipulating light on both natural and man-made surfaces I “time travel” within the photograph. Sometimes that time shift is within a single day with sunlight moving across buildings and changing reflections on water. The warmth of the early morning sun becomes the harsh glare and deep shadows of noon or the last flicker of twilight. In other works, the time shift extends to decades, revealing imagined changes to climate, waterline and structures. Erosion, degradation and decay may take their toll even as the sun and clouds continue to sparkle in the water’s mirror. Finally, rebirth and rejuvenation may follow on the heels of destruction.