"Prayer"

($60.00.......6" x 6"......mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Prayer changes everything." Many quotes have been written on prayer. The closest wording to this one says..."Prayer changes things." I like this one because the word "everything" is all inclusive. What a comforting thought.

In searching through my old books for collage elements for this piece, I had a nice surprise by finding a four leaf clover tucked between the pages. It was quite fragile, but by carefully adhering and coating it with gel matte medium, it is be preserved.

I was very interested in the forward to this book which is entitled Two Searches. The two searches reference God's search for man and man's search for God. By covering up a portion of the text, the mystery of the meaning is made more difficult to read and adding flourished overlays simply adds to that mystery. The important decisions with the placement of collage elements was an effort to create more shapes and still leave enough of the background in tact for visual relief. It is also a good idea to place a vertical element like the book spine in a left or right of center position to create lost and found edges in the pouring medium. This is an important design tip that creates depth.

The text collage is also framed out by adding the ornate "P" going from the edge of the space to the edge of the spine and likewise with the placement of the quote at the bottom. The clover is important because it is a contrast to any of the shapes in the piece yet it echoes the color of the book spine. I hope none of this is boring, but I've always liked for artists to explain why they do the things they do because it helps me process my own design decisions. For that reason, I hope you've been helped if you are into creating collage pieces. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.


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"Brainstorming"

($40.00......6" x 6"......mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)


"A conversation with a friend is the root or essence of brainstorming." I can truthfully say that I can sort out my thoughts much better when discussing them with another person. Everyone is advised to get an attorney when facing legal issues and not to be their own counsel. There is a reason for that. The same is true in life situations. It is wise to seek counsel and that friend needs to have wisdom.

This is a rather bright pouring medium piece, but I was experimenting with transparent colors and layers. Pyrrole Orange and Green Gold are very transparent colors. (This information is on every bottle of Golden Fluid Acrylics.)  I did actually pour a base coat of very pale orange mixed with a lot of white and a higher ratio of pouring medium. However, the brighter undiluted orange rather overtook everything.

The transparent colors moving over the stamped lettering was interesting to me, but I needed to calm down the intensity of that orange. I did add two collage elements with neutral colors and a different texture that helped a lot. It also helped to write the quote in white. (White is always a calming color.)  The lettering is still a bit light, but the decision to do heavier lettering with such an active background was not an option to me. And I always like the idea of keeping the lettering more integrated into the background so it is barely discernible from a distance, but readable up close. And this will be the dilemma every time you step into the fine arts side of things with a desire to create a painting that also includes lettering. A straight line of lettering will have a calming effect without overtaking the piece. Save the gestural, more expressive lettering for a piece where the colors are more neutral and there is very little detail going on.

These are just some of the things I think about on a regular basis. And I can tell you that it took me over an hour to decide where to place my collage elements to help offset the strong color blocks of orange. It did not work until I printed my texture on silk tissue paper so the background could be seen through the paper. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

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"Lesson Learned?"

($150.00......6" x 6".....floated on a linen mat in an 8" x 8" wood frame)


"History repeats itself until the lesson is learned." This is true in personal experiences and in the history of nations and cultures. It is a wise person who reviews their life from time to time and notices what particular habits are continually repeated as well as though that produce success. It's a great time saver to stop doing things that don't work.

A band of color(s) running diagonally across a page can be boring all by itself or not have very interesting texture. However, the composing of opaque and transparent collage over that band of color can create a lot of drama.

The segment of an old book page became the focal point with the added texture of an embossed emblem. It was then easy to "frame" that one segment with the burnt sienna color of the background and the aged book spine. Those two collage items were then "framed" with transparent scroll work plus the more ornate scrollwork acting as another part of the "frame". I also printed out the copyright date (1800's) and placed it in the lower left hand corner. And the final touch was the fragment of silver leaf adhered to the book spine. The placement was decided by a desire to have it quite near to the center of interest and also becoming a part of the "frame" around the cream colored book page.

Collage can often be overdone, but it helps to think of all of your collage pieces as a unit. Take note that there is at least one third of this design space with nothing except for the quote. This negative space helps relieve the eye. By keeping the detail in one area, you are telling the viewer exactly where you want them to look. A good analogy is a logo or lettering on a tall pillar in a large building. Your eye will immediately go to the one area on the pillar where there is detail of an image or lettering. And that's the power of negative space. It helps direct the eye. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.


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"Feelings" ($60.00)

(adjusted price.....$60.00....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Feelings alone will not get you where you want to go." Most of us do things every day that we don't want to do. This is the pearl of truth on the path to wisdom. It involves choosing. In this piece, I chose the image of a sand dollar because of its spiritual symbolism. The four smaller holes are symbolic of the nails used to crucify Christ and the larger hole stands for the spear that pierced His side.

Symbolism is a part of creating artwork. Even when you may not be conscious of any symbolism, the thing that inspired the piece to begin with is symbolic.

The blue in this piece inspired me to make the connection between the seashore and the sand dollar. The vertical lines already in the background guided me in choosing where to place the sand dollar. The black circle in the opposite corner is also symbolic. Even the placement of the lettering was guided by a line created in the first layer. So everything in this piece is about lines and placement. By placing lines randomly in the first layer, you create a spontaneous way of assisting yourself in intuitive design thinking. Just something to think about.

Please contact me personally for inquiry about this piece.