Her eyes betrayed nothing

For me, the history of the paper used in a collage is as interesting as the finished piece. But, again, that's probably my Inner Librarian talking. The combo here is the cover of a damaged early 20th century book "The Language and Poetry of Flowers" (DeWolfe, Fiske & Co., Boston) that belonged to my late mother-in-law; a page of a sooty dictionary for teletype operators; and recycled images from book publisher catalogs (from the era before most of the catalogs went online, in other words, just a few years ago). Paper, cloth, wax. 5" x 7" on acid-free paper. {Sold}

Untitled

This is one of three digital collages created for the front of my business card. It's the most popular design, but that's not saying much since the cards are new. I'm a fan of digital art but am a reluctant digital artist; I prefer the challenge of seeing how many layers and effects can be achieved using scissors, paper, glue, paint, ink, etc. But I needed the cards fast and wanted to showcase a variety of images. In the end, it was a lot of fun making the pieces.

If the girl looks familiar, it's because she in the Dream house collage. But there's more of her here, she's been flipped and she's from a scan. I'm a scanning fiend. The thought of using, then, losing images is hard on me. Call it my Inner Librarian. I've turned dozens of the scans into simple black & white illustrations for transfers; some are being tweaked so they can be made into rubber stamps; and some pop up on greeting cards to friends and family. Hmm. Maybe I'm more of a digital artist than I thought?

False Sense of Security: 1

Since False Sense of Security: 2 was posted the other day, I thought I'd come back with the collage and fantastic 19th century engraving that triggered the series. 5" x 5" on acid-free paper. {Sold}

Brad's 35th birthday left him feeling off center

Brad started as a another techniques and composition practice session, this time in glazing a background, stenciling, and repetition. He took on a life of his own as the piece progressed. It always interests me to see how different a piece is at the end than I thought it would be at the beginning. I'll have to do a step-by-step post - when I remember to snap in-process photos, that is.  9" x 7" on archival mat board

Spring

This is one in a series of long, narrow collages that are part of an effort to try new shapes and sizes, and to - literally - make my work grow. It's a mixed-media piece that includes a vintage book jacket, hand-made lace painted with acrylics, a postcard back, an image transfer (bird in nest); and antique embroidery engravings at top and bottom from Peterson's Magazine. I'm wrestling with presenting these, that is, whether to mat them or make them wall hangings. 4.5" x 11.5" on canvas.