Nostalgia

Merriam Webster Dictionary describes nostalgia as "a feeling of homesickness, or a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition."  In my wanderings, I usually have to stop the car and take pictures of old, run-down places.  I don't know why, but there is a longing in me to create art that reflects the emotions these old places stir.  I haven't had time to experiment much with paintings that would be classified as nostalgic, but I have photos in a file that I can look at to inspire me when the time is right.  

I love history. My preferred method of experiencing it is by visiting historic places and seeing with my own eyes the things that have been left-over from another time, then going home and reading about them.  Luckily, we live in the southwest and have easy access to historic places from ancient Native American ruins to remnants of the old west of the 1800's.  

Today, the wind is blowing cold and the light outside is bright and giving the air a clarity that only comes with Fall.  Days like this fill me with nostalgia.  Here are some of the photos from my collection. They are my work; if you'd like to use any of them for a project of your own, feel free but please give me credit for the ideas.  

Old California Spanish Mission. I love entryways and windows, they are so filled with symbolism and possibilities. 

Mesa Verde in Colorado

Doorway of a Spanish Mission in California

Cemetery in Mogollon, NM, a mining ghost town nestled in a canyon and repopulated by a few hardy souls in recent years

Typical 1800's house, adobe and hand-made windows, Lake Valley, NM

Lake Valley, NM

Lake Valley, NM church, adobe brick and plaster

Lake Valley, NM, mining equipment from the Bridal Chamber Mine

Adobe ruin, New Mexico