Wabi Sabi Photography
Wabi Sabi photography creates fascinating abstracts full of color, texture, and expression.
“Aging has a wonderful beauty, and we should have respect for that.”
–Eartha Kitt
In the flow of life, aging can hold a special kind of beauty.
Embrace the impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete.
The Wabi Sabi of Imperfect.
Why do we rush to throw out the old and worn? The broken and cracked? Can we see beauty in what is imperfect?

"Beyond the Veil." A proper house in historic Bodie Ghost Town had the finishing touch of lace curtains. But time and wear took over, and the people abandoned the town. The mystery of who lived in this house with dreams of a good life remains. I half expected to see someone peeking out.

"Collage." All the pieces, the patterns, the colors. Just like all the experiences we have that make us into the person we are.

"Elephant in the Room." Two bullet holes pierce a vintage-era windshield. Exposed adhesives weather looking like an elephant's eyes and trunk. What fun to put a literal statement in your home or office and be able to say, "There's an elephant in the room."

"Deep Ocean." A stream of bioluminescenct organisms swim in a current deep below the surface of the vast ocean. Or at least they do in my imagination.

"Test of Time." For all the miles this Studebaker truck has traveled, the plastic cap on the headlamp is still intact. They don't make 'em like that anymore. For the person who has been through it all and still shines bright, honor them with this meaningful wall art.
The Wabi Sabi of Impermanence.
Over time, objects decay. This is the natural cycle. Observe and accept this awareness.

"Complimentary." An ode to an era of manufacturing long since taken over by machine. A shelf in an abandoned auto body factory holds a Jackson Pollock-like action splatter art piece. Rust breakes through the shelf and compliments the metallic navy blue paint. Who was the artist?

"Legend of the Sunflower." One day a flower fell in love with the sun. When the sun saw the flower following it, the sun also fell in love. A joyful rust abstract image that radiates the message of lasting love and happiness where ever you hang it.

"Unconscious Mind." In a Jackson Pollock style of abstract paint imagery, this pattern of colors, shapes, and textures comes form a close up shot of a warehouse floor. There's some lines of direction and a lot of randomness thrown in. Much like what my thoughts seem like when I start to notice them.Focus, Ann, focus!

"Rust Devil." A touch of mischevious nature in your soul? Here's some playful fun in a rust pattern from an old railroad car. As an alum from Arizona State University, I know this would be a great piece of art for a Sun Devil fan.

"Monument Valley Sunset." Take a trip at sunset to Monument Valley every day. Bright colors pop and make me smile. Fun and optimistic orange and pinks light up a wall in a doctor's office lobby or your living room..

"Flight." Do you see a bird flying? A yellow beak, a bright pink halo around the wings and tail? Pink abstract art.for a contemporary powder room or anywhere you feel like floating on the air.

"Red Fish." Angling for red fish in the big blue sea. I see the hull of a boat cutting through turquoise Carribean water, coral reefs on the starboard side, and the subtle hint of a shark trailing the port side. Uh oh, there's a leak. Hang a bit of fun, whimsical art in your living room or office lobby or a fish market.

"Crossfit Lifts." Lifting a heavy load. Straining but maintaining this dead lift overhead. That's some massive personal strength.

"Grounded." Connected to your past, deeply supported, and reaching out and upward. The tree symbolizes the seasons of life. This abstract rust and peeling paint image will remind you of how your roots give you support.

"Giraffe Pegasus with Phoenix Rising." Sounds like a horoscope analysis, right? This fantasy creature stomps through the inferno of Hades and shakes the earth. A great piece of art for the mythology and fantasy fans of this world. And to think this creature rose from the rusted side of a truck. What a radiant personality!

"Light my Fire." C'mon baby, light my fire! A passionate piece of wall art that says, let's make a rustic dinner over the grill or something more suggestive. So, it can work in the kitchen, in a restaurant, or a bedroom. It's hot!

"Slice of Summer." Simple abstract art that'll create a real color pop in your contemporary kitchen and the joy of a summer afternoon. How far can you spit those seeds?

"Optimistic." Bright yellow and orange radiate warmth in this abstract of peeling paint. A bubble floats towards a brilliant sun. Create a nook with this happy abstract wall art as a reminder to see the sunny side of life.

"Monkey Mind." The practice of quieting the mind is to focus on one thing. Watch non-judgmentally, acknowledge when the monkey starts jumping into your thoughts, and let your stress go. The perfect visual affirmation to remind yourself to quiet the chatter in your head.

"Strong and Silent Type." Centipedes are blind so they have no option other than trust what their legs tell them about the world. Make a statement to have have faith in yourself by displaying this abstract rust art in a special place in your home.

"Celebration." When you look for a reason to be happy, you find it. Throw your hands up and celebrate! A wonderful wall art gift to observe an occasion.

"the dog, the stick, and the sprinkler." To a dog, what is better than playing in the sprinklers and catching a stick? Celebrate your dog with this colorful abstract rust art whether its your home or in the veterinarian clinic lobby. A sure fire way to smiles.

"Boiling Point." A watched pot may not boil, but this fire is hot and the water dances above. A colorful display for a kitchen or restaurant wall.

"Gender Fluid." Let's throw out gender-specific themes. How about allowing pink, blue,and that non-specific yellow to live in harmony? A running board has a lot to say here. A fun art piece for a child's room or a living room that could use the unity this abstract art provides.

"Sunny Day Sunburn at the Beach." A decaying wall surface meets odd swashes of paint and rough wood peaks through. I see ocean, sunshine, and a really bad sunburn in the making.

"Trident." Is Poseidon in a vengeful state? He has his trident poised for action as he rises from the sea. Watch out! My best advice is not to engage. An intriguing piece of wall art to get the mythology conversations flowing.

"The Great Wave." Under the crest of a giant wave, the foam spilling over. How many times I've had a dream like this, and how powerful the message is of overwhelming emotions. I'm glad I deal with this in my sleep.A piece of randomly painted metal with scratches reminded me of Japanese artist Hokusai's "Under the Wave off Kanagawa."

"Cracks in Time." Is the fabric of time on the verge of splitting open? Are we in a time loop? Imagine time and space fissures creating portals into other worlds. What would you find there?

"Fiery Passion." A hot romance? In the rust patterns that have broken through the paint, I see a couple in an embrace and a fire ball of passion rising. Turn it on its side, and the scene shifts to an ocean. It's all in what you want to see.

"Dark Chocolate on Buttercream." Maybe I'm just feeling deprived, but this looks like a chocolate mandala for stress relief. A nudge to the best food on the planet, hang this repeating pattern wall art where you need a sweet treat.

"Be the Star that Stands Out." There can be harmony in conformity and innovation in individuality. This plaster-covered flag seems symbolic of balancing the two extremes. Tan colors with a pop of blue work great in many living spaces.

"Dark Humor." The light side of the Force attacks the dark side. There has been an awakening, have you felt it? Humor, even the dark kind, brings us together.
The Wabi Sabi of Incomplete.
When objects are incomplete, our minds must fill in the blanks. What a good practice for us. And we enjoy these objects yet again in a new light.

"Contrarian." Having a contrarian attitude requires breaking out of your comfort zone. You have to ask yourself what is right for you, regardless of all the input bombarded at us from outside influences. Taking action puts us in conscious choice of our direction in life.

"Staggered Viewpoints." The blue of an introspective journey, the hints of warmth in a pale yellow, and an intense black that you feel hidden away in. Squares and rectangles with four sides that represent structure, balance, logic, and order. Everything seems interrelated and yet distinct. Just like our own viewpoints, and how they change over time.

"Hidden Below the Surface." When an overwhelming emotion surfaces, there's typically a lot more to the feeling. Before we react which can push others away, put the brakes on and reflect on what other emotions are under the surface. A simple stop sign reminds us.

"Ever Upward." Imagine a vine inching upwards, its branches staggered in the same fashion that we experience and learn in steps. I found this radiator discarded at a lumbermill developing a beauty in its aging patina. Let this piece of rustic art remind you to reach ever upward.

"Industrial Grunge." Passing a pool plastering truck, I noticed that the shotcrete hoses had an interesting triangle pattern, and the coil created an arch. The owner of the company said it was a first when he saw me taking photos of this. What a fun abstract Wabi Sabi art piece to get people talking.

"Reverse Bucket List." We all have places and experiences we want to add to our lives. In this moment, can you be grateful for all you've already experienced? There's a lot of color in your life of experiences.

"Square Pegs." Who says square pegs don't fit in round holes? You've just got to give everything a chance. This is a close-up of a wheel well on a vintage wagon used in Death Valley to haul lumber and borax. So yes, there was a round hole called a wheel. And lots of square pegs.

"Shying Away." This knot seems to be trying to nudge itself into the crack between the wood planks. Oh, how there are days I feel the same way. Just give me some time to hibernate away from the chaos of the world.

"Eye Exam Madness." Can you read the first line on the chart? A scrambled visual acuity test and humor for my eye doctor. I will forever hear your words, "one or two?" These are brackets of some sort in an abandoned industrial building. Hence my reasoning for them being "incomplete." I have no idea how these were originally used.

"WALL-E and the toiletpaper roll." I see a face I love: WALL-E and his eclectic collection. I couldn't unsee him when I spied this add-on of electrical connections on the side of a historic tin-covered shack in Bodie Ghost Town. "EVA, EVA!" Where are you?
Discover unique abstract art in the imperfect world of Wabi Sabi photography.
Where peeling paint, cracked glass, and rust are the creators.
The art of urbex (urban exploration) opens the mind to explore everything: the abandoned, the decaying, the scratched, the peeling, and the corroded. The journey leads to old vehicles, antiquated equipment, and vacated buildings. And some very appealing Wabi Sabi photography!
Shift your thoughts from seeing dirt, grease, cobwebs, and jagged edges. Instead, look at the mesmerizing patterns. My eyes gravitate to these surfaces. Like the famous abstract photographer Aaron Siskind, I want to reveal the emotion of an inanimate object without you having the prejudice of knowing what that object is or was. I use a close-up camera lens to show the abstract texture that distress has exposed.
Wabi Sabi photography nudges us to connect introspectively.
Dilapidated forms hold a sense of mystery and the secrets of time. Vintage surfaces speak through their abstract textures in swirls and symbolism. Are they at the end of useful life, or are they a living surface still developing? Can we indeed call them imperfect? Who is to judge? Enjoy the experience of seeing an object from a different vantage and perceiving concepts in these intriguing Wabi Sabi photographs.
Take the mission to discover in this collection of texture photography: intimate landscapes, ocean vignettes, wildlife, objects channeling the great artists in history, disguised cultural statements, storms, star systems, and the universe’s sense of humor mocking my doodling style.
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