Oakley 'Skip' Traynor

Trained as a photojournalist, Oakley Traynor always brought an element of art to his work. He recently retired from the Alma College marketing and communications office to devote his time to fine art photography. Much of his art photography focuses on the effect of Nature on man's attempts to build lasting monuments. A boarded-up house of man's religion stands as an ironic testament to God's relentless command of weathering. Wooden barns are slowly disappearing from the landscape, victims of Nature's decades of rain, wind and insects.
He also portrays the beauty of Nature, especially during those hours when the Earth's curvature bends, refracts and colors the Sun's light. He documents many of Nature's wonders in the woods south of Munising, Michigan, and the waters of Lake Superior's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Of course his home area of Vestaburg offers many opportunities for living his art.
Traynor has been a member of the Creative Arts Guild of Mid-Michigan since 2004. He is also a member of the Alma Community Art Center and the Lowell Arts Council. He has exhibited at the Art Guild's annual Spring Show, The Wassenaar Gallery and Art Reach in Mt. Pleasant. In his first juried show recently, the West Michigan Regional Art Competition, one of his photographs earned a Juror's Recognition Award. He also was accepted in the 2012 Greater Michigan Art Exhibition at the Midland Center for the Arts.

mailto:traynor@alma.edu