Sometimes accompanying a husband to the lumber yard can be inspiring.
Such was the case with artist Ursula Abresch, an art photographer from Trail.
“A few years ago my husband was buying some wood in Castlegar by the train track,” she said.
“I had an hour to wander around, and there was a train parked nearby.”
Abresch said an eye-catching piece of graffiti signed by “Labrona,” was painted on the side of the train.
“It was such a beautiful piece, obviously done by an artist, so I began to wonder who ‘Labrona’ is.”
Once home, after a quick Internet search, Abresch discovered that Labrona is a Canadian artist living in Quebec, who sells his work in galleries but is known for street art, such as train graffiti.
“Then it struck me that there are other artists out there who paint on trains,” she said.
“But why would anybody with that much ability go out in the middle of the night on the sly to do this?”
Abresch found it intriguing that an artist would send his work out on the side of a train and probably never see it again, nor receive monetary gain.
“And yet they send this gorgeous art out into the world for people to enjoy.”
Abresch’s unusual and somewhat haunting photographs are taken up close, so that each piece looks like a brightly coloured, abstract painting.
Her photography style, or “photo-impressionism,” creates intricate details of the original graffiti and its wear, created by the elements over time.
“As I started to look closer, I began to notice the interaction between the graffiti and how over time, the paint cracked, or was scratched or not quite dry when the original work was done,” she explained.
“I am not interested in making a picture of the graffiti itself, but I am interested in taking little pieces of it and creating a new story,”
To view Abresch’s work, visit ursulasphotos.com or call 364-1181.