Doorways have always fascinated artists, and they have always intrigued me. What do they represent and what are the mysteries hidden behind them?

To me the doorway is the portal to all that lay beyond it and the centerpiece to what surrounds it. Or it may be an abstract design, depending upon the way I choose to stare at it.

All things seem to flow from the statement the doorway makes. I have even seen neat imaginatively designed houses where the entire frontispiece seems to act as an entranceway leading to the door itself! But such uniquely designed structures are not found in the ever-growing amount of cookie cutter homes and increasingly homogenized subdivisions that is what America is becoming.

I was probably meant to live in the Forties, or Fifties, when there was character in our architecture and charm in our surroundings. Maybe that’s why I am attracted to the old buildings and continue to seek out the interesting urban neighborhoods and small towns.

Sometimes doors are tightly shut to hermetically seal the inhabitants in from the outside world. They can often see what is outside, but depending on their interest, remain hidden to the outside world. Sometimes doors are left slightly ajar, leaving it to the passerby to determine whether the quarters behind it are inhabited or abandoned.

Once in a while a door is left open so that all can see beyond the passageway. Of course in today’s society this doesn’t happen too often. Gone are the trusting days of my youth when our doors were almost always kept open to let the sun shine in so the foyer could be made brighter … and even left unlocked during the night.

Then there are the people located in or near the doorways. Who are they? Are they happy or sad, proud or defeated? What are they doing, thinking and hoping for? Why are they there — to see or be seen?

Are they hoping to be in my picture?