Fire on the River
Metal Abstracts
Tom O Scott's approach to abstraction typically involves the combination of elements of form, line, and/or texture with metaphor. That magic combination is what often motivates the viewer to consider an image in depth. In 2009, Scott started searching the area around San Diego for rusted and weathered vehicles, at first only finding any at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, CA. Later, he added new venues -- the Motor Transport Museum in Campo, CA, and the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA, along with several ghost towns and private residences where the owners have left brightly colored vehicles age in the sun.
This series is divided into three smaller portfolios:
Metal:Earth - Images conveying the power of our earth, at sunset, sunrise, during volcanic eruptions, forest fires, etc.
Metal: Life - Photo creations celebrating all forms of life, from plants to common animals to monsters residing only in the imagination.
Metal: Iconography - Images dominated by the forms and shapes of our modern world.
Fuji by Moonlight
Something magnificent happens to the glass in old trucks and buses as it ages. It may crack in places, but it also "bubbles," resulting in seemingly fluid creations. Often these images are only a few square inches, so it takes quite a bit of time to discover them.
Ship in a Storm
Heat and pressure from tectonic plate movement and volcanic activity create crystals and fractal patterns in many types of stone, especially jasper and agate. These images are made under a microscope, typically magnified up to 40x.
Dunes
Heat from the desert sun dries out the sand and makes it an ideal medium for the winds that blow at night.