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An artist focuses on Valley Forge Michael Ticcino's work is based on photographs that are digitally changed to reflect his vision.
On this particular morning, there were many deer grazing in Valley Forge National Historical Park.
One young doe stood out. She raised her head and looked directly into Michael Ticcino's camera lens.
With a click, he took her picture. You'll find it hanging at the visitor Welcome Center, in its first art show.
Ticcino, 55, of Audubon, an artist and graphic designer, has made the park's landscapes and historic reenactments his subject matter.
He uses his photographs as a canvas, then digitally changes them to reflect his vision. The free exhibit of 40 images opened Nov. 15 and will continue through April 27.
"I'm just trying to connect with people," Ticcino said. To his delight, visitors to the center seem to like his work.
"Thank you for capturing the majesty," nurse Carol Ann H. Brady, of Valley Forge, wrote in the exhibit guest book during a visit.
"Beautiful work," wrote the Sergeant family of Oak Hill, Va. "[You could be] America's next Ansel Adams."
Ticcino, who had never mounted a show of his work, didn't aim for an exhibit. Instead, the works grew from a period of change two years ago, when he found himself 25 pounds overweight.
He began a fitness regimen that included running in the park for up to five miles.
While there, he became inspired by the park's vistas and learned of its role as a retreat for the troops of Gen. George Washington during the bitter winter of 1777.
"The history and landscape had a lot to offer," Ticcino said. "I wanted to capture it for myself. I went to reenactments and living-history events. It started to make sense to me."
Ticcino, who earns his living as a commercial artist, began taking his digital camera with him in his car when he went to run.
He made mental notes of scenes in the park that appealed to him, then drove there later to shoot them.
Next, he returned home to his computer and used his "painting sensibilities" and technical skills to infuse the scenes with his own mood and spirit.
To do that, he added layers of color and texture, or altered the lighting to give the image a rich, rococo cast.
He added sepia tones for a "historic" look. Or he sharpened the details while adding pale light; the resulting work was like that of an old Dutch master.
"I start out with a scene and sometimes I end up with it. But most often, I keep going until a little voice says, 'Stop, go have some lunch,' " Ticcino said.
"The great thing about this is, you can bring out whatever you want and hold back whatever you want. That's why I like this medium so much; it's so liquid and controllable."
The final step, Ticcino realized, was to share the finished images with the public. He posted them on the photo-sharing Web site Flickr.com, where he attracted an international audience, he said.
Park officials also spotted the images and thought they would work well at the visitor Welcome Center.
In a meeting early last summer, the officials agreed to hang the show, called "Valley Forge: Traditional Land, Contemporary Vision."
"We wanted to mount this new exhibit because these images inspire each of us to make a personal connection with this landscape," said Barbara Pollarine, the park's assistant superintendent.
One of Ticcino's favorite moments came last year when a visitor from Texas asked where one image had been shot, so she could go there with her partner.
"When another person identifies with an image, a magical connection is made," he said. "A small triangle is formed between the viewer, the piece and me. An emotion is felt, a passion conveyed."
The works are on sale for $175, with proceeds benefiting the Friends of Valley Forge Park, a nonprofit group intent on preserving and promoting the park.
"That visitors would take it, and hang it, that's the best," Ticcino said. "Anybody that will accept you and your work into their home, that's the ultimate paycheck."
Contact staff writer Bonnie L. Cook at 610-313-8232 or bcook@phillynews.com.
If You Go
"Valley Forge: Traditional Land, Contemporary Vision," Michael Ticcino's exhibit of digital imagery based on scenes at Valley Forge National Historical Park, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until April 27 at the park visitor Welcome Center. The park is just off Route 23 and North Gulph Road, King of Prussia. Admission is free. For more information, call 610-783-1099.Contact staff writer Bonnie L. Cook at 610-313-8232 or bcook@phillynews.com.
