Coney Island

Coney Island has been a part of my life since day one. As a kid I would go there and   Play for hours in the sand, building castles and forts and watching them be washed away with the tide at the end of the day. At that time Coney was much seedier than it is today . All kinds of druggie types would hang out under the boardwalk which you still had access too. I didn't have much interest in the rides at that point because most of them looked pretty dilapidated . I also remember gangs hanging out on the boardwalk. Coney island was much more differant then than it is today . But then again most of New York is that way.
Sometime in the early 90's I began searching for new subject matter for new paintings and photographs . It was at this point that I realized that Coney Island was one of the few remaining vestiges of old New York still left . In it's history it had been through some major changes Coney Island still retained the same charm and spirit that keeps bringing families back year after year. . All of New York changes, Now more than ever , But few things can retain the inherent character that they were born with . It was with this realization that brought me to focus on Coney island as a body of work. Here are a few images , you will see more in the future.