Talking Art: Poppies at Midnight

By Judith A. Ross for Talking Writing

It is early spring here in New England and the feathery leaves of poppies have pushed through the soil of my garden.

Some of these poppies will grow into the robust, black-centered oriental variety. Others are the more delicate, yellow-centered icelandic poppies. All will have the blowsy orange petals that make poppies so endearing.

Like the ones in my garden, "Poppies at Midnight" is also a mix. It is both photograph and painting. Bridgett Ezzard photographed the poppies in her backyard, made a silver print in her darkroom, and then applied colored pencils and oil paint to achieve the final effect. The process took weeks as the paint was applied layer by layer.

“I love process art,” says Bridgett, who knew she wanted to be an artist from the time she was in kindergarten. In fact, one of her first pieces created that year was displayed in the window of a local department store. “It was a crayon drawing of children of all different colors holding hands,” she recalls.

Since then she has combined her love of painted art with photography, creating photo collages. Her talent for focusing on small details and creating still lifes is evident in her wedding, art, and commercial work alike -- from the tattoo at the base of a bride’s spine to the sliver of sunlight cutting across a ceramic tile.

After her recent move to Nashville, Bridgett’s latest assignment was to photograph two homes and their owners for Southern Flourish Magazine. Her secret for getting the best shots of her human subjects? “I wait a beat after what they think is the final shot. As soon as they relax, I’m on it,” she says.