Ebb and Flow, 2020 (12 x 12 inches) $85 birch panel
This piece would be considered in the genre of ‘mixed media’. While it has collage elements in it, the piece also uses paint, sharpies and gel pens. Experimenting with collage results in all sorts of exciting explorations and combinations. Collage images are in constant flux and can quickly turn into a successful image or a disaster. Luckily ideas can be worked out before committing. In this piece, I used a variety of papers that were on my worktable. I knew I didn’t have enough for a full piece so started with some paint to create a background. Once I added the collaged, paper elements it needed more definition. I added sharpie and gel pen work to give it some variation in size as well as a greater sense of depth.
Burst, 2020 ( 7.5 x 9 inches) $50 unframed paper
This piece combines marker, gel pen, oil pastel, paint and collage. There is no limit to the materials that you can combine to create a mixed media piece. I try to work on my art each day. By working each day one idea leads to another, leads to another and before you know it, I am collaging with wood chips, building wooden boxes to collage in, pulling apart calendars to collage onto, sanding down old work, or collaging on top of a Group of Seven print. (Yes, I have done all of these things.) By working daily, even for a bit, I keep the internal art dialogue active.
Bug, 2021 (12 x 12 inches) $175
In collage the surface can be prepared before working, or the work can be enriched with pencil, paint, pastels, pen or ink afterward. The choices are limitless. There are also limitless possibilities for additional materials and embellishments; wood, cardboard, tree bark, glass, rubber, fabric and as long as you can figure out a way to adhere it to the surface, collage can be created out of almost anything. This piece was created using small pieces of cut pencil crayons. By cutting then crosswise, I was able to create a nice pile of elements to collage with. Using a scroll saw, I created a plywood shape for the base of my composition and then collaged tiny pieces of pencil crayon around it.
