It can be useful and interesting to see the stages through which an artist takes his materials in the
development of a work. In the case I show you here, each stage can be complete as a member of a series.
Collage Construct No. 1
(Larger view HERE.)
This composition began about 44 years ago when I made a bunch of wooden pieces for a game I invented. I pulled the box out of the garage and rummaged through all those pieces remembering the hours spent sawing, sanding and gluing. Some pieces are hollow and a mouse had long ago made cozy sleeping quarters in one. Some sort of wood burrowing insects had eaten away others. Some pieces bore signs of a flood years ago too. I wiped them off and lined them up, then found scraps of colored paper to mix in. After photographing them I began digitally painting. This is the first configuration of the collection. The shapes and lines that have emerged tantalize the imagination to wander through the composition as if in another world.
Collage Construct No. 2
(Larger view HERE.)
The pieces now take other forms as I play with my old toys in new ways. I have taken the composition further by applying brush strokes of various kinds and revealing new shapes beneath. The physical pieces have morphed into color fields of softer boundaries and your imagination is given more freedom to explore mysterious regions. It is almost like a secret map for the viewer to use in recreational escapes from the mundane. Such excursions could give inspiration for new ideas. On the wall such pieces provide opportunity for short “power retreats” for our minds. What stories might emerge as one follows the lines and shapes into new territory? How might the third rendition evolve?
