What’s happened...
In February, I mentioned that seven Floating World images were shown at the Fitchburg Art Museum, Massachusetts, and in June I got word that they’d be purchasing two of them for their permanent collection. That’s really gratifying and I appreciate their kind support.
In March, I was selected as one of 30 artists in the “30 Over 50” Exhibition at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado. The juror was Gordon Stettinius, of Candela Books, and the online introduction says, “Talent is not reserved for the young, and (hopefully) with age comes wisdom. This exhibition celebrates 30 socially engaged artists over the age of 50.” It was especially rewarding to be included because the selection was based on project portfolios—an ongoing body of work—rather than just one good, and sometimes lucky, shot. I’m also a bit humbled when I look at the list of the other 29 accomplished and talented artists!
During the summer, the Floating World project was featured, including 20 images, in Float Photo Magazine.
Starting November 1, 2022, the good folks at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center (Denver) are profiling me as their featured member for the next couple of months.
What’s next...
After around six years, I feel I’m near the end of making new images for the Floating World project. I’m still going out on the ships, but I’m finding less and less that makes the cut to “hang” with the others in my A-list portfolio. So, if a scene doesn’t offer anything new, I move on and continue my walk around the decks. While I’ve had success getting single images into call-for-entry group shows, I’m now turning my attention toward proposing solo shows of the entire body of work: probably 20-25 images, starting with next spring’s Month of Photography in Denver. After that, I’ll look at museums and galleries in the port cities that host cruise ships. (A great suggestion by one of the Fotofest reviewers.)
Waves, seen from a high deck.
At the same time, I’m starting to explore other project ideas, some related to other aspects of ocean travel, such as the 10+ years I have photographing wave patterns, looking nearly straight down at them from the big ships. Seascapes are typically shot from the land, just slightly above the water, so these offer a unique perspective. I just have to explore what I want to say about them and how they should look.
I’m also trying projects I can pursue within a few hours’ drive of my northern Colorado home, thinking I need to be out in the world, looking and shooting more routinely than the cruise project allows. To support those project ideas, I’m studying a little of the color theory that’s part of most painting education.
In that vein, I just watched the documentary movie, “Gerhard Richter Painting,” for the second time in the past three years, and found it still has much to offer. (However, his abstract and non-representational work is so amazingly colorful and detailed that it should have been shot in high-definition!)
