"Raton Retro" Denise Fox

"Raton Retro" Denise Fox. Photograph on canvas. 17" x 24". Not framed.

I love the 50's and 60's and seek out locations to do character portraits of myself which are based in this time period.  There are many such 'retro' motels in New Mexico that I've visited; many are abandoned and run down.  This motel, the Maverick Motel in Raton, NM, is the pride and joy of caretakers Nick and Zorka Pavletich, elderly Croatian immigrants. 

The Maverick comes to life at night with well-maintained green and red neon lighting.  During the day, the blue and white paint scheme reminds one of the house Fred Flintstone might live in: protruding irregularly-shaped rocks in the wall exterior are painted blue, a matching blue and white unusual wrought iron fence borders a brilliantly green yard of grass, potted flowers and cacti decorate the porch, and an outdated large green 7-UP machine waits happily alongside the house.    

Two retro silver mobile homes looking like planes about to take off sit on the edge on the property. The neon lights on the eaves of the motel reflect shades of green, red, and orange onto the trailers.  I've visited the motel a handful of times and exchanged portrait sessions and prints for the room fee.  One morning Zorka surprised me with a breakfast of homemade banana bread and cookies shaped like peaches:Croatian 'Breskvice.'

The excitement of a find—a hidden treasure, a new way of photographing, the veins and stems in a flower, unique lighting—thrills me.  Discarded, interesting pieces of porcelain may not simply be trash, but a canvas for a photo transfer.  Abandoned motels and 50’s aluminum trailers aren't eyesores, but pieces of our history.  Art preserved.

The magic of returning flowers every spring makes my heart soar.  I photograph these friends annually; sometimes they don’t make an appearance, sometimes they do.  I ask myself, how can I photograph their beauty in a unique way?  In a way that will emulate their fleeting memory?  Using a small LED flash with a colored filter has expanded my way of looking at these spring irises and poppies.

Documenting beautiful ruins or nature’s surprises delight me.  Adventures are just waiting to be had.  

With roots in Oklahoma, Denise Fox now lives in Las Vegas, NM.  She has exhibited her art locally at De Mare Fine Art, Traveler's Cafe, the Las Vegas Arts Council, Santa Fe Community College student shows, Art Essentials art supply store, El Fidel Restaurant, the Red Dot Gallery, and the Harwood Art Center.  In 2013, Denise was honored as one of New Mexico's emerging artists by the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, NM.  She has undergraduate degrees in dental hygiene and English/film and an associate degree in photography. 

www.ddfoxx29.wix.com/denise-fox

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