Inspiration Station

     A lot of my artistic inspiration comes from really weird sources. If you look at my most recent artwork, most of has a eerie, vacant feeling since I'm still working on Ghost Towns but a lot of it isn't very much different. I've always seemed to enjoy being alone with the ocean and my thought. The ocean is pure and its intentions are nothing but good. One of my favorite quotes from film is the fact that the Pacific Ocean has no memory. This is from the great Shawshank Redemption. You may wonder where all this dark inspiration comes from. I was born into a dark world and it is both my blessing and curse. This dark world moves my soul and toward all of the artistic skills I have developed through the past years have moved along with it. The sources I draw inspiration from only move my further into the world of art.

     One of my all time favorite sleeper movie hits is titled Midnight Meat Train. It is a movie derived from the twisted mind of Clive Barker. Drawing from one of his books, the story involves a photographer who investigates missing person cases that happen on the subway around midnight. It is a wonderful story full of blood and guts and an amazing twist at the ending. To this day, I credit this film with pushing me over the edge to pursue photography. Everything that the main character, Leon (played by Bradley Cooper), does during this movie was exactly what I wanted to do. Minus the ending, I wanted to live in his world. I also credit this movie with my obscene obsession with Leica cameras. It was almost like Leon was a secret agent working for himself, uncovering the secret of the Midnight Meat Train.

Leon (Bradley Cooper) going insane from hearing "doors are closing" on the Market-Frankford Line.

     Like the movie says during one of the build up parts, I feel at home when I am at the heart of somewhere. I do my best to stay there and keep shooting. I want to document things like no one ever has before. This is half the reason I started Ghost Towns because nobody has ever captured the shore the way I see it. People build their lives around a 3-4 month period there, but no one cares about what the shore has to offer in the winter. There are people who live there year round and I always wondered how they feel about it. It's such a black and white dichotomy and people say that black and white never exists in real life. The shore burns white hot during the summer months, with people flocking to it and enjoying the summer weather. It also burns to black during September and everything is left behind. Beaches long for the company they shared in the heat of July and the ocean beckons for those who looked for answers during the fading days of August. The ocean may not have a memory, but it longs to give advice to strangers.

      The Ocean is a dear friend of mine. He's always helped me through some rough situations. Through break ups, school problems and even money problems, the ocean always has the right answer. Like a great philosopher, I can always count on him to give me some sort of advice to help me through troubled times. It seems like my bridge over troubled waters, is the troubled waters themselves. The ocean has marvelous power. We've seen it devastate islands and swallow towns and cities whole, reclaiming them for itself. Personally, the most powerful part of the ocean is the feelings that it gives us. Feelings of redemption and forgiveness. Nothing matters to the ocean, you can't offer it money, you can't make it mad and you definitely can't control it. The only thing that ocean asks of you is your company. You can yell and scream at it and it will never scream back or you can sit quietly and listen to it talk to you. The ocean is my biggest source of inspiration and I hope though this philosophic look at this magnificent friend of mine, I hope you can find the peace and serenity you desire at the ocean.