Photo editing is not a cure for insomnia nor is it a cause - but I'd certainly consider the two co-conspirators. Something about this image reminds me of a red ginkgo leaf, but I realize that may be due more to the hour than to appearance. Even if I am at this moment in need of the beneficial effects of gingko biloba (and a pillow), the appeal of this unnamed hull is not difficult to discern. The garnet red color that smudges into brown at the edges gives the appearance of a leaf autumnally cleansed of chlorophyll, and the very evident vertical center line suggests a stem that has elongated into a pronounced vein in the fan of the leaf itself. Just need to decide whether to title this one Untitled ("Ginkgo") or Untitled ("Insomnia'). Maybe I'll think about it in the morning. I have two shows closing this weekend: "Chasing Beauty" featuring work from my Boat Hulls series at The White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton (open Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, October 30); and "Architecture and Steel" at the Gallery in the Quogue Library through Sunday, October 30th, featuring a selection of black and white photos of architecture in New York City, Los Angeles, and Lisbon that I've taken since 2010 through this year. Upcoming shows include exhibitions of some of my Boat Hull images at the Patchogue Arts Council Gallery from November 12 - December 30, and a solo show of my Boat Hull images at the Gallery at Quogue Library for the month of December. More information to come. Okay, goodnight.

I've experienced a confluence of shepherds in the past week, unusual given that I'm a New Yorker who spends most of my time on either end of the L.I.E. with nary a sheep in sight. Each of the three sheep herders "encountered" this week have imparted some wisdom, sparked a thought, or provided inspiration. The first of the three is Santiago, the Andalusian shepherd boy in The Alchemist, the contemporary classic novel by Brazilian author Paul Coelho. In the book, Santiago travels from Spain to Egypt to follow his dream, negotiating the competing urges of taking risks to pursue personal freedom versus taking the safer and less rewarding route. I'd previously been unaware of the book, but came across it last weekend in a book store and read it on my birthday, a particularly appropriate time for refreshed perspective on goals and dreams and managing obstacles both real and imagined. It is a work that is simple (perhaps sometimes overly so) yet strong in its message of personal inspiration, reflection, and motivation. Relevant quotes: (almost too many to choose) "The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them." "The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and get up eight times." "Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own." "People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of." Having spotted a gorgeous production still on the MoMA film series website, I went to see Tharlo this week, the 2015 film written, directed, and adapted from the novella by Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden. In it, the eponymous Tibetan shepherd is told he must venture into the city to have his photo taken for a mandatory government issued ID card. Along the way we see the realities of his life of isolation in the Tibetan plateaus and mountains herding sheep, contrasted with the clanging harshness of the city. The film explores themes of identity and the tensions between modern and traditional culture, but perhaps its strongest claim on two hours of a viewer's time is its visual beauty in black and white. Relevant quote: Tharlo, when told that the ID card will allow people to know who he is: "I know who I am, isn't that enough?" Setting out on a journey to pursue a dream, finding a balance between the modern and the traditional; these issues are faced by Akeem, a prince who travels to Queens, New York to find his soulmate and hides his royal identity by claiming that he is a goat herder. Okay - so it's a bit of a joke, but I do love Coming to America, Akeem does claim to be a shepherd, and I did come across it this week while flipping through what was streaming on Netflix. Or Amazon. Or both. I can't remember, but it is legitimately thematically appropriate, and is (perhaps embarrassingly) what made me realize that I've been a bit overrun (in the best possible way) by sheep herders this week. Relevant quotes: "No journey is too great when one finds what he seeks." "But it is also tradition that times must and always do change, my friend." "I feel like breakdancing." I haven't journeyed from Spain to Egypt, or from rural to urban Tibet, (although I did live in Queens); but I have been to many places that have inspired me. Three such locations -- New York City, Los Angeles, and Lisbon -- are featured equally among the work that I have in a show this month at The Art Gallery at the Quogue library. More information below - opening reception this Saturday, October 8th, from 3:30p to 5:00p. Included in the show is the photo featured above, Convento do Carmo, taken earlier this year in Lisbon in the now skeletal convent that dates back to 1393 and which suffered severe damage from an earthquake in 1755. Despite lacking a roof and being situated in the major city of Lisbon, the interior remains wonderfully serene, and provided great inspiration as I wandered within, camera in hand. Current/Upcoming Shows: "Duets" group show, in collaboration with Will Ryan. The White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY. Closes October 9, 2016 "Architecture and Steel" with John A. Bell. The Art Gallery at the Quogue Library. Quogue, NY. October 1 - 30. Opening reception: Saturday, October 8, 3:30p - 5:00p "Chasing Beauty" with Ann Brandeis, Nadine Daskaloff, and Mark Seidenfeld. The White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY. October 13 - 30. Opening Reception: Saturday, October 15, 5:00p - 7:00p

It's Friday in late August, and I'm at the beautifully Brutalist Breuer building on Madison Avenue; former home of the Whitney, currently the Met Breuer, and site of a past favorite summer Friday for me. I'm finally getting a chance to see the "Diane Arbus: In the Beginning" exhibit which opened a month ago and which features more than 100 images from Arbus' early work (from 1956 - 1962) -- about two-thirds of which have never before been seen publicly. It was only when the archive (including all of Arbus' negatives, 6000 contact sheets, 700 proof prints, 700 final prints, her personal library, all of her notes, and various other photographic items) came to the Met in 2007 by gift and promised gift from Arbus' daughters, Doon and Amy, that the full collection of early work was fully realized and explored, and is now able to be properly appreciated and preserved. The Met has laid the exhibit out as a series of staggered partitions, creating a loose labyrinthine array of early Arbus work. It allows you to explore and discover in your own sequence while eliminating lateral distraction, and is particularly well suited for solo viewing. (right: Installation view of "Diane Arbus: In the Beginning" at the Met Breuer) It is evident that Arbus was very much Arbus in the first seven years of her work, with some of her classic themes already emerging or established. One sees the despair of an "Old Woman in a Hospital Bed," and the seeming disaffected blankness of "Jack Dracula at a Bar." There is the grotesque "Corpse with receding hairline and a toe tag, N.Y.C.", and several expressively awkward images of children, such as the classics - "Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park" and "Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey". I personally find amusement in the then literally but ultimately presciently titled "Clown in a Fedora." What is less immediately evident, but no less real or impressive, is the monumental amount of behind the scenes work that has occurred in advance of the exhibit, that has gone into preparing and analyzing the Arbus archive. Hundreds of hours of this work have been done by the Department of Photograph Conservation at the Met, and it is perhaps the inability to discern their hand in the exhibit that is the best testament to their skill and contribution. I was lucky to be invited to the celebration of the one year anniversary of the formation of this department this past June by leading expert photo conservator and head of the group, Nora Kennedy. The evening's events featured a look into the current work being done by the department, including the analysis of Arbus' process from a technical standpoint, comprised in part of research and analysis into the type of film and paper she used in her work. While the collection at first glance looks uniform in its printing, closer inspection by the conservation team reveals tonal variety in the paper, from tan to pink to blue. In the absence of detailed notes by the photographer herself, the analysis provides insight into the approach that Arbus took to the printing and presentation of her work; into decisions that impacted surface gloss, sheen, color and texture of the images. The variability in Arbus' technical process in these incipient pieces is a sign that much was still be determined and established in her work, and provides early context for her later decisions. I'm inspired by both the artistry and evocativeness of Diane Arbus' work, and the professionalism and expertise that Nora Kennedy and her team bring to preserving this art form that is as physically vulnerable as it is artistically important. Here's to honoring the lasting achievements of others. Here's Legacy.

As you may recall from a previous post ("What's In A Name?"), I have adopted the practice of naming my boat hull photos after the boats themselves. In addition to being a logically appropriate and organic naming process, it captures the fantastically evocative names that boat owners tend to give their vessels. I am nothing if not fully committed to this approach, but the many unnamed boats that I photograph result in more "Untitled" images than is tenable. Recently, I have begun appending these Untitled works with parenthetical titles, names that at least to me have some connection to the boat they identify. Untitled ("Vera") is one of my favorites of this approach, as it will always remind me of the wonderful person I met at Art New York - click here for the story behind that titling. The two images here are unrelated except for their color palette and their untitled status. Who better to consult on words than Shakespeare? In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Will provides us with: Fairies, black, grey, green, and white, You moonshine revellers and shades of night... A reference to nocturnally active fairies? "Moonshine Revellers"? "Shades of Night"? Perfect. Certainly better than the associations that colors had with body fluids or "humors" in Shakespeare's time, and the connection that black and green had with bile. Both of these images will be among the several of my pieces that will be included in the upcoming show at White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton. The show runs from June 7 - 26, with an opening reception on June 11 from 6p to 8p -- a perfect time for these Moonshine Revellers and Shades of Night to be out. I would love to see you there! #Shakespeare #Boat #whiteroomgallery #bridgehampton #ArtNewYork #Black #Green #White #MoonshineRevellers #ShadesofNight #Untitled #Name

With the 3,500 pound, 16 foot long Great White Mary Lee swimming just off the south shore of Long Island these days I can't help thinking about: i) how many barrels would Quint use to try to keep her up, ii) wouldn't Hooper and Brody have to evade all of the sharks that would be attracted by the floating remains of THE shark before they are able to paddle to shore?, iii) who was Mayor (of shark city) Vaughn's tailor?, iv) this fantastic boat hull that I photographed in Portugal. I don't have answers for the first three questions, but I have this photo of the hull of Nitucha, a shark fishing boat that I saw abandoned and listing on a boat launch in the Marina de Portimao in the Algarve region on the southern coast of Portugal earlier this year. Sharks all around the Algarve are swimming more easily knowing that this vessel is out of the water. If you're looking for safe land activities, then get ready for the show that I will be in at the White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton. It's the first of two shows where I will be a featured artist, and I will have a number of my boat hull photos in the exhibition. The show runs from June 7th to June 26th, with an opening reception on Saturday, June 11th. I'm excited to be part of a gallery that shows interesting work (go to the opening tonightof the Golden Age of Rock and Roll show!) including rock photography and street art - two favorites of mine. Meanwhile, I've done some editing to the format of my site and have recently added lots of new photos. As many of you know, I love writing about my boat hull photos and posting them on Instagram and Facebook - sort of mini blog entries. I've added those posts as captions to the photos, or have linked to the Instagram post when space would not accommodate my full rambling. Click on each photo to see if there is a comment about that image. As always, thanks for your interest in my photography and let me know what you think! #portugal #shark #whiteroomgallery #Jaws #Shark #Portimao

Right now I identify with the boat hull featured in this post in a big way. It's Exaltation, named after a feeling of elation, or extreme happiness - happiness so overwhelming that it cannot be extinguished by the annoyance of writing this post from a Sunday trip to the Southampton Hospital ER to get an x-ray for a possible broken foot. It's a big week for me. I'm showing several pieces from my boat hulls series at Art New York, one of the art fairs happening during the biggest art week of the year in NYC, when the Frieze art fair returns to town. Art New York features work from emerging and established artists, and includes work from art luminaries and legends including Avedon, Bourgeois, Burri, Fischl, Haring, Hockney, Indiana, Kline, Lewitt, Picasso, Richter, Ruscha, Scharf, Serra, and Sherman - as well as fantastic cutting edge work from less recognizable names. Blouin Artinfo considers it one of the satellite fairs to see during Frieze Week in NYC. As part of the fair, participating artists will have their work featured on Artsy, one of the preeminent online resource for art - and I'm thrilled to have my work included on the site. Art New York will be on Pier 94 in Manhattan at 12th Avenue and 55th St. from May 3rd to May 8th, and is generally open from noon to 8pm (exceptions on the 3rd and 8th). Contact me via my website if you're interested in complimentary passes, and see artnyfair.com for more info. I am also showing four of my boat hull photos in a group show with fantastic artists at White Room gallery in Bridgehampton, NY, which runs from April 28th to May 15th, with an opening reception on May 7th from 5pm to 7pm. I'm really excited about my new relationship with this gallery and participating in this show as well as the shows that I will be doing there in the future. More to come in future posts. Exaltation. It's not one of the pieces that I am showing at Art New York or at the White Room Gallery, but it perfectly describes the happiness that has me grinning despite finding out about the spiral fracture in my left foot as I write this. I hope to see you at Art New York - I'll be the one with the boot and the big smile. #Exaltation #ArtNewYork #Boat #Bridgehampton #whiteroomgallery

While I was traveling for work this past week, I stopped at an airport newsstand to see what reading material I could get as a back up to the book I'd brought with me, and instantly noticed the cover of the travel magazine Afar, which proclaimed that the new rule of travel was to "go solo." While I'm lucky enough to have a travel partner whom I love and love to travel with -- my fantastic husband, Charlie -- I admit that I also really enjoy traveling by myself. Afar notes that "traveling alone is always thrilling, sometimes scary, and often hilarious." Absolutely true. I recently traveled to Portugal by myself for a long weekend. After exploring the stunning beaches of the Algarve region replete with sea stacks (sea stacks!!), I drove to the Portimão marinas of the southern coast hoping to find interesting hulls to photograph. As I got out of my rental car I saw three older men standing by a fishing boat that was undergoing repair. They regarded me with curiosity, clearly wondering what my camera and I were doing at the boatyard. I managed to ask if they spoke English (head shake no in response). I told them that I didn't speak Portuguese, and then, so as to explain my intent and suddenly at a loss for most of the scant amount of Portuguese that I'd learned on Duolingo over the two weeks prior to my trip, I blurted simply: "Eu gosto barcas" ("I like boats"), pointed at my camera, and mimed taking a photo. This linguistic brilliance not only got me the desired access to the marina, it somehow convinced one of the men that I spoke Portuguese despite my assertion to the contrary, or at least that I understood it well enough to comprehend his rapid fire discussion of the boat he was standing near, which I understood to be his (pictured above; for me it has more of a sentimental rather than artistic appeal). We had a lovely seven minute conversation consisting of his fluent Portuguese - of which I understood perhaps only every tenth word which always seemed to be peixe (fish) - countered by my miserable attempt at using what little I'd learned of the language. (During my four days in Portugal I relied mostly on "olá" (hello), "obrigado" (thank you)", desculpa (sorry), "bom dia (have a good day), and the exceptional English and generous nature of Lisbon locals). Once I finished shooting the boats, I swung back to say a final "obrigada" - at which point one of the men called me over so that he could enthusiastically show me the photos of boats that he had taken with his phone. Todos nós gostamos barcos - we all like boats. I’m excited to be showing several photos from my boat hulls series at the Art New York art fair at Manhattan’s Pier 94 (55 & 12th) from May 3rd to May 8th during Frieze week, when the Frieze art fair returns to town. For more information about the fair including hours, or for the list of exhibiting artists (which is equally thrilling and daunting) see the fair website at artnyfair.com. Sister art fair, CONTEXT New York, will be held adjacent to Art New York, providing more than 200,000 combined square feet of exhibition space with almost 150 galleries from almost 50 countries. As with Aqua Art Miami, I will once again be exhibiting with Studio 26 gallery, and will be at the fair much of the time – I hope to see you there! #Boat #boats #portugal #barcas #Algarve #Portimão #ArtNewYork

On the recommendation of a good friend, I'm reading Dataclysm, a book that examines the predictive and descriptive value of aggregated individual personal online data for human nature more generally. In the introduction, author Christian Rudder notes that heretofore our history has been told in terms of the lives of larger than life characters and heroes. In a past where the means of recording history (clay tablets, paper, newsprint, celluloid, etc.) has had clearly limited practical capacity, stories of the Everyman have been pushed aside in favor of the grander tale. Today, however, technology allows for greater depth and less limits. Per Rudder: "there's room for more than just the heroes." In sharing my boat hull photos, I've tended toward a focus on the showstoppers, the images with some striking combination of distinct structure, remarkable color, and/or unique texture -- these are the 'heroes.' Having scoured marinas over the last few years, I've photographed hundreds and likely well over a thousand boats. They're not all heroes, but often there's a simple beauty that may not be evident at a first quick glance. I just finished reading The Value Of Art by international art dealer and market expert Michael Findlay. One of the key messages of the book is to simply take time to look at and take in a work of art, rather than being distracted by the factual information of an identifying tag on a gallery wall or the ceaseless stream of information from museum audio guides. Instead, he exhorts museum goers to simply look, but look for longer than the fleeting moment or 10 seconds (or less) that we might if we allow the electronic guides or even the surrounding crowd to establish our pace. It is this longer or even repeated look that allows us to realize the details and the subtleties of works, and which may alter greatly how we feel about a piece. It is this longer look that may allow us to appreciate the understated beauty of the non-heroes and allow a piece to more naturally resonate with us, free from inadvertent prejudices. There's certainly room for more than just the 'heroes' here. Above I've featured an appropriately untitled piece. This Everyman hull is from a small skiff lying in the marina; not one of the larger, named vessels. Take a look. Follow my blog with Bloglovin #Boat #Boats #Abstract #AbstractArt #Photography #FineArtPhotography #Marina #Ocean #Water #Montauk #Heroes #Bowie #Dataclysm #ChristianRudder #TheValueofArt #MichaelFindlay

Tuna Tangler...Prowler…Vortex…Blue Goose…Sea Hag 2 …Illusions…Oceania…Stargazer…Rampage…Thunderfish…Pipe Dream The tradition of naming boats was established thousands of years ago as a measure to protect against danger, as boats were named in honor of and as an appeal to the gods by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; and later after saints by Christians. However, as evidenced in the small sample above from boats that I’ve photographed, the sources of inspiration for potential boat names have grown exponentially. It didn’t initially occur to me to name my boat hull images after the boats they portray. However, when I first saw one of my early and favorite boats, the Tuna Tangler (the name readily visible as it was painted at the top of the bow as well as on the stern), I was hooked on the idea. It’s a name with an expressiveness befitting the image of its bow. I’ve also come to think of these images as abstract portraits, and so naming the image after the boat itself seems particularly appropriate. Over time I’ve become increasingly focused on the names of the boats I photograph, but the interest extends beyond simply determining a title for the images. When I see a hull that has visual appeal, I begin to hope that the owner has given the boat a name deserving of its aesthetic strength. Similarly, once I see a particularly colorful or interesting boat name I start to wish for a hull worth photographing, so that I can preserve the name in image form. Inequities between the appeal of either the image or the name are inevitable, but unfortunate. There’s no disappointment with the image I’ve featured here, however - La Buena Vida. It’s a recent shot from Vermont, and it strikes a lovely balance. I am so excited to have the opportunity to show several images from this series with Studio 26 Gallery at the Aqua Art Miami art fair during Art Basel Week in Miami, December 2nd – 6th . Aqua Art Miami is located at 1530 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139, and Studio 26 will be in gallery room #220. Please let me know if you will be in Miami for the fairs - would love to see you there! Until then, I am posting a boat hull each day on Instagram, many of them new, as I count down to Miami. See them on Instagram @michele_dragonetti. See you in Miami! #docks #boat #boats #ocean #marina #montauk #artfair #aquaartmiami #miami

Miami! I’m so excited that I will be showing several of my Montauk boat hull photos at the Aqua Art Miami art fair during Art Basel week in Miami this December. I enjoy going to these shows in NYC during Armory week and in the Hamptons during the summer to see an array of art across all disciplines by artists that are both new and known to me, and sometimes to get a chance to chat with them about how they approach their work and its significance. I love this aspect of showing my work as well, and I’m thrilled about the prospect of sharing my photos with a larger audience. Established in 2005, Aqua Art Miami is a boutique art fair that includes both young and established galleries featuring the work of emerging and mid-career artists. In 2014, in its tenth year and second as part of the Art Miami family of fairs (includes Art Miami and Context), Aqua Art Miami included 46 exhibitors from North and South America, Europe, and Asia, and attracted nearly 11,000 attendees. Aqua Art Miami also features multimedia installations and other events intended to provide an immersive experience. Aqua Miami is only a few blocks away from the premier art fair, Art Basel, which was founded in 1970 when three gallerists – Ernst Beyeler, Trudi Bruckner, and Balz Hilt - acted on their vision to create an international art fair for modern and contemporary art in Basel. The inaugural fair attracted over 16,000 attendees with work from 90 galleries from 10 countries. The 1989 incarnation of Art Basel celebrated 150 years of photography by showcasing 16 galleries from the International Association of Photography Art Dealers, establishing the fair as a clear supporter of photography as an art form. (Surprisingly, some continue to view photography as an inferior art form relative to painting or sculpture. I hold that view in equivalently compromised regard). Art Basel branched out geographically in 2002 to Miami and to Hong Kong in 2013. Art Basel week in Miami will include over 15 art fairs, each with their own focus and perspective, as well as events held at area galleries. Shown above is Prowler, one of the new boat hull photos that I’ve taken recently. These new photos both expand and strengthen the continuing series, which can be seen by clicking here. As always, I'd love to hear any thoughts or comments that you have. #boat #boats #line #lines #abstract #AbstractArt #abstractphoto #contemporaryart #photography #marina #water #ocean #miami #montauk #artfair #aquaartmiami #artbasel #hamptons

I’m fortunate to have had a number of opportunities to exhibit my photos so far this year; in NYC, on Long Island, and elsewhere nationally. It’s fantastic to see firsthand reactions to photos that I’ve taken, and it’s an incredibly emotional and gratifying experience to hear how my work has resonated with someone. In addition to participating in a number of larger group shows, I was proud and thrilled to exhibit over 25 of my photos in a four-person show in June that I organized with three friends at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, East Hampton. However, as much as I love to show my photos and participate in exhibits, it has resulted in less time spent getting out with my camera and shooting. And I really miss it. So I’m back. I’m back to happily indulging in hours of taking and making images, rather than just taking occasional snaps. This past weekend and again yesterday I went to Montauk to explore the marinas to expand on my series of square, abstract photos of boat hulls. I love capturing the beauty of the weathered texture of the surface of the hull as it interplays with the geometric character of the structure of the vessel. I’m excited about what I’ve caught so far, and eager to share the finished images. Above is one of the new photos, Reeltime. I'm drawn to the curves, texture, and lines as well as the lush blues of this one. The first of my boat hull images is currently on exhibit in the East End Photographers Group (EEPG) show, Summer Waters, at the Water Mill Museum in Water Mill, NY in the Hamptons. I’m thrilled that Hamptons Art Hub featured my photo on their website the week that the show opened. The EEPG exhibition remains on view through August 10 at 41 Old Mill Road, Water Mill, NY 11976. Stop by. Thanks for your interest in my photography and, as always, please contact me with any comments or questions. #boat #boats

The picture featured in this month's post is one that I fondly refer to as "my truck." The truck is in a Bridgehampton field, which I'd noticed early in the winter of 2013. The field seemed mostly empty except for some round hay rolls scattered about, and I had planned to go one sunny morning to catch the golden bales in the perfect morning light. January mornings are not so accommodating, however, and one Sunday when I found myself up early for no reason, I decided to go photograph these hay rolls despite the cold temperatures and the thick morning fog. I was walking toward the middle of the field when I saw this great old truck parked behind a storage structure, otherwise hidden from sight from the road, just an unassuming figure of metal, brambles, and rust. After a few distracted and uninspired minutes photographing the hay bales, I walked back over to the truck and started shooting, capturing some of the fantastic details and curves of the grill, rusted through in some areas, only superficially impacted in others. I loved the indiscriminate growth of the bushes - through the cab, through the engine compartment, through a door hanging by a hinge. It was gorgeous in its disrepair, and I kept noticing the details of its beauty; the missing windshield panel, the stylized lettering of "GMC" on the grill, the crooked license plate long devoid of paint, the weathered wooden boards of the pickup bed behind the cab, and the body panels showing the brushstrokes of a hand applied coat of paint in the same green that recalls the patina of aged copper. The foggy morning weather, an initial disappointment, was perfect for softly shrouding this ramshackle circa-1940 GMC truck – my truck.I showed this photo the next month in a photography show- the first one I'd done - and was gratified and thrilled when someone purchased it within the first 45 minutes or so of the show. I'll never forget standing in Ashawagh Hall with my husband Charlie, my mother, and our friends Kate and Brian, when I glanced over at my truck and saw a "SOLD" tag across the label on the wall. It's one thing to take a photograph and love it – it's another thing entirely to put something out there for the first time and realize that someone else has connected with it enough to commit to continue looking at it. This image is more to me than a photo of a truck taken on a foggy morning in January – it will always remind me of the first time I printed and exhibited my photos, to be viewed by people other than my supportive family and friends. And it will always represent the jumping off point for the last few years of showing my work, and what I hope and expect will be many years to come of sharing my photography with others. I've submitted a copy of this photo and three others for the Springs Mystery Art Sale, an anonymous exhibition of artwork to raise money for the Springs School Visiting Artist Program in in East Hampton. Student and professional artists have contributed over 1000 5"x7” works that will be exhibited and sold for $20 each, with the name of the artist withheld until a reception this Saturday night when buyers will discover whether their chosen piece is the work of a talented young student, a professioinal artist, or an art world luminary such as Eric Fischl, April Gornik, Ross Bleckner, or David Salle. The exhibit runs from April 23 – May 2 at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, East Hampton, with a closing party on Saturday afternoon when the names of the artists will be revealed. Hours are Wednesday, April 29th - Friday, May 1 from 4pm - 7pm, and Saturday May 2nd from 11am to 5pm, with a reception from 2pm - 5pm. I'm participating in two other shows this month, and they also feature photos that were entirely unplanned. In February 2014, Charlie and I and our friends Paul and Merce who were visiting stopped at the beach in Amagansett to take a quick look after a recent snowstorm. I didn't plan to take any photos, but of course when I saw the Beach Hut snack shack at the Atlantic Avenue beach in the waning afternoon light, with the brightly colored and patterned surfboards surrounded by snow, I just had to take a photo. I didn't have my camera, so I grabbed my phone and started snapping. I'm happy that I did. The photo was accepted for theProfessional Women Photographers "Whims of Weather" show juried by Dr. Stanley Burns, Chairperson of the Photography Committee of the National Arts Club. The exhibition will run from Monday, May 18th to Saturday, May 30th (gallery hours are M – S, 9am – 5pm), with a reception on Monday, May 18th from 6pm to 8pm at the National Arts Club located at 15 Gramercy Park South. Hope to see you at the reception!! This month I will also be participating in the 77th Annual Guild Hall Artist Members Exhibition in East Hampton, NY. The Guild Hall Members show is always fun, featuring work by a variety of local artists in a historic location in town. I will be showing "Ageless' – the photo of two lovely women walking in Little Italy past a street art image of Audrey Hepburn, featured in a previous update. The exhibition opens this Saturday, May 2nd with an opening reception that afternoon from 4pm – 6pm, and runs through Saturday, June 6th. And of course - REMINDER: Save the date! Friday June 26 – Sunday June 28. I'm organizing a small group exhibit at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, East Hampton with three other artists – Kirsten Benfield, Peter Tooker, and Claudia Ward. Reception to be held Saturday evening. More info to come - would love to see you there!!