The Artist
During the summer of 1959, my family and I were travelling from New York City to Los Angeles. We drove Route 66 and due to the heat we travelled mostly at night. As we crossed into the Mojave Desert of California, during daylight on the last day, I was mesmerized by two conflicting images. The first was the stark and stunning beauty of the desert and the second was the sadness of the rusted, abandoned cars and machines, once new, shiny and loved.
Now, 48 years later I am living in that same desert and finding some of those same objects. I apply to them an exquisite finishing process, I developed, that enhances the existing distressed and chipped paint, which is vital to the art. I give new life to the wonderful shapes, contours and memories of the past, while honoring that they have endured a half century or more of the harsh desert elements. Each work is literally, one of a kind.
The joy is in searching for these parts and then using skills and tools my uncle passed along, to improve them. I love the anticipation of what I will uncover as I manipulate the decayed surfaces, knowing it will always be a wonderful surprise. The patterns often appear to be organic.
Creating beautiful and unique art from items long since discarded is an extremely rewarding experience that I feel absolutely compelled to share with all who might appreciate it.