Life & death both share in shaping the way we see & live in the world. Here's a short story before I post the artwork series associated with
LANDSCAPES...Born in Rockaway New York in 1951, it was the death of my father, just a few months later, which was a formative moment in my life. Fate dealt me the lifestyle of a 1950's gypsy - Americana style. Mother from New England, step-father from Texas created a pattern where we traipsed across much of the United States fairly often. A move to California seeking left-overs of a long vanished gold-bust added to the miles. By the time the winds of fate blew this young man into the Pacific Northwest I had traveled coast to coast over 1/2 a dozen times always riding in the back of classic old cars and once a canvas covered-wagon style pick-up truck. Attended eleven different schools through 12 different grades - a lesson in adaptive development. How does that pertain to this art topic? Gazing hour after hour as the various highways rolled at by 50mph & unknown towns disappeared in our wake, I developed a visual love affair with the landscape of the United States. Here are just a few photographs depicting part of that sentiment...
Foster Fanning
"The Road Goes Ever On" image #1, of course a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien. This photographic offers an invitation to step out from the shadow and walk in the light of a sun filled moment.
Photo #2 "Bodie Meadows", above, in the heart of the Okanogan Highlands with Mount Bonaparte forming the blue backdrop. Springtime in the mountains, when the flowers bloom & gentle breeze blows...
"Kettle River Mists" is photograph #3 above; whenever the interplay of water & landscape combine the mood of light, textures, sounds all change. This image was captured in my backyard along the banks of the river.
Image #4 above: "Mount Elizabeth" located in Ferry County, WA. As mentioned above the interaction of water & landscape is prone to altering the moods, in the case of a receding spring shower things change moment to moment.
"Bighorn Dome" is photo-image #6 of this series; A passing thunder storm has dropped cold rain on warm summer rock cliffs. Mists rise and the mood is muted. I took advantage of that mood in rendering this image to enhance the feeling as vertical rock & scattered pine vanish into the clouds.
Landscape series image #7 above is "Deception Falls" located off WA state highway 2 crossing the Cascade Mountains near Stevens Pass. This is a time lapse photograph of the falls in early spring.
This close up of Deception Falls above is photograph #8 of this series and is entitled "Stone & Water"
