Save for a green wall here and there – one of which happens to match his T-shirt – Anthony Goicolea’s Williamsburg apartment is surprisingly monochromatic. Color, it appears, is saved for his vibrant photographs and drawings.

Only days away from a solo exhibition of his photographs, drawings, and videos, opening April 9 at Postmasters Gallery, and the limited-edition publication of his second book of drawings, called simply “Drawings” (2005, Twin Palms Press), the artist, 33, far from seeming nervous, exuded an enchanting youthfulness. Casually dressed in layered T-shirts and fashionably tattered jeans, and with a boyish energy radiating from his sparkling eyes, Mr. Goicolea described new excitement over the forthcoming show, his first in New York in three years.

“I feel better about the exhibition now,” he said. “I was in New Zealand for a month, and when I got back I didn’t have any drawings done. The photos weren’t completed either. I got them underway, and I haven’t been sleeping very much.” Does he always wait until the last minute to complete work for a show? “I feel like I work better under the pressure of deadlines, and this is how I tend to work,” he admitted. “But I’m leaving the fear part of it and entering the excitement part.”

Both the show and the book represent a departure for Mr. Goicolea. His first book, titled “Anthony Goicolea” (2002, Twin Palms Press), is a collection of vibrant, playfully absurd, and highly staged photographs exploring such issues as narcissism, ritual, and adolescent masculine sexuality. “Feastlings,” for example, shows nine young schoolboys in full prep-school uniform engaging in a complicated food fight. “Poolpushers” is a wide shot of an indoor swimming pool filled with young men swimming around each other like a school of fish as clusters of speedo-clad young men stand poolside attempting to catch the swimmers in a pool-cleaning net. Upon closer inspection, the viewer realizes that all of the models are actually Mr. Goicolea himself. After constructing the set for each photograph, he performed each character separately before a camera, and then cut and pasted all the figures into the image. It’s not difficult to see why one critic referred to him as “Narcissus with Photoshop.”

Mr. Goicolea’s more recent work has developed away from self-portraiture and toward landscapes that sometimes but not always include human figures. These new images communicate the same reconfiguring of reality evident in his self-portrait work, but this time it’s the land and geography that is being manipulated. One image, called “Ghost Ship,” shows what appears to be a miniature island made of rocks and boxes with a tall leaning tree on the right. In the tree is a fragmented tree house. Menacing clouds loom overhead, and the waves on the surrounding lake don’t appear to follow any particular natural law. Lying in rusted ruins near the shore is a scattered fleet of decomposing boats.

“This collection of work is centered on documenting things that don’t actually exist,” said Mr. Goicolea. “They’re all nonexistent landscapes that I’ve created by physically and graphically altering actual landscapes so they become more fantastical.”

Mr. Goicolea, who moved to Williamsburg from Atlanta 10 years ago to attend Pratt Institute, considers New York City itself a factor behind this change of focus. “New York has pushed me to work more in the realm of nature, because I guess I crave it more now,” he said. “I don’t do a lot of shooting in the city. It’s very stimulating and you’re always active here, but I’m not interested in the city environment.” There is a consistent thread running through the old and new work, however: his focus on visually rich reconstructions.

Wandering around his apartment, he affectionately pointed out relics from his past, including drawings and photos composed by members of his own family. A raw, rust-colored sculpture of a bald human head sits on the ground next to a tall photo of a glacier. He completed the sculpture when was 15, but the larger photo is from one of his most recent shows.

Mr. Goicolea recalls drawing and making art as far back as he can remember. His mother, a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, painted frequently in their house, and his brothers and sisters all made art in their own ways. As far back as the second grade he was the one people went to when they wanted something drawn. “My mother has framed some of the drawings I did when I was in kindergarten,” he said. “Not to toot my own horn, but they’re actually pretty good work.”

Throughout high school he took more art classes and ended up earning degrees in art from the University of Georgia and Pratt. As an undergraduate, he had moments of doubt when he wondered about an alternate career, one that would definitely pay the bills, so after finishing school he worked in advertising for a year. The experience induced deep self-reflection. “I spent a year wondering if I would end up one of those couch-potato people who don’t do anything besides work a job they hate,” he recalled.

In the end, none of the alternative career options he came up with lasted. Art, he realized, is simply part of the way he lives. “Making art is like a filtration process for me. I see the world and I process it and then produce something. Fortunately, I’ve never experienced an artistic block,” he said. “It’s always sort of the reverse. I am overwhelmed with what I want to do, and I never have time enough to get it all done. I’m always working.”

“Anthony Goicolea: Sheltered Life” until May 7 at Postmasters Gallery, 459 W. 19th Street, 212-727-3323.