"Rise and Shine" by K. Randall Wilcox - 12x12

K. Randall Wilcox has worked professionally as a graphic designer for more than 20 years, but his passion lies in the fine arts. What began as a hobby of photography grew into a passion and an artistic outlet. His influences include great painters such as Rauschenberg, Warhol, and Pollock, as well as photographers Stieglitz, Cartier-Bresson, Sudek and Brassai. Inspired by these artists, Wilcox seeks to illuminate the layers and contrasts inherent our environment.

After shooting for over a decade, Wilcox began painting and is now exploring other types of mixed media expressions.Travel is one of the great enjoyments in life for Wilcox. Whether it is the desert, Prague, Budapest, Mexico, Istanbul, Cuba, urban United States or the Boneyard of old neon signs in Las Vegas, he loves to shoot and experiment with texture. Where others find decay, he sees character.

"I love layers--chipped paint, crumbling buildings and wrinkled faces. When something has withstood the storms and ravages of time, and maybe e ven become more interesting because of it, it gives me hope that I will too. Viewing things through the lens of my camera gives me a different perspective, so where I once saw deterioration, I now see the beauty of character and redemption. Like the man in the book of John; 'Once I was blind, now I see'."

Wilcox received his BA in Two-Dimensional Art from Cal State Northridge in 1991, and is owner and founder of K. Randall Wilcox Art + Design, a boutique visual arts firm specializing in fine art, branding and graphic design.

Social Media Handle: @k_randallwilcoxartist