My wife asked me years ago what my favorite color was, and I answered, “Light on water.” At the time I was studying The Cantos by Ezra Pound and was bewildered by the way he described aquatic lumination with lines like, “There is a wine-red glow in the shallows, a tin flash in the sun-dazzle.” I am certain that being in Venice, Italy when I first encountered these words guided my gaze to the watery reflections atop the canals. Since then, I have kept an eye downward to see how waves and currents distort forms and colors above the water’s surface.
The photographs I am submitting for consideration for the Mississippi Museum of Art’s 2025 Invitational Exhibition are from a series called Light on Water. The bodies of water represented range from local rivers to swimming pools, from backyard ponds to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The result of these water studies is a collection of images that capture light as it is reflected and rippled, sometimes echoing trees or clouds in distorted balloon shapes. At other times, the color is so vibrant and choppy that it feels like the lustrous glare of stained glass. The natural abstractions I discovered while capturing Light on Water reveal dynamic beauty in the landscape.
Mossman Pool / 28" x 39" / Archival Pigment Print / 2020
Wolf River / 20" x 30" / Archival Pigment Print / 2019
Pond Glass / 28" x 39" / Archival Pigment Print / 2023
Palm Pool / 28" x 39" / Archival Pigment Print / 2024
Water Color / 20" x 30" / Archival Pigment Print / 2022
Gold Sea Glow / 40" x 57" / Archival Pigment Print / 2022
Sky Walkers / 40" x 57" / Archival Pigment Print / 2023