"Ghosts at Lamy" will be at a showing of woodcuts by Noyer, an East Mountains resident, that opens on Friday at the Wooden Cow Gallery and Art Space in Albuquerque.

Along with the old, abandoned church, the print includes images of two coins, a buffalo nickel and a Mexican centavo that Noyer said is a reference to the history of those who once occupied the area around Lamy.

In addition, the print uses the texture of the wood grain as an aesthetic feature in the sky behind the church.

"You get the knots and the grain of the wood," he said. "That ties in with my themes of old adobes and cars, and structures that aren't going to be around … my water colors and woodcuts deal with places that are going to be blown down or torn down. Several of them are just gone."

Skulls and grave stones also make an appearance in much of his work, but there also are several pieces dealing with old cars. The images of the skeletal remains of the past certainly establish a mood in most of Noyer's work, but the woodcuts — unlike his work with watercolors which are highly realistic — have a stark and abstract quality to them that Noyer said people are drawn to.

"I think it's an exciting medium myself, and an ancient one," he said. "Not many people are doing it either."

Unlike a painting, the artist cuts into a wood block backwards, something that can be especially tricky when lettering is a part of the work. Noyer, who includes Old Route 66 signs in his work, said he has to be careful they don't read Route 99 in the printed work.

"This is a gradual process," he said. "You chose a nice piece of wood that has nice knots or grain and work those into the total design … following the grain of the wood is integral part of the print itself."

Another prominent theme in Noyer's work are images of old cars. That may be due, in part, to his years working as an illustrator, doing auto renderings in Detroit.

Part of his job was to make an "idealized car" at the time, extending the lines of the car to make them look dynamic and beautiful. He said that was something that couldn't readily be done with photography until around 1958, when technological advances in camera lenses changed the nature of his job.

That's when Noyer's job changed, he said. Noyer left the job when he and a group of illustrators were shown a photograph and asked to do a retouch, rather than a rendering, he said.

"I said I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life doing that," he said.

Noyer has taught art history, worked as a journalist and currently he said he is focusing on the three w's: woodcuts, of course, water color and writing. Using his knowledge of art history, Noyer writes mystery novels set in 5th century Italy. He's made his home in the East Mountains for 23 years.

Noyer's show at the Wooden Cow Gallery, which is at 7400 Montgomery Blvd, runs from Sept. 2 to 26 with an opening reception from 5 to 6 p.m. on Friday. Along with the prints, Noyer said he will bring along a wood block and some of the chisels he uses to work the wood.

For more information call 999-1280 or go to www.thewoodencow.com.