Sixteen Private Cats

Sixteen Private Cats Cerrillos, New Mexico | 2025 Some places keep calling you back. Cerrillos is one of those places for me. A few dirt roads, weathered buildings, quiet conversations, and countless corners where time seems to collect instead of pass. Every visit reveals something different. Someone steps outside to ask what I’m photographing. A new object appears. Another disappears. The town continues writing its own story. This wall stopped me again. A painted cat watches over the entrance while the faded suggestion of a face slowly emerges through the worn fence. Look a little closer and you’ll notice the words Music Is Good painted on the boards. A manufactured Private Property sign, an old dresser resting off to the side, warm afternoon light, and dappled shade all become part of the photograph. Nothing announces itself. Everything contributes. I’ve photographed this location over several years. Each visit uncovers another layer, another trace of time. The scene is never quite the same. The title, Sixteen Private Cats, came from imagination more than observation. I picture walking through the opening where a gate once stood and finding sixteen cats wandering the property. Or maybe twenty. The photograph never answers the question, and that’s part of its appeal. Perhaps the next time I visit, this wall will still be there. Perhaps it won’t. Places change. Histories are painted over, weathered away, and quietly replaced. Photography gives us a chance to hold onto one moment before it slips into another. What story do you find here? That’s one of the things I love most about photographs. They begin with my experience, but they don’t end there. Every viewer brings their own memories, imagination, and curiosity to the frame. I hope Sixteen Private Cats invites you to linger, wonder, and perhaps imagine it living on your wall, where its story can continue to unfold a little differently every day.

• Hand-made, solid wood frame
• UV and scratch-resistant acrylic cover
• Edge width of 1.125", depth of 0.75"
• 2" polar white matting
• Sizing: +6.5" to the listed print size
• Ex: 12x18" framed print final size is 18.5x24.5"
• Arrive ready to hang