Ghost Faces of the Lake

I live near the Lake Anne Village Center in Reston, VA. The village center was established in 1964, and is surround by lights like the one pictured below. I always imagined the the lights were of a style that people in 1964 imagined "modern" would be.

I have spent a lot of time walking around Lake Anne. A couple of years ago, I noticed that the sometimes the bulbs in these lights would burn out, and it would look almost like a face. The first one I saw was smiling, but as I began to look more closely, I saw some that were frowning, some that were scolding, and some that seemed indifferent.

What I found most fascinating about the faces was their temporary nature. As the lightbulbs burn out or are replaced, the face changes or disappears altogther. One of my favorite stern face had it lightbulbs changed. Now, it is no longer a face - just a "modern" light fixture. In some ways, the ghost faces seemed to be an apt metaphor for life in general.

I started trying to capture the faces. My first attempt was with photography. But I could never quite capture the essence. Then I tried painting, but, alas, it will be some time before my hands will be able to match the picture I have in my mind. I also created a small, iconic representation of the lights, which I actually kind of like. It almost looks like a post card.

After my first attempt to paint a face (below), I showed the painting to my 5 year old son. I asked him what it looked like. He said, "Cool. It's a ghost face." That's when I knew what I had discovered - The Ghost Faces of Lake Anne. It is amazing that sometimes you have to look to a child to bring certain thoughts into focus.

Below are some of my attempts to capture the Ghost Faces of the Lake.


Photo - 08/01/2007 -- This is the first light that I noticed looked like a face. I noticed it more than a year ago and tried to take several snaps of it. This is one of the better ones.




Acrylic on Stretched Canvas - 6/30/2007 - This was my first attempt to paint a face. It is the painting that gave rise to the name "Ghost Faces". I have often thought about going back and adding a poll to make it look more like a light. But, I kind of like it the way it is. Better leave well enough alone.

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas - unfinished. This is a painting of a ghost face in front of a Hydrangea bushes. For some reason, I cannot bring myself to finish this one. Not sure why.