PHOTO COLLAGE   As with traditional collage, the digital darkroom offers the technology to layer image upon image with endless possibility. The pieces in this portfolio have emerged from the play and harmonizing of two or more concepts. The images combine photography, scans and digital illustration. At times I borrow from the generosity of my friends by mixing in photographs of their paintings. Some pieces come together quickly, others have taken months to complete.

CREATIVE SCANS   This portfolio is a sampling of creatively scanned images… beauty gathered from the walkways of San Francisco. What began as a convenient way to capture a shape or an idea 'for the files' took shape into an unique art form that deeply satisfies my curiosity for the unseen… creatively composed on an HP office printer and digitally enhanced. These studies are reminiscent of botanical illustrations of flora and fauna from earlier times in our history, when there was greater fascination with the intimacy and intricate detail found in the natural world.

BEYOND FORM/DANCING WITH COLOR   crosses over the fixed line of form and detail into the dynamic essence of that form. I follow my curiosity, dancing to a rhythm and movement that might tempt the spirit or nature of things. This level of engagement is teaching me to shoot in low level light conditions, with a wide receptive aperture. It feels like passing through the light of day into moonlight. At times what emerges is unexpected and emotionally powerful. It draws me more deeply into the magic of nature where I feel at home. Although these digital images were all enhanced in my Photoshop “darkroom”, the shapes, patterns and colors were all captured by the movement of my camera and lens.

IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES    My personal edge rests in the natural world. Introspective by nature, I track landscapes in small and unexpected places — the luminous edge of a leaf or flower, the play of shadow on rock, a plant mysteriously returning to seed form, the ephemeral play of frost on top of a park bench. I look for the third thing that is created when two or more elements engage in conversation ... a pattern, rhythm, dissonance, distinct beauty. Like all conversations, this is a fluid process, in the moment, never again the same. Unlike my photo collages, "Imaginary Landscapes" is a collection of digital photographs taken from my point of view.