Paul Karlsson

Many of my childhood summer days were spent delighting on a beach in St. George, Maine. At low tide there were seaweed and mussels and crabs, tidal pools, sometimes clams and always endless sand. Fascination and ecstasy in equal measure.

Decades later, with different eyes and a digital camera, I returned to that beach in search of patterns, shapes, often faces, etched, however briefly, in the sand. Later I turned to the surrounding rocks and then whatever else would provide similar potential.

Unlike many photographers, my goal was never a perfect rendition of what the natural world presented. Rather I used the initial camera capture as a starting point and with the help of computer-assisted manipulation tried to tease out what surreality or subreality the image might conceal.

In addition to sand and rocks, rust, clouds, reflections, mold, sheet pans and other unlikely sources have provoked inspiration. All testify to my idiosyncratic visions. Not everyone sees what I see and that, of course, is fine. I appreciate their engagement and often find that a new perspective might surpass my own.