Astruso 03 is one of a series of 21 abstract digital photographs that I created in September 2025. Each was constructed with several layers of original photographs that were filtered individually and then blended, resulting in a multicolored, rather abstruse outcome.

My photography is not just photography. It has become paintings and collages that give the viewer an opportunity to encounter something they’ve hopefully never quite experienced. I work exclusively on my iPhone, from initial image to final picture. My subject matter has varied over the years, from painterly flowers to hallucinogenic dreamscapes. Astruso 03 and its siblings are in many ways the most “classical” abstract images that I’ve ever created.

In this particular piece, there are four layers: a window; a piece of aged wooden siding with rusted hardware; the cement skeleton of an abandoned military structure; and a blurred bouquet of flowers. Manipulating each layer with various filters and then blending them in different ways transforms them into a simulacrum that could have easily found its place in the art world of the 1950s.

I’ve always admired abstract art and my friends who could create it with palette and brush. Over the years I have tried to find ways to make photographs that look like paintings. I believe that in Astruso 03 I’ve succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.