Artist’s Statement
Bakersfield’s famous native son Buck Owens used to say, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” I’ve been making photographs or photographic collages for many years now. Photography is a funny thing – sometimes I’m in charge, or the camera takes over and I’m not doing what I thought I was. Authors say characters can refuse to cooperate and don’t turn out as planned. Sometimes I cannot get a photo collage to turn out and it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with technical skill but with the “heart” of the image. Often the results seem more luck than skill – but then I remember Buck Owens as well as Branch Rickey who said, “Luck is the residue of design.” The finished product can look simple but there is much hard work and complexity involved in becoming simple.