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In the Art Gallery:
The Textures Of David Ritter

Boxcar Textures 5

Urban Scrawl 3

Bunches of Tulips 3

Seattle Grunge 2

Worn And Rusted

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David Ritter finds beauty in unexpected places. In his hands an abandoned metal boxcar becomes an impressionist canvas, the side of a rusted air conditioner mimics the heart of a cut tree, and worn posters in a Seattle alley take on the aspect of a complex Rauschenberg collage.

"Some people understand my photographs, others don't. I rarely shoot what would be considered 'pretty photos.' Many times I am drawn to photograph something merely because the pattern or texture is interesting," Ritter writes in his online gallery. "Long ago I was moved by a Chinese quotation I read: Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it. (Confucius) This...is always in the back of my mind."

David also is influenced by the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, or finding beauty in the transient and and imperfect. (Readers who want to find out more about the aesthetic might be interested in Leonard Koren's Wabi Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers, from Stone Bridge Press).

David makes his home in Phoenix, Arizona. When he travels for work—he provides technical support to a chain of newspapers—he brings along his camera gear. "I'm always looking for new and interesting photo opportunities."