as i was preparing a new image to create the drawing for best left unsaid 8, i was drawn to begin a new 16x16" collage on archival paper. i couldn't unglue myself, so i kept going until it was time to leave for my plein air session at the creek. but both of us were too achy from yesterday's extended walk, so i put off the plein air till tomorrow. according to the forecast, the weather should hold.
below is the collage as it looked when i left the studio. i'll see tomorrow morning if it needs more work. it has a different feel than the past 5 or 6 i've created, however the "language" continues to develop. the main elements are:
the biomorphic drawn shapes based upon the rocks, branches & water in my plein air paintings, either drawn directly onto the piece, or drawn on separate pieces of paper which i then cut in the way i describe below;
segments of maps cut into the shapes that follow the arabesques my hand & arm naturally make when cutting with mat knife or scissors, which are then collaged onto the surface (these shapes are without exception biomorphic, which when collaged in a way that mirrors the automatic writing of the surrealists, suggest animal parts, human body parts, plants, etc.) ;
segments of paper with marks made in the past. these marks can be pieces of my warm up exercises, which are short morning studies of an 11th c. chinese calligrapher; paper which contains scribbled notes, areas where i squeezed excess paint from a brush, etc.
pieces of newspaper, usually wall street journal articles about watches sent to me by my friend louis skidmore in houston. these have the characteristic pink of the wsj and sometimes reveal portions of high end watches. collages which contain these particular watch images will be shown at lewis diamonds & timepieces in houston, texas, where my work has been represented for over 20 years by gremillion & co. fine art. the exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated talk i'll give titled time & space.
