Artist blog about abstract figurative oil painting and contemporary collage. Discussion about painting in the studio and the creative process of painting abstract and impressionistic oil paintings.
As I paint or create collage, the work emerges and has its own ideas. For example, in this recent collage, the nascent, undeveloped idea was the image of a reclining figure.
This is the beginning, rough idea. We'll see how the collage emerges.
This is one of my latest collage works (in progress). The background paper in the upper part has not been adhered to the canvas with acrylic matte medium yet. I'm very interested in the figure. In particular, abstract figurative work. I lay down the shapes that feel "right". The dark/light pattern is important. In this body of work, I always have black threaded through the composition.
I always wanted to be an artist. I love the materials of art: the firmness of a hog bristle brush, the creamy thickness of oil paint, the texture of bark paper, the smell of plaster. I love stepping into the mystery of creation; not knowing what is going to happen and being astonished by the image that emerges. I'm drawn to exploring the reaches of the
imagination and the orphaned off parts of the self. I like to see what bubbles up from the unconscious mind.