Depth

In this piece I worked with breaking up a scene on two panels of different sizes and different depths. In the foreground, I added a poem by Emily Dickinson and broke up the imagery with solid strips of handmade papers.

Up close with nature

In "Poised" I used a variety of handmade papers in the strip along the side and added some small circle stencils to give the feel of atmosphere or motion as the flower is in the act of opening up.
The leaf photo was abstract from the start with the reflections in the water surrounding it, so my filters worked to abstract it more and I added a quote from Camus at the bottom right to give further interest up close.

Two more with color blocks

I decided to add some texture or imagery to the areas of color in these, along with using leftover strips from previous collages. In "Coming Home Cows" I ghosted a cow onto the field of green and added a number stencil - evocative of number tags cows often wear in their ears. In "Golden Visitor" I overlaid a pine needle image on the green area and ghosted some of the circle pattern from the goldfinch photo on the brown rectangle.

Continuing the color block theme

This piece is 12"H x 9"W and has a field of sunflowers at the top and an abstract grid of color beneath. I think the blocks of colors evoke aerial views of farm fields as well as quilts. I'm using leftover strips of imagery from previous collages to layer up the areas of color and some of the golds are from a previous sunflower collage.

Working on new pieces for a spring 2018 show

I think I'll use landscapes, birds and flowers as subject matter for my show next spring in Monmouth, Illinois. I plan to experiment with more layering, adding paint, stenciling, and using scraps of imagery from past collages to make abstract fields of color....

Finished Commission

A couple from Peoria asked me to do a collage using a panoramic photo they'd taken. The photo featured purple martin houses and a bench dedicated to the man's grandfather who had instilled in him a love of purple martins. In my art, I added a purple martin in the foreground, fragments of a poem by Carl Sandburg about purple martins, and the park name and man's grandfather's name. The piece is 12"H x 36"W.

Successful Show

It was great fun to be the featured artist at C2C Gallery in Grand Haven, Michigan. The opening was Friday, July 7th and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with tourists and locals about my art process. The gallery sold 4 of the 20 pieces on display in 24 hours! To date, they've sold 7 works, and the show will be up through the end of August.