Black and White Photographs

Artists Describing Their Art:

Emilio Merlina - I was born in 1950 in the North East of Italy from a polish mother and a sicilian father. I toured the world until I was 35, then I returned to Italy and picked up again my old passion painting and sculpture. As for myself, I can only say thoughts and paintings, paintings and thoughts. Everything maybe useless, however everything is life. i?1/2The human being leaves its signs, graffiti, indian dreams and imagination. Now I only have left a few more possibilities to express the colors which are not. Only the sign, scratched, angry or brushed is the witness. The sign has passed from there and there it has lived.i?1/2 Emilio Merlina Some hear if a door opens Others hear a latch which opens or closes Others more they hear the Angel when he turns over a page of the Great Book From the novel Missa Sine Nomine By Ernst Wiechert I have words which relegate my hunger And the hunger which owns my body but which do not confine them I have words which are both my confined hunger and body By the Italian poetess Paola Lovisolo ...

Luise Andersen - Luise'Mignon' Andersen Luise'Mignon' Andersen has only recently begun to reveal her lifes work. Soon after her debut she exploded onto the mainstream art world. Her breathtaking pieces have captured international interest. The stories Luise'Mignon' is telling through her truly deep, layered works seem to decipher the past and foretell the future, perhaps sharing her window to other dimensions and a seventh sense. Her detailed acrylic'Mignon' series speaks to the beholder. They inspire raw emotion and ignite ones imagination. The indescribable nature of the "Duree De Ma Vie" in particular has a growing portion of the art community considering it the conception of an entirely new style. By Maxi c)2006 Guided Through Inner Mind- Intuition- Mental Imagery- I Create The Final Of What I Am Consciously Not Aware Of.. That I Want...... Need... With Each Completed Painting... Eye Of Core Gains a Glimpse Of My Tomorrow.... c) LA I crave.. painting...drawing... sculpting... writing... Like re-inventing my life... my purpose... myself.. .Gives me a direction.. the courage to look at myself ..and find'ME' there... At least for the duration of creating.. ....and once I collect these shards of my core within colors, shapes... form...

Nancy Bechtol - Artists explore and give the world a view of their personal heightened awareness. I visualize and think with keen beliefs and insights. Reflection of human and societal concerns which cross emotional boundaries-- communicating that which is unspoken. My traditional art foundations of drawing, painting and printmaking, evolved into video, digital photography and experimental media. I use digital photography and imaging to envision the concepts originating from the creative pulse.An individual artist explores and gives the world a view of their personal heightened awareness. Artists see and think with keen beliefs and insights.Reflection of human and societal concerns which cross emotional boundaries-- communicating that which is unspoken. My traditional art foundations of drawing, painting and printmaking, evolved into video, digital photography and experimental media. I use digital photography and imaging to envision the concepts originating from the creative pulse....

Wayne Quilliam - Adjunct Professor Wayne Quilliam is a professional Australian Aboriginal Photographic artist/film maker/cultural advisor working on the international stage. With more than 20 years experience working in all areas of photography including social documentary, sport, tourism, fashion,weddings, movies, event documentation and exhibitions, Wayne is recognised as a leading contemporary in his field. His work is a fusion of traditional spirituality and contemporary photographic processes,each image represents an interpretation of culture in the modern world. His dream is to work with all races of the world and conduct exhibitions in every country....

Ruth Zachary - My goal is to create striking images that touch the viewer emotionally. I try to capture the essence of a subject or scene, so that the viewer reacts with an immediate recognition, and immediate click of Yes. I depend upon composition, simplicity, shape and contrast, as well as my own aesthetic sense and emotional responses. I love creating art through photography. For me it is an opportunity for self-expression, a means of capturing a moment in time and creating beauty, as well as am important means of communication. My education includes a Masters in Social Work and a BA in English Literature. I have done formal study in drawing and pastel, but my photographic study has been informal and self-taught. Since 1980, I have been a frequent visitor to Monhegan Island, 12 miles off the coast of Maine, a remote lobstering island with a summer artists colony. On Monhegan, I became friends with a group of painters and photographers. I applied what I learned from them to my own work. Those I am most grateful to include Frances Kornbluth, Leo Brooks, Robin Young, Judi Wagner, Josie Vargas and Nancy Stanich. I show my art summers on Monhegan Island ...

C. A. Hoffman - For me, my artwork is very personal. It reflects a lot about how I am feeling at any given time and place. I feel that art has to be on this personal level to completely capture how the artist is feeling daily, or trying to convey a certain thought or emotion at that particular moment. We all, at one time or another try to express our thoughts or ideas, whether it is to others or just to ourselves, by words, actions, ideas or pictures. If we are sucessful in this attempt, I think it shows through in our everyday work or art. I believe that one is either born to create art naturally or by learning. For me, I feel that I was born with this wonderful gift, and I try to improve upon it every day. In my photos and art, I hope to show how everyday objects and nature can capture our imaginations and feelings. Sometimes I work with an image to improve it, inhance it, or just to fuel the imagination. I truly hope this shows in all of my art. ...

Rickie Dickerson - I work from the core, I smear my guts on the canvas, all the pain and confusion...joy, lust and anger...right before your very eyes. I have to paint, I have no choice. My mentor, Luise "Mignon" Andersen, introduced me to acrylic paint and threw me deeper into the river of creativity. Everything I do is just to keep me from drowning... As for the photography, that's compulsive as well....

Vincenzo Montella - Vincenzo Montella was born in Benevento, Italy the 7/14/1952 and lives in Naples where works as psychiatrist. He is graduated in Medicine and Philosophy and specialist in psychiatry and family psychotherapy. He is artist, poet and photographer. He studied photography at the Toscana Photographic Workshops attending courses of William Allard, Michael Yamashita, Machiel Botman, Alex Webb, Jeff Jacobson, Arkady Llove, Sarah Moon, Carol Dragon. ...