...lately I have been busier than...

ever... First it was Seattle (work), then NYC (work), then Province Town (pleasure), then NYC (work), then South Beach (fun, sun and sand). Anyway on my travels and shoots I snapped a few rather Pretty/Ugly images.....whilst in P'Town, in between drag shows and tea dances I managed to call in on the Marine Supply store.. what a find...my favorite buy were these multicultural babies, $3.75 a piece, arms and legs excluded!
The 'trash can' and 'paint tube' shots I captured last week whilst shooting in the loft of a hugely talented artist with a penchant for .... well it involves something food related..and I can't say anymore than that!

...George Tooker....

.... recently I came across a coffee table tome on the works of George Tooker which re-ignited my interest in his disturbingly sad paintings.........He's kind of like Edward Hopper on downers or a suicidal Norman Rockwell........enjoy!

..what a load of old Pollocks....

...after a busy day in the studio our Food Stylist 'du jour' went a little nuts and founds a very 'artistic' way of disposing of the leftover ketchup and mustard......Mr Pollock couldn't have done any better himself! It's been a crazy, busy week....more Pretty/Ugly to follow soon....

... loving Gregory Crewdson's cinematic 'dream sequences' .......there is an almost 'painterly' quality to these lonely urban tableaux....hey haven't we all felt like crawling under the kitchen table sometime!!!

...wall flowers.......

...I think it's time for a little pattern....wallpaper keeps dropping in and out of fashion with depressing regularity...first it's hot and then it's not.... as far as I am concerned, whether 'in' or 'out', there's nothing quite as eerily dull as a wall of peeling Anaglypta.
Top - Martino NL/Flickr
Middle - Sophie Calle
Bottom - Martino NL/ Flickr

...out takes......

..as a stylist it's my job to make beautiful images .......but I am always fascinated by the detritus 'behind the scenes' at the shoot....here are some images from recent shoots.......
1. Roy Rogers - the only place to eat on the Taconic Expressway...!
2. Your guess is as good as mine....!
3. 'Food' and 'Props' ... with a shot of caffeine.....!

...tubular belles....

...it's frightening but next time you fly remember a bit of insulation and a few millimeters of aluminium is all all that separates you from oblivion...I love these images of the ravaged shells of 'scrapped' airliners....

...medicinal green.....

...as I am sure you can tell by now I a huge fan of this colour.........it 'reeks' of school corridors, hospital wards, gloomy, mildewy concrete walkways and bleak industrial wastelands...oh happy, happy, joy, joy!

...I bet you have been wondering....

...where I have been...NOT!! Anyway here is a picture of a pretty/ugly hotel room I stayed in recently after a perfectly lovely photoshoot for an undisclosed magazine....well they weren't to know I would get the worst 'seat in the house'... my adorable assistant got a flatscreen TV and a fully stocked mini bar so go figure....what were they thinking!.... this room needs a serious feng shui expert as much as I needed a good Gin and Tonic...shortly after I took this pic I closed the drapes and turned on the 'Nanny-thon' on Hallmark....it seemed like the only appropriate thing to do.....was this room 'pretty' or 'ugly'???...it was worse than that...it was just 'indifferent'!! Enjoy!

....tunnel vision.........

...for 10 years Dutch photographer Martin Roemers traveled Europe documenting derelict bunkers, tunnels and relics of the Cold War........ these images are from the series 'Relics of The Cold War'.......soberingly simple and beautiful........

...office in the sky.....

...I love the idea of the lonely office worker....late at work....cup of coffee in hand.....clock ticking....deadline to meet......thankfully I don't work in an office!
Top image: an eagle in your mind/flickr
Middle image: klienally/flickr
Bottom: Andreas Gursky

...oh what a doll....

..creepy dolls aren't usually my thing...but somehow the 'musty' desolation of these images appeals to me.....I suppose what's so disturbing about dolls is that even as they decay and fall to pieces they still keep on smiling back at you........
Top image 'willy vee'/ Flickr
Middle image 'Chernobyl today - a creepy story told in pictures'/ Flickr
Bottom image 'corky doll/Flickre

...a room of one's own.....

...there is something 'filmic' about these two rooms.....evoking the heroin chic of 'Trainspotting' and the cheap glamour of 'Casino'........
Top image: Vintage-Kat/ Flickr
Bottom image: Fotogravirus/Flickr

...winter in July.....

....with temperatures set to top 100 here in NYC I thought these images by Todd Hido might help cool us down.....

...don't ask me why....

...I love these pics! There's something oddly romantic about these 'lonely' images of bedrooms....
Bottom: xNstable/flickr
Top: Modulation/ flickr

...earthmother..........

...it may be 'high summer' as we say in Blighty but as a prop stylist my thoughts are turning to Autumn, okay Fall!......suddenly it's all about oranges, browns and earth tones......these pics certainly set the 'tone'......
Top: Burtynsky 'Tailings #1'
Middle: Scott Peterman 'Mexico City'
Bottom: Burtynsky 'Silver Lake Operations #12'

...white out....

... the work of Atlanta based photographer Scott Peterman is the antithesis of 'visual stimulation'...how I wish I had one of these on my wall......

...dusty beauty........

......it doesn't come any more mundane than the photographic works of Moyra Davey...truly breathtaking in their simplicity..
Papers 2009...Shure 2003...Floor 2003

...it's in the can.....

These exquisitley oxidized cans are from 'Library of Dust' by David Maisel. The cans contain the cremated ashes of patients from a psychiatric institution.

...chaos theory....

...just loving the ordered chaos of Swedish photographer Helga Steppan....