Flowers in Art: Contemporary International Artists

Flowers in ArtI recently received some info on one of the upcoming books that will feature images of my artwork – Flowers in Art: Contemporary International Artists by Cindy Ann Coldiron. I’m excited to see the final product once it’s released in January 2013. Above is the cover art for the book, which looks pretty fantastic (not sure who the cover artists are just yet). Below is some additional info.

Book Description
Observe a quiet explosion of beautiful, humorous, and contemplative colorful images of two- and three-dimensional floral-themed artwork. Stunning pieces from more than fifty artists and designers, both well known, established, and emerging, from Ireland to Hungary, Finland, and Canada, and from coast to coast in the United States. This vibrant overview of the floral world includes photography, watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings, botanical drawings, pop art, glass, wood, ceramic, collage, Ikebana design, cutting-edge fractal art, and much more. Perfect for flower and art lovers, interior designers, museums, galleries, art collectors, art educators, artists, and for individuals needing inspiration from splashes of color.

Lipstick Lizard

Lipstick Lizard by collage artist Megan Coyle
Lipstick Lizard by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Lipstick Lizard.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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And the collage is finished! The lizard that inspired this collage lives at the National Zoo, and I noticed that its skin was a little pink around its lips. Thus the way it looked inspired the title.

And now I’m off to work on a turtle piece. The photos will be posted shortly.

The Jellyfish Club

The Jellyfish Club by collage artist Megan Coyle
“The Jellyfish Club.” Collage on paper. 18″x24″
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And it’s done…for now. I might revisit this one in the next few weeks. But in the meantime, I need to move forward and complete the rest of the critter collages in time for my July and August exhibits. Busy, busy!

Bosty goes to San Diego

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

Bosty hasn’t been traveling much these days. He’s been hibernating because of the cold weather but now that it’s spring, he doesn’t have any more excuses. So he headed west to wander around San Diego, CA.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

He was a little sad that he was too early for Comic-Con at the convention center. Better luck next year…But he did like the way the building looked at night.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

Since he couldn’t spend the next day reading comic books, he headed over to San Diego Zoo to catch some sunlight. He thought this sign was very misleading – “I didn’t even see one hippo lifeguard!”

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

He got to see lots of colorful flamingos.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

And a peacock that got loose on the grounds (Bosty later complained that my picture of the peacock cropped him out too much. He’s such a critic).

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

He thought about joining the panda for lunch, but didn’t think bamboo would fill him up enough.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

Although it seemed like the birdies had quite a feast of…well, he wasn’t quite sure what they were eating. So he gave in and stopped by one of the zoo’s cafes for a snack.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

Later, he wanted his picture taken in front of a warthog so he could look all the more handsome.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

And he liked comparing his pointy ears to the hyena’s.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

After San Diego, he decided to drive to the countryside to see all the modern-looking windmills.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

The fields weren’t too bad either.

Bosty goes to San Diego by Megan Coyle

Then it was back to San Diego to relax by the water and watch people fly kites in the park before heading home.

Toucan

Toucan by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Toucan.” Collage on paper. 9″x12″
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So the finished composition turned out a bit simpler than an earlier toucan collage that I completed a couple years ago. I seem to do quite a few bird collages. I think it’s because different bird species can be really colorful and are thus more interesting to use as subjects in my work. Anyway, I’m off to get started on a new lemur piece…

British School Caracas, Venezuela

A few months ago I received emails from several students who attend the British School in Caracas, Venezuela. The students were assigned to do a project on my work. This included writing a biography on my life, analyzing three of my collages, and then making three collages – one of which had to be a copy of one of my pieces, while the other two were their own creation that used my collage technique.

In April, several of the students’ collages – that copied my work or were inspired by my technique – were published in The Circle Gazette. The Circle Gazette is a publication that prints stories and artwork by students from around the world. The collages appeared in the center-spread of their April issue, which is pictured above and below.

It was great getting to see what the students did after exchanging emails with several of them about the project.

Here are my original collages alongside the students’ copies:

It was pretty impressive how close the students were able to get to the originals – especially with collage, which is such a hard medium to copy since you can never recreate the exact textures and fragments of photographs used. But I must say, they got pretty close!

All in all, it was fun getting to see their work. One of the things I enjoy most about being an artist is being able to inspire others. And it makes my day every time I hear from students and teachers that are using my collages in their classroom.