Loon Lake

Loon Lake (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique map (Natural Advanced Geography,
American Book Co., 1898), vintage illustration (Birds of the World, Golden, 1961),
recycled travel brochures, ink, marker, acrylic sealer, acrylic varnish.
 6" x 6" on cradled birch panel

Sometimes, a piece just comes together. That's what happened when a friend asked me about making a collage on spec featuring a loon. After finding the perfect trio of loons - I had no clue what one looked like and was afraid these were really some other birds, so I double- and triple-checked - the piece fell into place within a few hours. Even so, I let it sit overnight just to be sure I was happy with it.

The map in the background refers to the annual trip my friend makes to Vermont and the top loon was placed so that it's beak would point toward New England. The map is covered by a piece of vellum from a recycled travel brochure. The goal was to tone down the map and inject some dusky colors. I've had mixed success with vellum but used PVA to glue it down and it went on flat, flat, flat without a single air bubble.

After scanning the image into the archive and sitting down to write this post, it dawned on me that I couldn't make the piece part of the Out On A Limb series - the original thought - since there isn't a limb in sight. So, that's why it's titled Loon Lake. Hope she likes it!

Note: the birds are a Black-Throated Diver, Great Northern Diver and Red-Throated Diver.