Collage

After spending years drawing portraits, I decided to investigate the process of creating abstract collage using representational images. The resulting series of small collages takes representational images—sometimes altered and disfigured by scratching, erasing, tearing and smearing—and places them with many other elements to create a moody and vibrant abstract space. These collages in turn become the basis for large paintings.

The compositions are independent of scale—small collages become large paintings—and color, shape, and subject matter are combined to create an abstract pictorial space. The backgrounds can range from placid impressions to charged, nervous settings for altered objects placed in front. The juxtaposed images somehow relate to one another within the abstract composition. Color is an important factor; the relationship between the colors used is comparable to the juxtaposition of dissimilar images. These are varied and have included religious figures and symbols, plants, animals, fish, body parts, food, fragments of forms and textures from nature, and archaeology- and ethnic-culture-related objects.

Multiple panels are often created to link color, objects, and atmospheric space into a single artistic composition. A triptych is sometimes used, in which a center panel is sandwiched between left and right panels to connect these two outward elements into a single visual statement.