January | 2017 | Art Everyday

I often construct my collages on acrylic painted paper. For a recent group of collages I layered stencil shapes cut from discarded prints (monotypes, collagraphs, etchings) and other found paper on the painted background. I needed one more element to make the collage POP. I found it by using acrylic “spreads.” Never heard of them? Spreads are made by painting acrylic paint or paint + gel medium on a releasing surface like plastic, letting it dry really well, then scraping it off and gluing it to the collage paper. They’re a little tricky to make, but they’re fun to make and fun to incorporate into the collage. They add texture and a bit of 3-D to the flat surface.

Here are some examples from the “Hidden In Plain Sight” series.

#1296 Hidden In Plain Sight 1, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1296 Hidden In Plain Sight 1, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1297 Hidden In Plain Sight 2, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1297 Hidden In Plain Sight 2, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1298 Hidden In Plain Sight 3, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1298 Hidden In Plain Sight 3, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1300 Hidden In Plain Sight 5, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1300 Hidden In Plain Sight 5, collage, 16×20″, 2016

I continue to use pieces of my photographs, like the underfoot and graffiti images with discarded (you could say re-purposed) prints and found paper. May I say “ephemera?” It sounds so much more sophisticated. The compositions extend in all directions on a white background.

Here are a few recent examples.

#1301 Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22x30" 2016

#1301 Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22×30″ 2016

#1302 Internal:External Forces At Work collage 22x30" 2016

#1302 Internal:External Forces At Work collage 22×30″ 2016

#1303 Chasing The Unexpected collage 30x22" 2016

#1303 Chasing The Unexpected collage 30×22″ 2016

Sometimes you have to go “small.” Same idea, collage on painted paper. What happens when you try to downsize? What do you pick and choose to take? Ugh, you say. Well, I have to make the same sort of decisions every time I look at the paper. I made a series of “minis” called “Mini-Go-Round.” They are 6×8”, a lot smaller than 16×20”, 22×30” or 29×41”, my usual sizes for collage. How would you design a collage on a small piece of paper?

Here are my “minis.” Remember, they are small.

#1304 Mini Go Round 1, collage 6x8" 2016

#1304 Mini Go Round 1, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1305 Mini Go Round 2, collage 6x8" 2016

#1305 Mini Go Round 2, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1306 Mini Go Round 3, collage 6x8" 2016

#1306 Mini Go Round 3, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1309 Mini Go Round 6, collage 6x8" 2016

#1309 Mini Go Round 6, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1321 Mini Go Round 18, collage 6x8" 2016

#1321 Mini Go Round 18, collage 6×8″ 2016

Have you made collages? What’s your approach?

What is a place? Where is it? How many different associations with that place are there? Immediate or remembered? What do you think? How do you feel? Do you think/feel differently if the place is busy and crowded or quiet and devoid of people and activity? We move along, passing through some places quickly, maybe not noticing much but feeling the energy of the crowds. Or maybe we don’t and feel alone, surrounded by an anonymous group of strangers. The urban scene can be noisy and colorful.

Tokyo, Japan

Istanbul, Turkey

Dallas, TX

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, CA

Deep Ellum, Dallas, Tx

Reykyavik, Iceland

La Boca, Buenos Aires, Arg.

Other places are just right for contemplation. We relax and with heightened senses, linger. We’re apt to do this more in the natural environment than the “built” one. Spending time walking on beaches, along wooded trails, listening to the rush of water at a mountain stream and enjoying the full flower of springtime cherry blossoms can be calming and refreshing.

Lake Louise, Canada

Jasper Lake Lodge, Canada

Hollywood, Florida

Canon Beach, OR

Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Japan

There are times, even in the midst of the frenetic activity of city life, when people claim a spot to hang out, catch up or grab a bite to eat. It is their place.

Zagreb, Croatia

San Francisco, CA

Buenos Aires, Arg.

Japan

Eureka, MT

Train stations, trains, shrines and churches offer different experiences of place.

Tokyo, Japan

Japan

Italy

Castro, Chile

Lutheran Church, Reykyavik, Iceland

There are places that can only be described as “other-worldly.” You know them when you see them. Places with the WOW factor.

Glacieres Ntl. Park, Arg.

Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadoccia, Turkey

Craters Skutustadir, Iceland

Places close to home or far away have offered me new and exciting experiences as well as moments of repose and contemplation. The place where I return, to work in solitude, is my studio at Woodcreek Ranch. There, I am alone, but never lonely.