ARTIST HISTORY

STATEMENT & CV

A photograph is a real print

 It is not a copy or reproduction of a piece of original art made into another piece of art.

It is the original print.

Limited Editions: I limited the run of my photographic prints to an edition of 15 in a specific size in that run. Each piece will be accompanied with a certificate of authenticity.

I use archival materials. All materials used are acid free paper, linen tape and other archival framing materials and pigment ink. My work is produced on Canon photographic premium pro luster, canon matte or Red River semi-gloss, gloss or metallic. The fine art papers that I use are heavier and pricer and are 100% rag. Backing board is acid free gator board. If I sealed the mat, I used archival cement which is not permanent. A framer can remove a mat with a rather long spatula-like tool. Don’t try that at home.  

Framing can be done with a print behind UV protected Plexiglass and it’s costly. I replace glass in frames with plexi that is not UV protected. I use a UV protective spray made by one of the two higher end paper companies (Moab and Hanemuhle).

Plexi is not cleaned with Windex and paper towels. Please use a soft cloth. You might consider using a plexi spray cleaner such as Novus Plastic Clean, Brillianize, Castle Plexo, etc.

Prints and watercolors should never be hung in direct sunlight or they will fade.

Don’t try this at home: I had an experience with a former friend who ran her fingernail across a matte paper print and then complained that my work was not worthy. I called the paper company and asked them what was wrong with their paper. They were dumbfounded. At their request, I mailed the print in so they could examine it. We concluded the obvious: lose the friend. With any print, there are certain tests of use or abuse that would not apply to a piece of art.

BACKGROUND

I grew up in Central New York and moved away when I was young. I lived in Los Angeles for 45 years and moved back in 2014. I was educated as a fine artist (painting, drawing, etc) and went to school for photography in Santa Monica. Later, I spent years with a photography mentor.

 I had a career in photography, but turned back towards art so that I could shoot my own ideas.

I am not a train aficionado. There are greater people in that arena. My love of trains didn’t start out as a “love” of trains. My father was killed by one and I walked down the tracks after it happened – hence the need to leave CNY and live in other places. After my father’s accident, my grades took a nose dive. I was 14 years old. In the old days, guidance counselors gave out one of two options: home economics or art.  Art was the therapy route in their thinking and I was encouraged to explore my options as an art major. It was a good landing spot. In California, I was stuck with a shooting partner who was a train chaser or as they like to be known, a “rail fan.”  If we were driving out on a school assignment, we spent half the night and much of the day looking for railroad tracks. 

In January 2021, one of my good friends, another train photographer, passed away. A few months later, someone really close to me passed away. I stepped back and changed my curtains, cleaned the mess in the back room and did things for which I didn’t have an immediate explanation. It felt like a time to rearrange life. The train series that I was producing is now closed.

More recent work has been done in black and white. We dream in black and white. We see symbols and things at the edge of other things in soft focus. When we dream, we don’t see with our eyes. We see with our soul. Then, I dreamed of my friend who lived in saturated color and it was as if he whispered in my ear one evening. I also think I saw the door move a fraction of an inch on another evening. I am no stranger to haunted houses. The one I live in now has its ghost history. Bob Crum reminded me how much he hated black and white and lived life in color. Was it time to live life in color or be introspective in black and white? Perhaps it was time to do both.

My name changed again.  I changed my name to R. Wallace Wilson in my train days. I have returned to my birth name. This has more to do with deeds and property lines and other reasons why I needed to assume the real name.

CV

• July 30,2021 Meet the Artist Solo Presentation, Munson Williams Proctor Museum
• July 2021 Munson Williams Proctor Museum Sidewalk Show, Mt. Hope Pictorialist image
• July 2020 Munson Williams Proctor Museum Virtual Sidewalk show, levitation composite not for sale

• July 2019 group show, Munson Williams Proctor Museum sidewalk show, exhibiting a train photograph (sold)
• June 2019 Solo Exhibit at Oneida Public Library of train photography
• January 2019 - Toy Train Show, Union Station, Utica, NY
• 2018 Gallery on Farrier Avenue, Oneida, NY
• December 2018 CAC Holiday Show, Sherrill, NY
• 2015 (March) Featured Photographer, New Landscape Photography
  2013 MOPLA Pin Up Show, Robert Berman Gallery, Bergamont Station, Santa Monica, CA
• 2011 & 2012 International Photography Awards

           * IPA 2011 - Honorable Mention - Editorial : Environmental Category
           * IPA 2011 - Honorable Mention - People : Lifestyle Category
           * IPA 2012 - Honorable Mention - Special : Digitally Enhanced Category
           * IPA 2012 - Honorable Mention - Fine Art : Other Fine Art Category

• 2012 Pico Artist Coalition 
• 2010 / 2009  5x7 shows, Blue 7 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
• 2009 Water Show, Santa Monica College Exhibit, Santa Monica, CA
• 2008 Exhibit for Pico Blvd / Pico Improvement Organization, Santa Monica, CA
• 2008 National Geographic Bioblitz, Santa Monica Mountains, CA, contributing photographer
• 2008 Sierra Club auction contributor