More Paint...Less Collage

"The Lesson in the Work"
30x40"
acrylic painting with collage


Circles seem to be a constant in my work of late.
I did a sun series last year around this time and now am working with the circle in a larger format.
My goal is to work abstractly and from the gut, so to speak.
Emotional responses to the paint, the composition and the size of the canvas.

Paint hasn't been the main media in my work in a long time.  It is collage that has taken the front seat.
These new works are larger.  I haven't done paintings of this size since my under graduate days and while there is collage here, it is taking a back seat to the acrylic paint.

I must say that I am having fun but I have a ways to go.

www.claremurrayadams.com

Hula Hoops and Hopscotch

"Hula Hoop and Hopscotch Memories"
24 x 30"
mixed media on paper

This piece sat for almost 2 weeks on my work table with the bottom part glued and the top part a mystery to me as to what to do with it.  My creative spirit got all caught up in those spirals on the bottom and couldn't seem to move forward.
Yesterday I just went into the studio with a devil may care attitude and came up with this.
Sometimes I need to let the muse take over.
She said "Don't over think it, Clare!"

www.claremurrayadams.com

When in Doubt...Collage

Mixed Media Collage on Board
11 x 14"

The underlying basis of this collage is a mono print.
The large pink area reveals what can still be seen of the mono print.
The rest of it is pretty buried in the layers of paint, fabric, shellac and sanded plaster.
Working abstractly, without any reference to an object or some real subject is difficult for me.
I don't mind if the final artwork references something to me or the viewer, but I really wanted here to just work with shape and composition, color and texture, without relying on a collaged image.
I wasn't able to do this successfully in the mono print alone.
But I feel I had more success once I started collaging, using the mono print as one of the contributing papers for the collage.

The Beauty of Working Small

Untitled
6x6"
mixed media collage on wood

As I move into the new year I have several art commitments coming up as well as a trip to New York City, so
I am once again working small and on a variety of ideas and imagery.
I have not forsaken the "Botanist's Journal Series".
I am still working on those pieces, just mixing it up a bit.
Actually the flower in this piece is from a copy of one of the Botany pieces (see Golden Poppy, Dec. 14 post).
Look for this new small piece on Etsy after the New Year.

There is something very satisfying about working small.
 Immediate results and a sense of accomplishment that often takes so long to achieve when working larger.
It also allows one to try new techniques or colors, imagery or abstraction and then analyze what works and what doesn't.
Just what I need right now.

Experiments with New Materials

"Remnants no. 001"
fabric,wire mesh,  hydrocal, encaustic paint, and found objects on board
9x9x 1.5"

In an effort to add more dimension to my 2D work and collages I am experimenting with some new materials.
The use of wire mesh and the hydrocal are the materials that are giving this work a deeper surface as well as some texture.
 
I feel that I work best when I have some kind of concept in mind.  Here I was thinking about the remnants of materials like fabric, wallpaper, and linoleum that one finds when remodeling or even after a disaster such as a flood or hurricane.
Hydrocal is a very hard plaster substance.  It is harder than ordinary plaster of paris.
I wanted the rigidity of this material because I felt it would hold the wire mesh in place and create a greater sense of depth,
making the layering that I like to do even more pronounced.

Many Techniques, Many Layers

Rust Belt Landscape
Mixed Media on Board

This started out as a demo for a workshop and actually made its way to finished product.
That doesn't always happen with my demos.  It did take a lot of work for me to get it to this stage.
Many revisions.  I was working with the rusting technique, burning, and painting.
The other 2 pieces in this series are more blue and cool colors, so it was a challenge to work with the pinks and browns here.

I really like incorporating found materials in my work.
With this piece I was able to use some found metal objects to create the rust stains on the piece, and then use those along with some actual rusted objects. The incorporation of the gold squares reference another form of alchemy where no tarnishing or patination has taken place.  I wanted the contrast of the bright, clean gold color along with the rusted areas. The idea of a landscape comes from the architectural nature of the artwork...buildings, doors, windows, fences.
Bright and clean.  Rusted and tarnished.
Like life.

Many techniques and layers...my signature.

From Paper Napkin to Art

Dinner Music
6x7" on board

I've had a package of paper napkins with silverware imagery on them for a while now.
The silverware is nicely rendered and looks like a set that my mom might have had.
I use them sparingly because I like them so much and it seems sad to have to discard them after using them for such a brief time.  So I decided if I were to use them in a collage that would give them some longevity.

It was fun to incorporate the silverware napkins with the sheet music.
And I allowed the wood to remain unpainted so this lends a natural and table top like appearance to the work.
The shadows were added with watercolor pencils and shellac sealed the work and deepened the color of the wood.

Simple, Yet Not Simplistic

Pages
8x8" mixed media collage

This is the last of the small collages for awhile.  Spare and thinly layered.  Simple without being simplistic.
I have started 3 other projects: an accordion fold book, a dimensional portrait (of sorts), and a sculpture using some cocoons or pods that I made with the stained tea bags.  These will be rather time consuming and depending on how I multi-task, I will post them in-progress and maybe not in order.
I am excited about all three and especially about moving from the more straightforward mixed media work into something more experimental.
The accordion fold book is the piece that is more grounded in what I usually do.
The sculptural piece is the most "out there" or experimental one.
And the portrait is somewhere in the middle of these 2 extremes (if they can even be called extremes).
Stay tuned!

Arch and Ivy

Arch and Ivy
8x8"  mixed media collage

The last few pieces (some of which I've posted and some not) have been heavily layered.
I wanted to go back to work with layers that are thinner thus revealing, not totally hiding, the ground or base layers.
As with much of my work, the materials and process influence my decisions.
The circle of ivy leaves was one of the original elements in this collage.
The archway developed or appeared as I added other papers and paint.
I am finding that the stained tea bag papers remain transparent so what ever is underneath still has some presence.
They also take paint well.  The arch appeared from the stained marks on the tea bag and was enhanced by some
watercolor paint.

Sneak Preview !

Window
mixed media collage  6x6"

Some works are more mixed media than others.
This one leans toward the very, very mixed media end of the scale.
Underneath what lies on top is a failed encaustic work that I sanded and scraped to make it a workable surface for other media.  There were still remnants of the original work on the board when I started to add more new media.  And I like working with those ghosts and histories.
But it was a struggle to get to this point.

This piece (and lots of my other pieces) will be with me at the Bellissimo Art Fair on Sunday July 19th.
Over 50 visual artists and artisans will be featured.
Come join us for art and wine in a beautiful setting.

5th Annual Bellissimo Fine Arts and Craft Show
Sunday July 19, 2015  12-5PM
Gervasi Vineyard
1700  55th Street NE
Canton, OH 44721

Starting and Stopping

Adobe
mixed media collage  6x6"

When I made the piece called "Greenhouse" (see May 29th post) I thought I was starting a series of pieces with house shapes in them.  As I worked on this piece it started looking just like "Greenhouse"...similar colors, definitely the same pointed roof shape, and positioned in the same place on the page.  So I really struggled to get what I have here.  I do like this as an end product but feel ambivalent about the house series idea.  I find this disconcerting since much of my early quilt work (we are talking 1980's here!) was based on architecture...doors, windows, arches etc.

I don't want to repeat what I have done in the past but I feel like it is territory that I am familiar with and can reinvent.
Now I am not so sure.

As I think about the problems / struggles I am having in the studio right now I feel I can attribute some of it to being away from the studio on a regular basis.  I was out of town for a few days, and getting the garden in and the flower beds weeded has been time consuming.  Perhaps I am just making excuses for myself.  But I do find that starting and stopping work can be problematic.
I lose the thread and continuity of my intentions.
The flow of ideas and process becomes fractured.
Discontent and insecurity set in.

I think these thoughts are as much a part of the process as the actual making of work.

Wine and Dine

Wine and Dine
mixed media collage  8x8"

I have a stash of paper napkins that have a set of silverware printed on them.  Up until now, I've used them sparingly...for special dinners, special company...because I like them so much and can't seem to find them again.
 I discovered that I can split the backing from the front image. They then become rather transparent when used in a collage.  Especially when I shellac over them.

In this piece I appliquéd them over top of the bottle images and they appear is if they are inside of the bottles, making a fun play on the idea of Wine and Dine.

For sale in my Etsy Shop for $85 including shipping.

Creative Needs

Greenhouse
6x6" mixed media collage

Playing around with a house shape and plaster, shellac and paint.
I don't play enough.
 Need to play and experiment more.
Need to embrace the accidents.
Need to push the process.
Need to trust my instincts.
Need more time in the studio.
Need a concept.
Does needing a concept contradict the need to play?
Time to find out.

Integrating and Unifying

At the End of the Road
6x6"

This was total play!  I did not start out with an idea of what I wanted at the end.  The only preconceived element was that I would create some texture in plaster with a cotton doily I have.  As with much of my work, it is mixed media...very mixed media!  In the layers of the collage there are found papers, part of a photocopy of one of my artworks, plaster, shellac, watercolor and acrylic paint.  I worked back and forth between all of these elements, sometimes sanding the layers with my mouse sander.  I applied the shellac and used the sander the way one might apply paint or erase out charcoal or graphite.

Because plaster and shellac take time to dry between layers, I find that I can multi-task, working on several pieces at one time.  What happens in one piece often becomes something I incorporate into some of the other pieces depending on what else is going on in them.  I like that when I look at the finished works I often can't tell the order of my process.
For me this is the definition of truly integrating all of the elements into a unified whole.

Back to Work

Swing
6x6"

So...finally I am back in the studio!  I still have gardening to do, but I feel like I can start to balance home and garden with the studio.  In the past, because I was teaching, summer was my studio time and the rest of the year was for teaching.  Now, I can flip-flop that and concentrate on artwork in the winter months and the garden and home in the summer.We will see how that works out.
So you have here another tea bag painting...a transfer of an original artwork onto a tea bag enhanced with water color and stitching.  I like the intimacy of these small pieces.  There is a freshness to them and an unexpected quality of play.

Foundations of a Visual Vocabulary

Variations on a Theme no. 10
8x10"

Here is the final piece in this mostly white /light series.
It has been both fun and challenging to work with this palette using collage.
You can see more color sneaking in when you notice the image in the lower right hand corner.
As I observe and analyze this piece I also see the use of imagery that I started with earlier in the blog...
the circles, the use of notations via music notes and shorthand papers along with the ladder form.
It seems to me that one's visual vocabulary has a foundation of images, shapes, forms, color, and technique that
become truly one's individual identity and artistic voice.
The circles and notations, the stitching and collage, the plaster and shellac are that foundation for me.

You can find this piece for sale in my Etsy shop.

Dimension and Depth

Variations on a Theme no. 9
8x10"

Series is almost done.  One more to go.
I have always enjoyed working in white and light tones, usually using paint.
Returning to this palette for awhile has been good...both challenging as I looked for a variety of materials to use
as well as exciting to create collages with limited color.
The use of plaster adds dimension with its texture and the shellac adds depth with its amber glaze.

Jeff's Leaf

Jeff's Leaf
3x3" floating in a 6x6" box

Transfer of an original collage onto a used tea bag.
More color was added with watercolor paint, shellac and pen and ink.
French Knots to embellish.
I need to drink more tea;  I am almost out of tea bags to repurpose!

Mended Door, Tea Bag Painting

Mended Door
3.5 x 3.5" recessed in a 6x6" frame

I received a comment yesterday about the tea bag painting of a poppy addressing the stitching on a piece so small.
(Thanks, Heather!)
The stitching in that piece was on the original collage that I resized and then transferred to the tea bag.
In this piece you can see the size of the stitches and that they are sort of out of proportion to the rest of the painting.
The used tea bags are somewhat fragile, depending on what kind of tea bags they are, how long I let them sit before I emptied out the contents, etc.
I don't mind the small tears and holes.  I think they add a certain character that is authentic to the fact that it is a recycled material.  In this piece I added more watercolor paint, pen and ink lines for definition and some shellac.  The shellac adds more strength to the piece without affecting negatively the translucency of the tea bag.
The artwork is not mounted directly onto the inside of the box, but raised on some foam core so that it appears to float within the box.

Priced at $50.  To purchase, please visit my Etsy shop.