... and I wouldn't change any teary eyed moment of being yelled at in critiques and pulling all nighters to complete insane projects due 24 hours later!

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Nearly 45 images completed for this photographic series The Forgotten. Another twenty or more to go and then thinking of creating a book on this now 7 year long project. Acquiring the portraits at auction and watching & waiting for the change of seasons has made this a particularly engaging portfolio to work on.
Dom Sessa graces the cover and feature of Deerfield Academy's Fall 2023 catalog. You may recognize Dominic from The Holdovers movie sweeping the nation. He embodied the joy of what I love about being a portrait photographer: enthusiastic and playful. He was up for many a trampoline jump, happy to adorn a large pink & hairy coat and bring on a variety of emotions from one set to the next, all while remaining himself. Thank you Dom (and Deerfield Academy) for trusting me with your first studio session, you're off to great things and I can't wait to follow your amazing journey.
Please click on link to read full Artist Statement for Forest Path series.
Gingko leaves drop within 24 hours, but don't break down as quickly as most leaves. The local school headmaster emailed me with a heads up that the leaves had gone from green to yellow and their descent was imminent. Thankfully their smell isn't pungent unless you tear them apart.
Working with a subject smaller than 1 inch needs the right lens and the right music.

11/08/2023

Six volumes of art, history and engravings within Galerie Des Peintres Les Plus Celebres from 1863. The leather is rich and textured along with the dipped gold paper edges which compliment each book perfectly. The worn edges have torn through the decades by family members I have never met, but their fingerprints remain.
Always find it tricky titling my work, however, for this particular series it is great fun as the title can add another dimension to the character on the canvas. "The Forgotten" portfolio is filled with quite the cast ranging from Simon who likes to play in the woods at night, to Suzie who is a singer and then there is a knight looking for his pony. Have any naming suggestions?
"The Forgotten" is a captivating photographic series that unearths the mysterious world of abandoned portrait art collected over six years. Throughout history, portraiture has held a profound significance in immortalizing loved ones and those in power. Yet these portraits, acquired through auctions, had been discarded and forgotten, leaving the stories of the subjects and the journey of the canvases shrouded in mystery. The artist's mission is to offer these subjects a final acknowledgment by hanging them on living trees, symbolizing the connection between earthly origins and ultimate return as well as the metaphorical family tree. Captured over multiple years, the series reveals the passage of time through the change of seasons while preserving the agelessness of the portraits. “The Forgotten” aims to honor those who have come before us and have slipped into obscurity.
Crow Symphony, is part of a photographic series on fish crows that I documented in FL over a 4 month period. Evening walks trying to track them down was no easy task, but well worth the wait. This editioned image is @3' x'6' long
Forgotten Exhibition, Juror (Paula Tognarelli) selected "Susie Sings Too" for exhibition at the SE Center for Photography, Granville SC, September 1-30th, 2023

07/07/2023

Caught the last day of Avedon 100 and have to say the Gagosian Gallery was on point in this exhibition. Genuinely brought a tear to my eye to see so many of his breathtaking works in person. Needed more Avedon in my eye line and headed to the MET where they had several more of his murals on display. I have been on cloud 9 for days...
So excited to share that CLICK Magazine is featuring my photography in their summer issue and has placed my portrait of Joe on their cover!  The article is a good read Q & A about my processes and goals as a fine art photographer plus the multi page spread shows a number of images across many of my portfolios. Please check it out as I’m over the moon … Link in description.
It can be weeks or sometimes months or even years to complete a series and once the images are finished I begin the steps of trying to get the work out there in front of fresh eyes. Competitions and CC are a great way to get feedback. I'm lucky to work with a great agent, Ilaria Quadrani Fine Art, who shows my portfolios in art fairs and directly to clients= we're a good team.
Reunion weekend! It was a privilege to attend this school. There was literally blood, sweat and many tears over those 4 years, but RISD released me into the world with the knowledge of "how to see". I am forever grateful for my experiences in those great halls...
Excited for this fun and happy exhibition. 45 photographic pieces hanging at the Woodbury Public Library for the month of June. Please READ MORE for library link and details.
Thank you Eggtooth Productions for letting me hang two 3' x 5' BW portraits of IAMLOVE and Kate H. to welcome people into the town. I hope their smiles spread...
For the month of June my work will be exhibited at the Woodbury Public Library in CT. There will be an Artist's Walk down Main Street with refreshments served at the library. Sales benefit the library so please stop by. Details to follow shortly...
Honored to have this prestigious magazine feature my latest series, The Forgotten. Medium Format Magazine is the #1 publication for medium and large format photography offering in depth articles with photographers on their techniques, stories and beautiful imagery. 11 pages on my work with an additional 80 pages of great reading. Please use link in Descriptions section and discount code WHEATON25 for 25% off.
ALWAYS KEEP MOVING FORWARD... Thoughts on my art: come up with strong idea, create said idea and then get the work out there. All three of these points have many steps to them and one of them is entering competitions. Sometimes I place and sometimes I never hear back, but I never am at a loss. Competitions force me to complete a body of work, write my Artist's Statement about the work and have the satisfaction of knowing I've created something that was once in my head and is now in someone's hands to critique. I LOVE EVERY STEP!!! (and yes, this does sound like a self-help reminder)
Odd mixture of laughing out loud while photographing this portrait of sibling clowns and feeling like I'm being watched from deep down in the woods.
Renaming my "Autumn Cloaks" series to "Leavescape". Reasoning: I am creating more cloaks and it's no longer Fall. Plus, I like the play on words of "Leaves + Landscape" and "Leaves + Cape".
So excited to have my work and interview in this professional trade magazine. The topic is on one of my newer series, The Forgotten.  Stay tuned for mid April publication.

02/19/2023

I have been photographing the backs of people for decades now as I find the composition intriguing and never tire of looking at the form. This is a closeup of one of the captures.
It was always the plan to continue this series into the snowy winter months and portray some of the more somber portraits in contrast with the stark trees in the woods. Winter's blue toned light adds to the upright/uptight poses of these Victorian men making them appear not any more approachable but at least giving them a space to be viewed in.
Happy to post that I have a second site launched separate from my Fine Art work. Most of my Fine Art portfolios are void of people so it's a healthy balance to capture portraits, headshots and expectant mothers as well.

01/29/2023

What photographer doesn't love capturing a portrait of someone and having them hit the mark perfectly. Our job is to make you feel comfortable, take you through the process and help you say, "Hell yeah, I got this!".
While pregnancy shoots are a 180 of from my fine art work, they are just as rewarding. To be able to capture a first time soon to be mother (in this particular case) is a very intimate and heart warming event.
Digital display loop during Portrait: Self and Others Exhibition
Rufus in Oak Cloak, projected on continuous loop in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition "Self and Others" and in exhibition catalog. Juror Aline Smithson. Exhibition dates December 29, 2022 - January 20, 2023.

11/08/2022

New series dropped this month using the beauty of Nature and my wanting to stop the hands of time. To preserve a moment or an appearance is a true gift to a photographer. Another gift was being able to work with my son who modeled my hand made capes. Each cloak and its leaves were either woven into the fabric, hot glued or stapled; a labor of love as they say.
Artist Interview by Interior Design team at Casa Branca. To read the article please select READ MORE below to find the link.

09/07/2022

The Forgotten.… brings into the light, those whom have been forgotten by time or place. The concept behind this series stems from 6 years of Friday visits to the local auction house in search of frames. Some of these frames were empty, while others held landscapes, still lifes or portraits. When my bid won a 3.5'x 5' framed painting of a soldier I felt disrespectful discarding his image and he was placed as guardian of our garage. As the canvas collection grew, I started thinking of the time, care and love put into these portraits of people I will never know in person or in name. I do know they were loved. These portraits have brush strokes and eraser marks where time and attention was given to the subject.
I have always been drawn to the images of the back of people. With the face obscured it removes the personal aspect of the piece. it also requires the viewer to ask where the subject is headed or where did they come from. The passage of time and our history has always played an important role in my work. *This particular photograph is of our daughter wearing her grandmother's 66 year old custom made dress.
New series focusing on the geometry, color and movement of pathways via the subject of hedges.
100% of proceeds from sales will go to help humanitarian aid and relief to Ukrainians. Www.artmuseny.com Www.Space2Curate.com Www.artmusecollector.com

03/24/2022

Editing new work focusing on hedges
100% of proceeds from sales will go to help humanitarian aid and relief to Ukrainians. Www.artmuseny.com Www.Space2Curate.com Www.artmusecollector.com
Continuing with my quarterly photography competition submissions to LensCulture's judging panel.
Bield and Path V1, 2006 are now hanging in founder Brian Bolke's The Conservatory in Highland Park, Dallas. Special thank you to Casa Branca and her team for making this connection.
CLICK Submission: Day in the Life. Image capture May, 2015, Los Angelos, CA.
Portrait Masters Awards Submission 2022. Submitted Magnolia and Clamshell maternity photographs to Masters competition.
Bield 2/10 (40" x 53") and Path v 1, 2006 4/10 (40" x 53") both shipped to Dallas for framing in preparations for the February 2nd opening of designer Brian Bolke's store, The Conservatory, in Highland Park, Dallas.
Working with designer Casa Branca to place 2 images, Bield and Path v1 (paper size 44" x 57" each), at Brian Bolke's The Conservatory.

01/18/2022

Adding pregnancy portraits to Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wheatonmahoneyphotography/
Researching Int'l cooperative exhibitions and publications for 2022 submission and portfolio review. 
Submission for Open Call (Click) - Layers. I submit to competitions and publications quarterly.  10 images: 3 x Game Boards, 3 x Pregnancy w/ fabric toss, 3 x images from Cradle to Grave series submitted. Chose a variety for submission as the definition of "layers" has wide creative interpretation.

05/20/2021

Working on site editing.

Rhode Island School of Design

6/5/2023

... and I wouldn't change any teary eyed moment of being yelled at in critiques and pulling all nighters to complete insane projects due 24 hours later!