Postcards from the Promised Land

Images dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century have continuously fascinated me. I respond to the high-key colors, the narrative compositions and the use of flat color as a matrix. I have a proclivity for collecting odd ephemera from either side of 1900. Recent downsizing of my studio convinced me to de-access my cache. While perusing the items I collected I noticed strange similarities between late nineteenth century Bible illustrations and early twentieth century picture postcards from newly opened tourist destinations in the state of Florida.

This observation made total sense. As the American landscape was caught up in the post-Civil War Christian revival, Bible salesmen and new lithographic printing processes insured that practically every household in the country owned a mammoth family bible. There was a place to record births and deaths and also a ubiquitous temperance pledge. There were tons of colorful images of the Promised Land.

Greedy land developers flocked to Florida in the early nineteen teens and twenties. The expansion of the railroad paired with the rise of the motor car allowed for comfortable travel by average middle-class citizens. Land developers offered glimpses of paradise in the marketing materials they produced for marginal land that had little access and limited build-ability.

Pairing these images I came up with a stylistic treatment of the Floridian landscape. I was asked to put together an exhibition at the now-defunct gallery in downtown Jacksonville, Florida called Push 2. Below are some of the paintings from that exhibition.

Cross Creek 84”x60” Acrylic on Canvas 2004

This painting was inspired by a visit to the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. A beautiful piece of Old Florida located near Gainesville. A bantam rooster led me down a trail behind her house toward a vegetation choked lake.

Gator at Fairchild Gardens 84”x60” Acrylic on Canvas 2004

This second in the series was inspired by a series of visits to Fairchild Tropical Gardens located in Coral Gables, Florida. This garden holds one of the largest collections of palms in the world.

Egret and stork at Kanapaha 84”x60” Acrylic on Canvas 2004

Kanapaha gardens is found on the west side of Gainesville Florida. The exotic gardens hold many treasures. They are most noted for their bamboo collection and the giant waterlilies

Old Mandarin 84”x 60” Acrylic on Canvas 2004

In this painting I married elements from various gardens around Jacksonville. The guide is an image of a goose I met in a downtown park.

Ft. George Island

A Nassau Creek.

Wekiva Reflections

Approaching Storm at Fort Island

Palms at Lemon Bluff

St. Johns River at Lemon Bluff

Bent Palm at Lake George

During the years of 2004-2009 I added to this collection. My intent was then as it is now to offer glimpses to a Florida that is rapidly vanishing. Coastal erosion due to climate change inspired sea-level rise paired with the constant scourge of over-developing is making that paradise vanish at a rapid rate. It’s up to us to join with various conservation groups such as St. Johns and Matansas Riverkeeper organizations to help preserve this legacy for our progeny.