Courtney Warden is a San Antonio-based photographer born in Louisiana and raised in Okinawa, Japan. Her time in Tularosa, New Mexico as a young teenager inspired her to explore the world through photography- taking inspiration from photographer Ansel Adams and artists like Georgia O’keefe.

Her work often centers around the fine line of dream state and reality as she aims to live a life that finds both balance and fusion in the two. Courtney currently resides in north central San Antonio with her dog River, and her kitten Lucky.

“This series of Peonies was created by incorporating movement into high-resolution photo scanning. When I began, my intention was to explore a period of my life shaped by loss and grief in a way I had never experienced before. After tucking the work away for over a year, I was finally ready to give myself the time and space to create something meaningful and to reflect on how I was moving through the world with this experience.

"Each peony was placed carefully on the scanner, then slowly moved as the light passed across, sometimes dropping petals in the middle of the scan. The process mirrored how I felt in that season of my life— suspended in a dream state, at once fragile and deeply connected to both life and death. Even in mourning, I found a sense of gratitude for that closeness.

"Ultimately, this series became both a meditation on loss and a reminder of the beauty that can emerge when we allow ourselves to sit with grief.”

    A R T W O R K S

Peonies Scans 2025-1 Courtney Warden 14 x 11    High-resolution photo scans printed on moab slickrock metallic pearl

Peonies Scans 2025-2 Courtney Warden 14 x 11    High-resolution photo scans printed on moab slickrock metallic pearl

Peonies Scans 2025-3 Courtney Warden 14 x 11    High-resolution photo scans printed on moab slickrock metallic pearl