Ancient Ruins, Lost Cities & the Places That Inspire My Watercolors
Ancient ruins have always fascinated me. Before becoming a watercolor artist, I spent years as a professional travel photographer documenting historic sites around the world. Many of those original photographs later became the inspiration for my watercolor paintings.
This ancient ruins travel hub brings together my photography, travel experiences, and artwork from some of the world’s most fascinating archaeological sites—from Maya temples in Central America to Roman ruins, Buddhist temples, and ancient civilizations throughout Asia and Europe.
Travel has been my artistic muse since the first time I stepped outside the United States. For decades, I’ve had the privilege of exploring the world—first as a professional travel photographer and later as a full-time watercolor artist. The medium eventually changed, but the obsession didn’t. I still travel with the same goal: discover remarkable places, photograph them in interesting light, and return home with far too many ideas for future paintings.
Of all the subjects I’ve photographed around the world, ancient ruins and lost cities have always fascinated me the most.
There is something extraordinary about standing in a place built hundreds—or sometimes thousands—of years ago and trying to imagine the people who once lived there. Civilizations rise, flourish, fight wars, build monuments and cities, and eventually disappear or transform. What remains are fragments: temples, walls, roads, tombs, statues and enormous piles of rocks that someone, at some point, inevitably decided I wasn’t supposed to climb on.
Those surviving pieces of history have provided some of my favorite photographic subjects and inspired many of my watercolor paintings.
I’ve photographed the spectacular Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, perched high in the Andes Mountains; wandered among the enormous temples and jungle-covered ruins of Angkor Wat and the ancient Khmer Empire in Cambodia; explored the Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá in Mexico; and stood beneath the mysterious moai statues of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile, thousands of miles from the nearest continent.
In North Africa, I’ve photographed remarkably preserved Roman ruins in Tunisia, where temples, amphitheaters, mosaics and ancient cities survive in landscapes that once formed part of the Roman Empire. Elsewhere, my travels have taken me through medieval castles, abandoned churches, monasteries, fortresses and archaeological sites scattered across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Each location tells a different story, but they’re connected by the same thing that continues to fascinate me: the traces people leave behind.
From Travel Photography to Watercolor Paintings
My paintings begin with these journeys.
I rarely travel specifically looking for something to paint. Instead, I photograph whatever catches my attention—the way morning light strikes an ancient wall, a temple disappearing into jungle vegetation, a mountain rising behind a ruined city, or the texture of stone that has survived centuries of weather and human history.
Sometimes I know immediately that a photograph will become a painting. Other images sit in my archives for years before I finally figure out what I want to do with them.
Apparently inspiration has its own schedule.
My paintings of ancient ruins combine traditional watercolor with experimental techniques I’ve developed throughout my career, including watercolor batik on Japanese rice paper, pouring, mouth atomizing, granulation, glazing, masking and intentional watercolor blossoms. These techniques allow me to interpret the atmosphere and texture of these places rather than simply reproduce a photograph.
As I continue building this section of the website, you’ll be able to explore my photographs, travel stories and paintings from archaeological sites and historic ruins around the world, including Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, Chichén Itzá, Easter Island, Roman Tunisia, and many more places I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph.
Original Watercolor Paintings & Fine Art Prints
Many of the destinations featured in these travel stories have become original watercolor paintings. Original artwork and museum-quality fine art prints are available from my online gallery, with each piece created from my own travel photography and experiences.
If you’re interested in how I turn these photographs into paintings, explore my Watercolor Lessons for demonstrations, painting techniques and videos. You can also join me at an upcoming watercolor workshop, where I teach many of the experimental techniques used throughout this collection.
