The Otter Sisters

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"The Otter Sisters"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

I have to admit that one of my favorite things about collage is how it's always a surprise how a collage will turn out. Sometimes you can find some pretty interesting textures and patterns in magazines, and when they are cut a certain way - voilà, it all comes together. Other times you can end up with some pretty unsatisfactory results, but all in all, it's an exciting process. I was pleasantly surprised with "The Otter Sisters" - at first I wasn't too sure what to think of it. But after setting it aside for a while, then returning to work on it briefly, I was happy with the mix of texture on the otters and in the background.

Progress Picture #1: The Otter Sisters

The sketch for another large animal collage - this piece is 18"x24". It's inspired by another trip to the National Zoo, where a couple of otters were staring out at the tourists walking by. And they didn't seem thrilled to get their picture taken.

Hippo's Day Out

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"Hippo's Day Out"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

This piece was inspired by Happy the Hippo who used to live at the National Zoo. Aside from the meerkats, Happy was one of my favorite animals to visit there. Unfortunately they moved him to Milwaukee Zoo in 2009, although he must be happier there since he's around other hippos. Anyway, the above collage is inspired by the many times I stopped by the zoo and Happy was outside in his pool. He'd hold his breath underwater for several minutes, as impatient tourists would stand by with cameras ready when he'd resurface. Whenever he did resurface, it was only for a few seconds before plunging back down into the water.

I'm currently working away on several new animal collages. And I've also started thinking about taking a break from exhibiting my work in galleries. I'd kinda like to focus on other projects instead of taking on the workload of promoting exhibits...we shall see what I end up doing...

Progress Picture #1: Hippo's Day Out

Here's another sketch for an animal collage that I'm going to do. I've got quite a few animal collages that will need to be finished and ready for display later on in the year. I'm looking forward to all the upcoming shows, but whew, what a lot of work I have ahead of me...

Polar Bear

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"Polar Bear"
Collage on panel
10"x10"

This is one of the few collages I've done on panel. "Polar Bear" was actually created specifically for a fundraiser art show - "March ARTreach" - which will be up at the Target Gallery from March 3rd - 18th, 2012. I wanted to make something that was somewhat simple and featured an animal. What can I say? I'm in an animal phase.

Anyway, the exhibit features several works of art made on 10"x10" wood panels that the gallery provided. Every work of art on display is for sale for $150 ($100 during the Art Party on March 16th). All proceeds from sales will benefit the Target Gallery's 2012 outreach programming and the March of Dimes.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the other artists did with their 10"x10" panels!

And I hope everyone had a happy Leap Day!

Fine Dining for Pandas

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"Fine Dining for Pandas"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

This was inspired by the two giant pandas at the National Zoo. It seems like every time I pay a visit, they're always busy chowing down. I suppose it takes a lot of work to maintain their panda figures.

Artist Talk for "A Palette of Paper"

Yesterday I had my artist talk at the Center for the Arts, Caton Merchant Family Gallery for the solo show "A Palette of Paper." I thought I'd share a few photos from the event (thanks to my photographer Ben!).

The gallery is inside an old candy factory, so it has a really unique look and feel.

At the front of the art center, there's information about the old candy factory that used to be in business there. Here's an image that shows the different shapes of the candy.

Right when you walk inside the building, the first thing you see are the glass doors to the art gallery. Here I am giving my artist talk.

And here's another angle of the talk. It's a pretty spacious gallery - and definitely one of the best venues where I've shown my work.

After a long day of mingling, I decided pose like the monkey in my "Orange Monkey" collage.

Anyway, thanks to all the folks who were able to make it out to the Manassas talk! It was a fun day!