The Last Waltz

The Last Waltz ©2012 - While recently exploring southern New Jersey in and around the town of Marlboro, I came across an abandoned property with a little different twist.  The house itself was not that unusual or interesting, but on the front porch were the crumbling remains of what must have been a lovely old piano in it's day.  I photographed it from several angles but found the close up the most appealing with all the inner workings exposed.  Having never heard of a Kirby piano, I tried researching it's origin online but oddly, found nothing.  I'm very curious, so if anyone has any information on it please let me know!  The "pianist" is one of my backyard birds I happened to catch in mid stretch.  With feathers ruffled and mouth open, he was the perfect addition to "The Last Waltz".

Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep ©2012 - This piece started with yet another image from the abandoned property in Middle Valley, New Jersey.  It is, in fact, the front of the house I used in "By the Light of the Moon" a few months ago.  The little girl is a vintage photo that intrigued me with her odd expression, straw hat and stick in hand.  It brought to mind the nursery rhyme from the early 1800's about Little Bo Peep and her famous sheep.  Older residents of the village of Ninfield in East Sussex, England (a former smuggling center) claim that Bo Peep was it's most famous resident.  The story goes that her sheep were walked across the shore to disguise smuggler's footprints.  After learning of her dark side, I decided instead of sheep to use a flock of magnificent black vultures that I happened across on a recent trip to Jackson, New Jersey.  I thought this provided an interesting twist - sort of Little Bo Peep according to The Brothers Grimm! 

The Visitor

The Visitor ©2012 - I've always been a Poe fan and had thought of doing a still life with elements that reference him for awhile but just never seem to get around to it.  With the new movie "The Raven" starring John Cusack opening this week, I was inspired to finally do it.  An antique black table cover seemed the perfect backdrop and the collection of Poe books in my house provided the key element.  The reflection of him in the old mirror is thought to be from the last portrait sitting before his death taken by William Abbott Pratt in 1849. The book open to the first page of "The Raven" was an obvious choice as well as the candle and glass of port wine but the pears were just something that appealed to me.  What could be better on a rainy night than curling up in a comfy chair with some port, pears and Poe?  When my backyard blackbird (a raven wannabe) stopped by "Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door- Only this and nothing more."

The Other Side

The Other Side ©2012 - A road trip through southern New Jersey a couple of weeks ago yielded another abandoned property just days from annihilation judging from the amount of heavy equipment waiting in the wings.  Located on Rt 130 just outside of Bordentown, there were 5 buildings total- a main house, a large barn like structure and several smaller ones.  This smaller one intrigued me with it's roof sloping in the middle like the back of an aging horse while the fingers of the bare branches on the left seemed to be reaching to open the white door.  What I think drew me most to this composition though, was the broken fence.  The posts on each side frame the little building as the top rail splits into the image like a dagger aimed for it's heart.  Taking in the scene, the blackbird must be contemplating what could be on "the other side" of the fence, or maybe "the other side" of the door.

All the Comforts of Home

I captured this image (minus the car, moon, and birds) a few months ago in Eatontown New Jersey while driving home from a trip to Atlantic City.  The old motel signs always conjure nostalgic memories of childhood family vacations and, since they are fast disappearing, I try to document the ones I run across.  I added the rising moon as it seems that was the time of day my father would always begin looking for a place to stay the night during our road trips.  After adding the birds, some textures and different filters to achieve the mood I wanted, it was still missing something.  I began digging through old family photos and found my father's beloved 1949 Plymouth that he restored in the early 1970s.  Perfect!  Just the element I needed along with the color TV, phones and pool for "All the Comforts of Home".

Annabel Lee

"For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee;  And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes of the beautiful Annabel Lee" - Edgar Allan Poe from the poem "Annabel Lee".  When I came across the tintype of the lovely lady in this montage at an antique store, I was struck by her haunting eyes and wistful expression.  As I finished this piece, the lines from Poe's poem came to my mind and immediately, I had my title.  The main image is yet another from the abandoned property in Middle Valley, New Jersey. (In fact, it is the back of the same building that I used for "Rear Window" when I photographed the property the first time 13 years ago.)  She seemed to fit perfectly in the doorway between the textured old window on the left and the weatherworn red door on the right.  The moth I found sleeping one morning on my front porch and was amazed at his size and beautiful colors.  This moth had a wingspan of at least 5 inches!  The birds, of course, are my ever willing to pose backyard blackbirds who I'm happy to see are back from their winter migration - a sure sign spring must be on it's way! 

"Behind the Wall" SOLD!

Another sale!  Yea!  "Behind the Wall" sold from the Nexus exhibit at Arts Guild New Jersey in Rahway!  It was a pleasure being involved in a show with so many talented artists.  A sad note to this story- I passed by the abandoned building that provided the wall in "Behind the Wall" yesterday only to see it in the process of being demolished.  I'm happy at least to have documented it before it succumbed to the wrecking ball.