Favorite Works
I thought in the next few weeks I'd revisit some of my favorite images that Chuck has created over the years. I'm going to try and do 2-3 a week and chat about them a bit. If I drone on too much just let me know. As most of you probably know, Chuck is the artist & creator of all these images. I simply get to enjoy watching him create them and of course we have them on virtually every wall of our home. On one of my forthcoming chats I'll share a view of a few of our walls. Needless to say, with Chuck's level of creativity & drive to produce beautiful images, we have a somewhat 'Victorian' approach to hanging art in the house (that's code to say that it's EVERYWHERE!). When we moved to North Carolina, we each had a number of requests in terms of what type of house to look for--Chuck wisely put a swimming pool at the top of his list, and I wanted to "live in a gallery". We both got our wishes. But I digress....
Back to revisiting favorite images. The one I've chosen for today is a piece called Mayan Leaf. The image has a second version with a solid dark blue background but the one shown here is traced with leaves to echo the primary image. It is fundamentally a simple piece with two inspirations. In the late 1980's we took our first (and only) cruise and went from New Orleans, to Key West, to Cozumel and back to the Crescent City. While we were visiting Cozumel, we went to Tulum and visited Mayan ruins sitting on a bluff above the Caribbean Sea. The setting was beautiful, and especially now in the COVID19 era--it is a lasting memory of a beautiful visit and a fun time. While there I recall crawling down and shooting a picture into the dark entrance of one of the step Temples. That picture became one of the inspirations for this image. Chuck used it, along with the second inspiration--a couple of Fall leaves from the 'Rising Sun' Japanese maple (Acer japonicum) in our back yard. Chuck was fascinated by the intricate colors of the leaves and scanned them to save for a later 'art project'. Mayan Leaf became that project. The image from the temple in Tulum is the background for one of the leaves, with the second leaf retaining its original Rising Sun form and beautiful Fall colors. Chuck chose the blue background that I find so balanced and calming. This is truly one of my favorite pieces! We have it printed on archival paper in a relatively large format (20X20), though the image would print much larger if we wanted to move it to canvas. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have since he created it in 2016. You can find it on GeoGalleries for purchase here: https://geogalleries.com/WAIowner/17464/img/265032/ . --Scott
Searching for that 'hard to find' memory...
If you're at all like me, you've experienced a moment (or two) when you're trying to recall a particular memory. Perhaps it's a place you've passed by frequently and noticed only obliquely, or it might be a place that holds a special memory of someone close to you. It could as easily be a place that you enjoyed on holiday snapping pictures as you toured around taking in the sites. Sense a direction here? All of these are true for the image we call "Hard to Find" that opens this blog entry. We first printed this image in 2014, for the WAI one person show at Castalia at Meadowmont in Chapel Hill, NC. The show was curated by the Durham Art Guild. After the show we moved the piece to our dining room and it takes up an entire wall.
Like most of the Wayne Addington images, it is both 'representational' while at the same time showing something that only comes together in recollection. In this case the image explores the junction between nature and human endeavor. Here you see three images joined to support this effort. The bridge is the cantilever section of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco--now replaced. This is the bridge that living in the San Francisco Bay area we passed by almost daily, most often taking notice only when we were creeping across it stuck in traffic. The 'tree' is itself an allusion as it's an image of the sculpture 'Graft' from the National Gallery of Art. We encountered this beautiful sculpture by artist Roxy Paine while visiting Washington, D.C. The sculpture is immense--measuring 45' X 45' and is sufficient reason on its own to visit the National Gallery. Lastly, you see in the distance a sunset view of Honolulu Bay--the place that holds a special memory for Chuck and me as we last visited there with my sister. Each part holds its own place in our memory, but taken together they become something new--a truly "hard to find" place that exists only in imagination.
What's so very special about this new 'place' is that it is rife with invitation--almost pulling us into it as the bridge recedes into the distant bay. But it also balances with a measure of challenge, of obstruction that that guards the way into this imaginary place. A beautiful, seemingly immobile yet haunting tree--is closest to us, and guards the path but at the same time also points toward it. There is another layer to this image and that's the almost limitless power of human creativity & will. We see beauty in nature and cannot resist the urge to imitate--to reverence it. We see a barrier such as a bay or a river and we move to build a way across it or to reach the beautiful destination that waits for us. We remember multiple touch points in our lives and we sometimes weave them into a single, powerful mindful image. I am drawn into this piece every time we sit down to dinner. If you're interested, it is available on archival paper or stretched canvas. Our copy covers a whole wall, but you could be a bit more conservative--if you wish.
This image is available on GeoGalleries as a fine art print, canvas or other formats. It is, as noted earlier, suitable for a large print/canvas, but we also have it as an 18X22 inch print on archival paper and it's beautiful. You can jump to GeoGalleries here: https://geogalleries.com/WAIowner/17465/img/264683/.
All the best,
Scott & Chuck
What's in an image?
As many of you know, Chuck and I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to North Carolina in 2012. Chuck had started building his skills using digital photography and digital editing well before we left California, but his work began to seriously take off after we arrived here in the Tarheel state. He is the creative force who drives Wayne Addington Images. There are multiple themes that flow through WAI. Architectural elements, nature, reflections caught in windows or any surface offering a reflected view frequently show up. Some or all of these blend together to build the final image. One more element is always present in one way or another: how do we see things, or sometimes--how do we remember them? Add a playful use of color, and you have the makings of a Wayne Addington image.
The image in today's blog is no exception. We call this image "Time Tunnel #2". It's one in a series of images taken during a trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks. These beautiful communities & beaches are definitely worth a visit if you haven't seen them. There is a picket of lighthouses that guard the North Carolina coast. The one in our image is the Currituck Beach Light Station, located on Currituck Sound near the town of Corolla, NC. The lighthouse dates from 1875, and happily has been fully restored along with the surrounding grounds. What caught us is the hypnotic movement of the beautiful iron staircase that leads up 220 steps to the lens level. Both Chuck and I have 'issues' with closed spaces (especially after the Loma Prieta earthquake), but we couldn't resist the magical pull of this beautiful building. We took loads of pictures which became the source material for Chuck's magic as well.
Lighthouses are beacons. They are literally the "light stops here" safety net for ships navigating the coastal waters. It's only a small step in remembering this beautiful place to expand the idea of a beacon to more than coastal navigation. We all profit from beacons in our lives--sometimes they are people we know, events recalled that help form our values, or the set of experiences that help each of us navigate through our lives. This image moved from solely one of a lighthouse guarding the North Carolina coast to an invitation to cross time to reach any of the pivotal moments that form us, or maybe the missed moments that we would like to visit--or visit again. We hope you enjoy this image as much as we do. We have a copy hanging in our dining room. You can too if you'd like. --Scott
Castalia at Meadowmont Show - Exhibit curated by Durham Art Guild
We are very pleased that our art has been chosen for exhibit in the Lobby at Castalia at Meadowmont in Chapel Hill. The space is curated by the Durham Art Guild which is working with Castalia at Meadowmont to showcase regional artwork. Castalia at Meadowmont offers a large, open and bright first floor lobby space ideal for showcasing art. Sixteen artists competed for the opportunity to exhibit and we are honored to have been chosen. Nora Phillips was also chosen to exhibit her work beginning in February 2016. Twelve pieces are in the show concentrating on architectural themes. We have works from our visit to New York City, as well as two images that date back to source photographs taken almost 40 years ago when Chuck was stationed in Italy. Other pieces are taken from Washington DC and one special one ("Time Tunnel 1") from the lighthouse at Corolla, in the North Carolina Outer Banks.
Three works chosen for this show are large format pieces: "NYC Rowhouses", "Balconies of Waikiki", and "Hard to Find". NYC Rowhouses explores our fascination with exploring the existing world together with the reflection of its context. Here we also try to evoke the energy, sounds and movement you would find as a part of the ordinary experience in New York. The Balconies of Waikiki is a personal favorite--not the least because it involves two of our favorite locations--Waikiki and San Francisco. Both of these locations are defined by their proximity to the sea but in this piece the sea is only implied by the need to watch it or cross it. Balconies and a view of the SF Bay Bridge are joined in patterns that come from both the need to rest and the desire to move. Hard to Find is an exploration of the junction between nature and human endeavor. The cantilever portion of the SF Bay Bridge is joined to the image of a tree taken from the sculpture "Graft" from the National Gallery of art. In the background is Honolulu Bay. Invitation, obstruction, and beauty are some of the themes that come to mind as well as the restless need to find and imitate the beauty we see in nature.
There are twelve pieces on exhibit so please come and visit if you can. Drop us a note and let us know what you think! All pieces are available for sale--of course. To purchase any of these images or the many others that are available for sale, please visit our gallery at GeoGalleries.com: https://geogalleries.com/WAIowner/. You may leave a note here using the Contact Us feature or drop us a note at [email protected].
Chuck Miller/Scott Cooley