Old Dog, Young Woman

Bloodshot eyes, red gums and worn teeth did nothing to stop this old dog from enjoying life. Adorned with a carnation necklace and leaning against his owner’s knee, he was happily watching the antics of the St. Patrick’s Day parade crowd, ready to give any passerby a gentle lick and a wag. In contrast, the young woman seated alone at Pleasant’s bar seemed isolated…

Visual Sorbet

The newly painted walls of Fort Christiansvaern beg to be abstracted. As I worked with these pictures, I began to view them as visual sorbet, or palate cleansers for the eyes that appeal to the senses without carrying any other message. Abstractions that lack any implicit social or emotional message may be a cop-out, or art-lite. On the other hand, perhaps their straightforward appeal…

Messages from the Dark Side

I didn’t intend to produce such dark images. They just seemed to happen. The first came from a picture of some sponges along the beach, and the second is the old “Steeple Building” in the Christiansted historic district. Yes, centuries before its most recent reincarnation as a National Park Service asset, the Steeple Building was a Lutheran church. These may reflect my growing sadness…

Tethered

To be tethered is to be restrained, tied down, prevented from moving about freely. And that can feel uncomfortable to those of us whose moving about is usually unrestricted. However, some actions, when totally unrestrained or untethered, can trample the rights of others. So being tethered can also refer to being grounded, in touch with reality, one’s actions balanced by consideration for others and…

Feel the Heat

I had already titled this post when fellow islander and friend Bonnie Luria released her most recent blog post titled “If You Can’t Take the Heat…” Either great minds think alike, or summer has arrived and it’s just plain hot! Most likely the latter. The blue gate at the bottom might help cool things down a bit. It is located along a small shaded…

Local Color

The image above is the postcard publicizing my show of new work opening here in Christiansted on May 15th. I hope those who live on St. Croix will come, and I encourage those who live elsewhere to view the show when it becomes available on my website after the opening. I’ll post a direct link here next week. Selecting the images for a show…

Primarily Yellow

They are painting Fort Christiansvaern. No, not red; that was me that did that. But yellow, that wonderful golden yellow that one sees on so many of the historic buildings in old Christiansted. The paint and repairs are important to protect the structure, and historical correctness is being observed. Still, the crumbling walls and peeling paint give the fort some of its character. The…

Pictures from the Fair

St. Croix’s annual agricultural fair held in February is an eagerly anticipated and well attended event. And then there is the color. There is a small village of food booths in one area all painted the same slightly greenish yellow. Vendors sell pates (vaguely like a fried turnover), johnnycakes, fried chicken and fish, a variety of fruit drinks and other local delicacies out of…

Of Pigs and Goats

This pig has achieved local fame as one of St. Croix’s beer-drinking pigs, a rain-forest “attraction” for tourists. He is eagerly awaiting his next beer while the remains of the last froth down his chin. As long as he keeps drinking, he has nothing to fear from the barbeque pit. In contrast, most goats do have something to fear. Stew goat, curry goat and…

Experiments in brilliance

I noticed that some of my prints had an overall darkness to them — in part because I was using relatively small areas of light and saturated colors within a darker background to bring shape and dimension and drama to them. Working on-screen with the light radiating from within delayed recognition of what was becoming a habit. The epiphany came when I saw some…

The Dark and Light of it

The strong shadows from the morning sunlight highlighted the geometry of this cotton plantation greathouse that lay in ruins — windows missing, iron bars staining the walls with rust, and the roof open to the brilliant blue morning sky. These old stone relics are gradually disappearing as they crumble or are converted into modern greathouses for today’s wealthy. On the “lighter” side is this…

By the Sea

Much of St. Croix is fringed by an offshore reef. On windy days or when there is a swell running large waves will crash on the reef. While the inshore waters remain relatively calm, the usual dark line at the horizon becomes snowy-white. On this afternoon some low clouds were drifting nearby, echoing the colors of the shallower water near shore. Illusions can creep…