Megan Coyle: Collage Artist

Cuddling Meerkats

2012-02-12T13:48:00.004-05:00

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"Cuddling Meerkats"

Collage on paper

18"x24"

Here's the finished collage - I decided to make the background dark to make the meerkats look a little more dramatic or at least stand out more. They turned into quite the characters - perhaps my next children's book should star a meerkat...

And while I'm on the topic of meerkats - I got an early Valentine's Day gift from Ben. He knows that meerkats are one of my favorite animals, so he donated money to the National Zoo to their meerkat exhibit. And by "adopting a species" for me, I received a couple of stuffed animal meerkats as well as a few other treats in the mail:

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely week. It's beginning to finally feel like winter around here.

"A Palette of Paper" Preview

2012-02-09T19:20:00.002-05:00

My solo show, "A Palette of Paper," went up yesterday. I didn't have an opening reception for this one, but I'm going to have an artist talk a week from this Saturday. It's been a while since my last talk - we shall see how this one goes!

The gallery director was kind enough to send a few pictures of the installed exhibit (I have yet to see it in person!). The space is gorgeous - I love the wood floors and the lighting, and it's wonderful how the artist's name gets printed across the gallery's glass door.

The folks at the gallery installed the show for me, which makes things a lot easier on my end. Sometimes it can take hours and hours for me to install a show. You'd think at this point I'd be a pro at it - but alas, no. Every show seems to have a different way of displaying my work - nail in the wall, hooks that attach to the molding at the top of the walls, etc.

Anyway, I like what they did with the place. And I'm looking forward to seeing everything when I stop by for my artist talk.

Progress Picture #1: Cuddling Meerkats

2012-02-06T18:33:00.003-05:00

The sketch for my next animal piece - this collage is inspired by yet another trip to the National Zoo. This time I couldn't get over how adorable the meerkats were - they looked like they were cuddling in one big pile of four/five critters.

A Palette of Paper (Solo Show)

2012-02-02T00:47:00.003-05:00

Front view

Back view

So my upcoming solo show is just around the corner! "A Palette of Paper" will be on display at the Center for the Arts, Caton Merchant Family Gallery in Manassas, VA. The art gallery is beautiful - and the art center is in a building that used to be an old candy factory. I can't wait to take pictures of the installed exhibit and share them. There will be around thirty collages that will include portraits, animals, cityscapes, and landscapes.

I'm delivering the work to the gallery in the next couple of days. The show will go up on February 8th and will run until March 22nd. I'm giving an artist talk on February 18th.

Here's the gallery's description of the show:

If you can imagine how scissors plying through everyday magazines can give an outcome of surprising and masterful art, then you might imagine the incredible collages of Megan Coyle. Working in classic art genres, Megan breaks down her images piece by piece, evolving them from bits of magazines into whole new, amazing compositions.

Tree Baby (Firefox)

2012-01-29T13:50:00.003-05:00

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"Tree Baby (Firefox)"

Collage on paper

16"x12"

And here's the finished red panda cub. These little critters are so cute in person!

I'm currently working on several large animal collages - around 18"x24" - that will be used in an upcoming exhibition. I'm also doing a bit of preliminary work for a 2d animation that I hope to put together at some point. Busy, busy!

Progress Picture #2: Tree Baby (Firefox)

2012-01-24T20:33:00.003-05:00

Looks like I've been posting lots of sketches and then completed collages. So here you go - a not-quite-finished image of the "Tree Baby" collage. I had a lot of fun with the bark texture, and of course, perusing all my photos of red pandas.

Progress Picture #1: Tree Baby (Firefox)

2012-01-23T20:21:00.003-05:00

Here's the sketch for my latest red panda collage. It was inspired by a trip to the zoo not so long ago. The National Zoo has a couple of red pandas who recently had a couple of cubs, and the other day the entire family was out and about. They were pretty active, so I took a bunch of pictures of them. This sketch is based off of a couple of pictures I took of a cub that climbed into a tree.

What Are You Looking At? (Orangutan)

2012-01-19T18:33:00.005-05:00

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"What Are You Looking At?" (Orangutan)
Collage on paper
16"x12"

Here's the finished orangutan. I'm currently working on several animal collages since I'll have two overlapping solo shows this summer. The shows will only feature my animal collage work, thus I'll need quite a bit of work available to display. So I'm off - gotta keep busy!

Progress Picture #1: What Are You Looking At?

2012-01-16T15:31:00.003-05:00

Here's the sketch I did for one of my latest animal collages - an orangutan from the National Zoo. I get the majority of my animal collage inspiration from the zoo, and thank goodness there's one nearby. I've been busy working on a series of new animal collages for my upcoming solo show in North Charleston, SC as well as another show I'm having in one of the Alexandria City Galleries. Both exhibitions aren't until the summer, but I might as well get started now - it'll be a busy summer!

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! I've been having a very relaxing three-day weekend - just taking it easy and getting lots of rest.

Fluffy the Chinchilla Portraits

2012-01-08T23:30:00.005-05:00

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"Fluffy the Chinchilla - Profile"
Collage on paper
7"x5"

Above and below are the finished portraits I did of Fluffy the Chinchilla. They were my first ever chinchilla portraits, and I had a lot of fun making them. The client had some great Fluffy photos that I used as references for these.

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"Fluffy the Chinchilla - Front"
Collage on paper
7"x5"

And now I'm off to work on a red panda collage. Hope everyone has a great week!

Progress Picture #1: Fluffy the Chinchilla - Profile

2012-01-05T23:04:00.002-05:00

Here's the sketch I did for the second portrait of Fluffy the chinchilla. This one turned out to be my favorite of the two - I'll post the two finished works of art soon.

At the moment I'm trying to create a few new collages for my upcoming solo exhibits. The first one is in February, so I've got quite a bit of work ahead of me.

Progress Picture #1: Fluffy the Chinchilla - Front

2012-01-03T23:20:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year! Doesn't quite feel like 2012 yet - perhaps because it's just beginning to feel like winter here in DC.

Anyway, above is a quick sketch that I did before working on one of the Fluffy the Chinchilla portraits. I was commissioned to do two, small portraits that were about 7"x5". Each collage shows a different angle of Fluffy. As you can see above, the sketch isn't quite accurate but it gave me enough detail to go ahead and dive into cutting and pasting paper.

And now I'm off to tackle a new animal collage. Have an artful week!

Reflections on 2011

2011-12-30T17:44:00.011-05:00

2011 has been a wonderful year, filled with lots of firsts. I'm so grateful that I get to do what I love every day. So, to celebrate the upcoming year, here are 12 things that occurred this past year:

1) Finished illustrating and writing my first children's book, Duck & Fish

2) Had my first radio interview

3) Was published for the first time in a national craft magazine - Somerset Studio

4) Had one of my collages published in a major newspaper for the first time - the Washington Post.

5) First time having my artwork appear on a celebrity's website - Conan O'Brien

6) My artwork was accepted to be published in a book on Flower Art - which will be my first art book publication.

7) Created an education section for my website. Every year, students and teachers contact me to get more information about my artwork and process, so I figured I'd make things easier for them by creating an education section. I made sure to include process pictures, online lesson plans, and even matching games and puzzles for younger kids.

8) First time having my artwork make an appearance on TV - even though it was only shown briefly, and on a local news station in North Carolina, it still counts :)

9) Donated a work of art for the first time to a nonprofit called The Cure Starts Now.

10) Created my first series of text collages called "Art for Everyone."

11) Ran my first day-long collage workshop

12) Lots of traveling for exhibits - solo show in Jasper, IN; group exhibit in Richmond, Kentucky; group exhibit in Lexington, NC

Overall, I'm grateful I had so many opportunities this year. I'm excited to see what 2012 will bring. And I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Grandfather and Grandson

2011-12-26T16:36:00.003-05:00

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"Grandfather and Grandson"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

Here's one of the holiday commissions I completed a couple months ago. My client wanted me to make a collage of her friend with his grandson. Since this piece wasn't the smallest size I work in, it wasn't as difficult to collage two figures on the 9"x12" area. However, since 9"x12" is still somewhat small, it was a bit of a challenge to get the likeness down properly for the grandson. I did have a bit of fun collaging all those colorful badges on the grandfather's jacket.

I have a few more collages that I completed this year that I'll post in the next couple of weeks. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great December!

Bosty Gets Pancakes at Chapel Hill

2011-12-21T21:25:00.006-05:00

Bosty outdid himself this time - he made the trek all the way to Chapel Hill, NC to get himself a big stack of pancakes at his favorite cafe, Crook's.

Then he met me for a stroll around town. He liked getting in the way whenever I took artsy pictures. Or any pictures, really.

After an hour, Bosty headed back to Crook's for another helping of pancakes. I joined him for a cup of coffee. Brrr, it gets cold in Carolina in December.

Later he helped me uninstall my artwork in Lexington, NC from the "Out of the Wild" exhibit. The show had animal artwork and a taxidermy collection. So we decided to pose beside the animals.

Bosty wasn't sure if he liked posing around the wildcats. They looked a little too big and fierce.

And he wasn't convinced that I looked like I was running when I posed next to the galloping zebra. That Bosty is a tough one to please!

It's All About the Little Things Group Exhibit

2011-12-18T12:43:00.002-05:00

This weekend I did some gallery sitting for the Del Ray Artisans' group exhibit, "It's All About the Little Things." I took a few pictures of my pieces that are up in the exhibit - above and below you can see images of my "Mr. Quackers," "Scottish Terrier," and "Ragamuffin" mini collages. The show featured small works of art by local artists.

The last day of the exhibit is actually today. And then the next show on my plate is a solo show in Manassas, Virginia in February.

Studio Update: Art Equals Joy

2011-12-15T00:26:00.003-05:00

"Art Equals Joy"
Collage on paper
5"x7"

So things have been pretty busy these days. I know I keep saying that - I suppose life keeps getting busier and busier because of all the new projects I start tackling all at once. At the moment, I've finished my last bit of holiday commission work (I'll post images of the commissioned pieces after the holidays). I'm also steadily working on a couple of collaborations and will post images from those projects somewhat soon. And aside from that, I've been busy applying to exhibitions and planning my upcoming exhibitions.

Anyway, I need to start making a few new collages since after all, art = joy. And as always, I'll post progress pictures of those when I get to it.

I hope everyone is having a lovely December!

Landscape

2011-11-29T21:58:00.004-05:00

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"Landscape"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

This is a piece that I completed a few days ago. My client wanted me to make an abstract landscape, somewhat similar to "The Artist from a Distance" collage. So now I just need to frame it and deliver it to its new home. I'm also beginning to do a bit of work on my first chinchilla portrait. Chinchillas sure are cute!

Anyway, I'm off to run a few errands. And I can't believe it's almost December and before long it will be 2012. Wow, it still blows my mind how fast a year can creep by.

Abstract Fields

2011-11-21T21:44:00.003-05:00

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"Fields"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

This was one of the background pieces I created for the Birdy animation project. We ended up using a different collage for the project, but I thought I'd share this one as well. This piece is a bit abstract and uses a lot of rectangular strips of paper - which is what I usually use with scapes.

Noah

2011-11-16T18:42:00.004-05:00

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"Noah"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

And here's the completed collage of the smiling dog. Looking back at all the previous commission work I've done, it looks like dog portraits have been the most popular subject. When it comes to tackling pet portraits, I've found that it helps a lot if the subject is a happy-looking pup.

In other news, you can check out my article that was just published on Bourgeon Online - Art is a Story. I discuss the writing and illustrating process for Duck & Fish as well as the storytelling I do with my other art projects.

Progress Picture #1: Noah

2011-11-13T19:05:00.003-05:00

Here's the sketch I did for my latest commission piece, a portrait of a dog named Noah. In the reference photo I'm using for this one, Noah looks like one happy dog. I always enjoy tackling portraits of smiling dogs - they're too fun!

In other news, I'm still working away on a couple of collaborations and will post progress pictures of those projects sometime in the future. I also need to change gears a bit and work on some new artwork for my upcoming solo shows in 2012. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Test Animation of Birdy

2011-11-04T00:56:00.004-04:00

Here's the latest progress on the Birdy animation - a collaboration I'm working on with my brother Brendan Coyle. This video is just a test animation for the project.

And to break down some of the textured components used for this piece, here are the collages I created:

I made a couple collages for possible backgrounds - this is the one we went with.

Here's the bark collage texture used for the tree.

My brother took these collages and either wrapped them around 3d models or put them on different planes.

I'm thinking I'll create another birdy for this guy to interact with and then we can create more of a scene. We shall see...

In other news, I was the Artist of the Week on E-junkie. You can read my interview with them on their website.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-29T13:43:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Above and below are a couple Halloween-themed text collages I created for my "Art for Everyone" series.

Illustration on Conan O'Brien's Website

2011-10-21T18:30:00.007-04:00

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"Conan"
Collage on mat board
7"x5"

Today the Team Coco crew let me know that my artwork is now on Conan O'Brien's website. I put together this mini collage the other day as part of my effort to start up a series of famous faces. I'd like to sharpen my illustration skills with capturing the likeness of well-known figures.

And I thought I'd share my favorite Conan quote with you:

"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen."
— Conan O’Brien.

Anyway, I'm off to start the weekend. Looks like I'll have a chance to put in a few hours of studio work too.

Art for Everyone

2011-10-19T19:04:00.004-04:00

The other day I decided to try something a little different - collaging words and phrases. Instead of cutting out strips of colorful, textured paper for portraits or landscapes, I decided to focus on words.

This new series was inspired by some of my previous work, like the above collage called "Snowflakes." "Snowflakes" was a commissioned piece where I cut out bits and pieces of black paper to make the lettering for an Alice Childress quote.

This new text series is called "Art for Everyone," where I'm collaging art or art-related words and phrases. Instead of focusing on one color for the text, I'm using a variety of textures and colors. I'm also experimenting with different ways of making letters look more like simple shapes.

You can check-out more pieces in the series as I list them in my "Art for Everyone" Etsy section.

3d Collage Character Study: Birdy in a Tree

2011-10-17T20:05:00.007-04:00

A few days ago I mentioned that my brother (an animator in NYC) and I worked on a 3d collage character study (Birdy). Recently I collaged a background for Birdy, and worked on some bark texture and a few collaged leaves. Above you can see what Birdy looks like in his new environment.

Above is another image of Birdy, although this time a filter has been applied to the image.

Now all we need to do is animate the little guy and have him say a few lines.

Papirmasse in the Mail

2011-10-14T19:16:00.005-04:00

The other week I got my copy of Papirmasse in the mail, which is a publication based in Canada that features prints of artwork alongside writing. I was thrilled to be part of the September postcard edition, and was happy to get ten postcard-sized prints of artwork in the mail. Just look at them all! Looks like I have quite a few more prints to add to my bulletin board.

On each postcard, there's a print of a work of art on one side (above is a print of my "Snorkeling" collage).

And on the other side is a short piece of writing.

Meet the Bostons - Ivy and Molly

2011-10-10T12:51:00.003-04:00

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"Meet the Bostons - Ivy and Molly"
Collage on paper
12"x16"

And here's the final collage. Those two Bostons sure look like they're having a lot of fun...

So Bosty decided to squeeze into the picture.

Progress Picture #4: Meet the Bostons - Ivy and Molly

2011-10-07T18:25:00.002-04:00

And it's almost complete! The next image I'll post of these two will be the finished collage. Here you can see I've developed the dogs more and have almost covered the entire background with magazine strips.

Progress Picture #3: Meet the Bostons - Ivy and Molly

2011-10-05T20:33:00.003-04:00

Just a couple more progress pictures and then you'll see the finished image of this piece. At this point I blocked out the color in the background more and started piecing together bits and pieces of paper on top of the dog sketches. I really enjoyed collaging these two - they look so happy.

Anyway, I'm off to start working on a collaboration project for a 3d animated character study. Hopefully I'll have something to share somewhat soon.

Progress Picture #2: Meet the Bostons - Ivy and Molly

2011-10-03T22:02:00.003-04:00

Here's the next stage of the Bostons collage. You can see I've started to block out the color in the background as well as parts of the dogs. These Bostys have got me thinking that I should work on some more dog and cat collages in the future. But for the time being, I'm busy busy with commission work, collaborations, and a few portraits. Whew! More progress pictures/completed collage images to come soon.

Progress Picture #1: Meet the Bostons - Ivy and Molly

2011-09-26T19:43:00.004-04:00

I finished the commissioned portrait of a couple of Boston Terriers the other day, so I figured I should start posting some progress pictures of the piece. Here's the sketch I did before any magazine strips were cut and pasted down. The dogs don't look entirely like Bostons yet, but I was able to map out the basics of the dogs' expressions. They look pretty happy, don't they?

Artwork Published in the Washington Post

2011-09-25T17:21:00.004-04:00

One of my collages appeared in the Washington Post today. If you check out the Arts section, you'll see a black and white version of my collage "Bren."

It's always nice to find your work in print.

Birdy Animation

2011-09-24T14:23:00.003-04:00

About a year ago my brother (an animator in NYC) and I got started on a collaborative project. We put together a 3d character study of a bird. Now we've decided to revisit the birdy character and give him an environment. We might even animate him and have him say a few lines. Anyway, above is an image that my brother created to help plan out the birdy's environment. Now the ball is in my court and I need to come up with collaged texture for the tree branch, leaves, and create a collage landscape scene that we'll add into the background.

Papirmasse: The September Issue

2011-09-15T21:14:00.007-04:00

Here's the image that Papirmasse put together to advertise all their artists in the September issue - can you tell which one is mine? You can take a look at all the art and writing in more detail on their website.

At the moment, I'm still working away on some commissioned portraits. The dog portrait has been a lot of fun - it's an image of two Boston Terriers (I hope Bosty doesn't get too jealous). The reference photos the client sent me are just fantastic - these dogs are so expressive! Can't wait to share the progress pictures!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Studio Update: Keeping Busy

2011-09-12T20:20:00.003-04:00

This image says it all - aside from working away on artwork all summer, I spent quite a bit of time drinking cups of coffee to stay awake and alert. I have a tendency of not sleeping very much, mainly because I'm a busy body - I always have something on my plate that I'd like to work on. And oddly enough, the less sleep I get, the more alert I feel in the morning, whereas the more sleep I get, the more tired I feel. Anyway, what were you up to this summer? Any traveling across the country/world? I just made a trek to North Carolina for a long weekend so I could install my artwork in the "Out of the Wild" exhibit. Other than that, my travels have been limited to wandering around DC.

My blog has been a bit quiet this year - I've been bogged down with work for Duck & Fish and recently I took on several commissioned projects. I'll post progress pictures of the commissioned pieces sometime in the future. I'm also going to take a few classes this year in graphic design and web design - I'm always eager to learn more about other creative outlets.

In other news, the "Out of the Wild" exhibit received a bit of press coverage from a local news station. Also, a writer from my college Elon University wrote an article on my work as an artist - "In The Spotlight: Megan Coyle '08."

Anyway, I'm off to get started on a commissioned dog portrait. I hope to post a progress picture or two somewhat soon.

Postcard Artist for September Issue of Papirmasse

2011-09-05T13:04:00.006-04:00

This is being re-posted from Papirmasse's interview with me that was posted on their website today. I'm excited to be one of the featured artists in the September issue of their publication. Papirmasse's postcard contest garnered entries from all over the world. If you would like to receive this issue, which consists of 10 postcards with art and writing, subscribe by September 10.

P: Who are you and what do you do?

MC: I’m Megan Coyle – a collage artist and illustrator currently based in the Washington, D.C. area. I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia and studied creative writing and painting at Elon University. Since then, I’ve focused on making collages by layering bits and pieces of magazine pages. I’m drawn to art that’s made from one material but looks as though it’s made from an entirely different material – something I try to do with my own work.My artwork has been displayed in various solo and group exhibitions around the U.S. And recently, my collages appeared in the national craft publication Somerset Studio magazine.

P: Sum up your style in one sentence.

MC: “Painting with paper” – where I recreate the look and feel of a painting through the manipulation of magazine strips.

P: What projects are you working on right now?

MC: I recently finished writing and illustrating my first children’s book, Duck & Fish. It’s a story about a mallard duck and flying fish that switch places – Duck goes on an adventure in the depths of the ocean, while Fish explores the sky.I made about thirty paper collage illustrations for the book, and now that it’s complete I’m working on promoting it. Later this year I’d like to tackle another children’s book, so I hope to start brainstorming more storylines soon. I’m also working on a few lesson plans. A couple months back I put together an education section for my website. It was inspired by the students and teachers that contact me every year asking questions about my work. So I decided I should make things easier for them by putting together some materials for bringing collage into the classroom. I’m working on expanding this new section by putting together a couple new online lesson plans. I’m also dabbling with video editing programs since I’m interested in putting together video tutorials that share my work and technique with others.And in between work for these major projects, I’ve been busy collaging commission work and new art for upcoming exhibitions.

P: What did you do on your summer vacation?

MC: Lots of traveling to neighboring towns and major cities along the East Coast. I like exploring new places for inspiration. I like all the colors and excitement that places have to offer, and I’m constantly taking pictures of the interesting things I find. I often use my photographs for references for future works of art. So even when I’m traveling, even after a long weekend in New York City or another big city, I still have art on my mind.

I find I’m happiest when I’m constantly busy, but every once in a while I venture off to the beach to take a break, sprawl out, close my eyes, and listen to the water. After all, when it’s summertime it’s nice to clear your head and lounge around.

Mallard Duck

2011-08-28T18:36:00.003-04:00

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"Mallard Duck"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

I had a lot of fun with this one - I focused mainly on texture and tried to stay away from solid colors (although I still went ahead and added a few solid color shapes to this). I didn't take any progress pictures of the "Mallard Duck," because I was in the zone while working on him. After I completed this piece, I realized that it may have been inspired by all the mallard ducks I collaged for Duck & Fish.

So in my last post I mentioned we had an earthquake here. Then this weekend we had a hurricane alert for Irene. I heard lots of people swarmed the stores for milk and bread, although I stocked up on books and green tea to read my way through the storm. Turns out it only lasted a day, and it wasn't that bad at all. Just got a bit of rain and strong winds. The only casualty was our grill that got knocked over, but no damage was done to anything near us. Hope everyone else stayed safe during the storm!

Red Coffee Cup

2011-08-24T21:40:00.002-04:00

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"Red Coffee Cup"
Collage on mat board
5"x7"

I completed this piece a while ago and then I put a stack of magazines on it and forgot about it. While sifting through magazines as I worked on piecing together another collage, I found this one again. It was only made with coated paper, and for some reason the solid colors didn't look right. So I went ahead and started cutting out bits and pieces of texture from magazines until the collage looked like the image above. Temporarily losing this work of art helped me in the end - I was able to look at it with a fresh pair of eyes and make adjustments that made the collage more colorful.

In other news...did you hear? D.C. felt an earthquake yesterday. I thought it was construction and didn't think twice, but when folks started evacuating from all the buildings on the street, I decided I should follow suit. It was strange feeling the floor beneath me shaking. Reminds me of the earthquake we had last year - which was much smaller than yesterday's. Last year, I stayed up until five o'clock in the morning working on a project - felt my chair vibrating and saw my computer monitor shaking, thought I must be hallucinating from sleep deprivation and decided to call it a night and go to sleep. Didn't realize what had happened until I read the news the next day. Craziness.

Benjamin in Deep Thought

2011-08-21T16:37:00.004-04:00

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"Benjamin in Deep Thought"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

After I thought I was finished with this portrait a couple weeks ago, I realized it needed a little more editing. So recently I did a little more collaging on it before I decided to declare it "finished." I'm not entirely happy with the result, but sometimes you just need to tell yourself you're finished with a work of art so you can keep moving forward. This piece was a bit of a struggle since it had been a while since I last tackled a portrait.

I have a couple more collages that I'll post soon. And at the moment I've gotten started with a couple new commissions, so I'll post progress pictures of those as well. I'm already getting some commission work that will be given as Christmas gifts, so I'll wait until after the holidays to post images of those pieces.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend! And I can't believe it will be September before long...

Bosty goes to Chapel Hill

2011-08-15T21:49:00.009-04:00

Bosty decided to join us on our trip to Lexington, North Carolina for my "Out of the Wild" group exhibit. He really wanted to check out Chapel Hill - so we were on the road again.

We ran into a bit of traffic getting out of Washington, D.C., which made Bosty a little impatient.

But eventually we made it to Chapel Hill. First stop? Crook's Corner for a bite to eat. Bosty really wanted to go there because of the pig on the roof. He thinks they should call it "Bosty's Corner" with a mini sculpture of him on the top.

We ordered some good 'old shrimp and grits. When we weren't watching our plates, Bosty decided to sample our food. He had quite a few samples by the end of the meal.

He liked the decor of the courtyard - they had lots of bamboo that made him feel like he was lounging in a jungle.

The next day we strolled around UNC's campus. Bosty decided that all my snapshots weren't picturesque unless he starred in them.

He got a little too excited when we walked by a construction site. Bosty really wanted to play on all the trucks and machines. We didn't want him horsing around there, so we decided to call it a day for this dog.

Out of the Wild Installation

2011-08-14T22:15:00.008-04:00

The other day we drove down to Lexington, North Carolina to install my artwork for the "Out of the Wild" exhibit. Seven of my animal collages will be on display from August 16th until December 12th at Davidson County Community College.

The artwork is installed in the lobby of the Mendenhall Administration Building.

Five of my collages are on the first floor. Above is a picture of Ben and myself - he was a big help with installing and shipping my artwork.

Then here's the staircase that goes to the second floor where you can find two more of my collages.

The exhibit coordinator is in the process of putting together a display of all the artists' postcards for the show. There's a total of nine artists in the juried exhibit.

After installing the show, I took a quick snapshot of the exterior of the building where the exhibit will be held. It was one busy day!

Purple Beagle

2011-08-11T19:11:00.003-04:00

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"Purple Beagle"
Collage on mat board
5"x7"

Another day, another doggie collage. I thought I'd have my latest portrait, "Benjamin in Deep Thought," ready for a blog post soon, but after glancing over the latest picture of the piece I realized there were a few revisions that I wanted to dive in with and complete. So alas, I'm sharing a smaller animal collage that was completed somewhat recently.

Lately I've been dabbling with some film work - figuring out how to work with editing, lighting, etc. Perhaps sometime in the future I'll tackle a few collage-related film pieces. We shall see...

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a glorious week - and happy-almost-Friday!

Opening for MiniSolos

2011-08-06T18:40:00.007-04:00

Last night was the opening reception for the "MiniSolos" exhibition at Touchstone Gallery in Washington, DC. The exhibit runs from August 4th until the 27th, and features the work of 37 area artists. I was pleased to be a part of this group exhibition. Above is a quick snapshot of myself in front of my artwork in the show.

Above and below are images of my artwork in the show. Since all the artwork was hung salon-style, I didn't want to crowd my wall space so I only included three collages framed in 16"x20" frames. The collages in the show included "One, Two, Three Giraffes," "Goldfish Pond," and "Koala Bear."

The opening was pretty packed - quite a few folks were perusing the artwork and even mingling right by the main entrance on the sidewalk outside.

It's been a busy couple of days. Soon I'm going to start thinking about different ways to promote my book Duck & Fish - once all my exhibit work is finished up in the next couple of months I'll have some more time. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Progress Picture #2: Benjamin in Deep Thought

2011-08-03T20:57:00.005-04:00

Here's the next stage of "Benjamin in Deep Thought." I recently finished this portrait and will post an image of the completed piece in the next few days. This collage was a bit of a struggle for me since it had been several months since I worked on a portrait. Art really is a lot like practicing an instrument - if you set it aside long enough, you'll get a little rusty. So it's to be expected that the next couple of collages won't come to me as easily as they did a few months ago when I was somewhat of a collage-making-machine.

Nevertheless, I'm pleased that I was able to finish this collage without giving up on it. When I post the finished piece, you'll get a sense of how drastically the portrait changed. I reworked the face quite a bit and the sitter looks more serious than what you see here.

Select Works from Duck & Fish

2011-07-31T22:15:00.006-04:00

Today was a busy day of installing artwork. The exhibit "Select Works from Duck & Fish" at Arlington Central Library went up as well as a couple of group exhibits. "Select Works from Duck & Fish" features nine of the collages that were created to illustrate my first children's book, Duck & Fish. With the help of Benjamin, we managed to install the exhibit fairly quickly. Above you can see an image of five of the pieces side-by-side.

Here's the collage from the first page of the book - "Duck Meets Fish."

"Duck Talks About Flying" next to "Fish Talks About the Ocean."

There's a bit of a glare here, but the collage on the left is "Fish Dreams of Flying, Duck Dreams of Swimming" next to "Duck Goes Sightseeing in the Ocean."

"Duck Meets the Creatures of the Ocean Floor" next to "Fish Runs into a Flock of Geese."

"Fish Flies Over an Airport"

And the last collage in the exhibit, "Duck and Fish Say Goodbye."

It was nice that a couple folks were curious about my artwork as the show was installed, and they asked me a couple questions about the artwork. I was able to tell them a bit more about how the pieces were made and that they are illustrations from my first children's book.

Aside from stopping by Arlington Central Library today, we also made a visit to Touchstone Gallery to drop of my work for the "MiniSolos" show and dropped off a couple of pieces for the Gallery without Walls Del Ray Artisans' exhibit. The Del Ray Artisans decided to extend the "Made in the U.S.A." exhibit by having selected pieces displayed in a local business.

So all in all, it was a very busy and productive day. I'm looking forward to an upcoming week of art making.

Poised Blue Dachshund

2011-07-24T18:29:00.002-04:00

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"Poised Blue Dachshund"
Collage on mat board
5"x7"

Here's one of my latest animal collages. I'm still working away on the portrait of Benjamin - unfortunately I've been bad about taking progress pictures of it and have only taken about two. After spending a couple months away from working on portraits, it's been a bit difficult getting the hang of things again. So my current portrait has been a bit of a struggle this weekend. I'm hoping to have it finished somewhat soon, but we shall see...

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It was unusually hot here in D.C. - I spent most of the weekend dodging the heat indoors but went on a couple of walks. I'm looking forward to the coolness of fall.

Preview of Duck & Fish

2011-07-21T17:53:00.002-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that my first children's book, Duck & Fish, is now available for sale in my online store. It is available in two sizes - landscape and square. It's amazing to think that after all that time of revising, editing, and planning, the story is now complete. Above you can preview the first few pages of the book.

And to celebrate the book's release, I'm also having an upcoming solo exhibit that features some of the story's illustrations - "Select Works from Duck & Fish."

Progress Picture #1: Benjamin in Deep Thought

2011-07-20T20:28:00.004-04:00

Above is the sketch for my latest collage. I finally got around to working on another portrait - it’s been a while. I hope to get back into the groove of things, which has been a bit difficult since I broke away from my usual art routine these last few months.

Time sure does fly when you’re busy… Two months ago I was working away on the layout of my book and this month I’ve played the waiting game with waiting to receive proof copies. Soon I'll order a batch of books that I’ll sign and send to folks who’d like to buy a signed copy, which is mainly for those who live a ways away from me since I can easily sign copies for folks in the DC area.

Working on my first children’s book has been quite an experience. I plan to work on more in the future, it’s just at the moment I need to change gears and work on some new studio artwork. I have several solo shows coming up, and although I have plenty of older work that I can show, I’d really like to create some new pieces to exhibit.

Aside from that, I may look into finding a publisher for my book – at the moment it’s self-published which makes it pricier. I’m pleased that at least the book is out there and available to others.

Anyway, I’m off to find some inspiration. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Opening for Collage: Painting with Paper

2011-07-13T22:57:00.007-04:00

I just received some photos from the opening of my current solo show, "Collage: Painting with Paper," which took place on July 7th. I'll have to swing by the space again sometime soon to take some installation pictures.

Some of the guests mingling - I'm in the background here. We had a great turn-out and it was definitely a fun evening.

Here I am talking to one of the guests.

And here's my artist talk - I gave an overview of my process and then had a Q and A.

Here are some of the guests listening to the talk.

It was a fun night! And I was surprised to see that my brother made the trip all the way from NYC for the opening. Anyway, now I'm off to get started on planning my next show. Whew, always busy!

The Neighing Neighbor

2011-07-12T20:30:00.003-04:00

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"The Neighing Neighbor"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

And here's the completed collage. The other day I got started on another portrait collage which is coming along nicely - I'm hoping to take more progress pictures of it than I did with this one.

Also, recently I heard that several of my animal collages were accepted into a group juried exhibition in North Carolina. It looks like I'll have another road trip fairly soon. Bosty might even tag along.

Progress Picture #1: The Neighing Neighbor

2011-07-10T20:43:00.004-04:00

I finally got started on a new collage piece - this is a 9"x12" sketch for a collage called "The Neighing Neighbor." After spending a lot of time editing my book and working on upcoming exhibitions, it'll be nice to take a break and actually get cracking on some artwork.

Recently I had an opening for my solo show "Collage: Painting with Paper." Some pictures and video were taken during the event and I'll post them once they are sent my way.

I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend. Today we had such lovely weather in DC - it was a nice day for a stroll.

Interviewed on Creative Mojo

2011-07-09T01:12:00.008-04:00

On July 6th I got to experience my first live radio interview. I was definitely a bit nervous about going on a show where I had no idea what questions I would get asked. I suppose I have a tendency of liking the process of being overly prepared and have something already rehearsed and ready to go. And I have to admit, I didn't tell anyone when I was going on the air since I wasn't sure how it would pan out. Nevertheless, it was a great experience and I'm glad I did it.

I was on Toginet.com's live broadcast of Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski, a show dedicated to the modern crafter and crafting lifestyle. Mark was a pretty hilarious interviewer - can't you just tell from this fabulous photo of him?

Here are some related links:

Mark's blog about the episode
The Creative Mojo website
Download the episode for free from iTunes

Below you can listen to the interview by clicking on the play button:

Published in Somerset Studio Magazine

2011-07-05T18:00:00.002-04:00

I finally got my hands on a copy of the July/August issues of Somerset Studio magazine - it took a little while to find a Barnes & Noble near me that restocked their Somerset Studio magazines with the latest issue.

I was pretty excited to see that they featured three of my collages - "The New York Diner," "Commuters," and "Sunset in the City."

It definitely made my day seeing my work in print. It's times like this that make me feel grateful and excited about being an artist.

Anyway, I'm off to work on planning a few future collages. I've been bad about working on studio art since life has been crazy busy these days, but I'm hoping to start up a few more projects somewhat soon.

Made in the U.S.A.

2011-07-04T11:28:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I did some gallery sitting for the Del Ray Artisans. They currently have their "Made in the U.S.A." exhibition on display. The show runs from July 1st until the 22nd, and features artwork inspired by U.S. people, places, and things. As usual, I had to take a few installation pictures of my collages in the exhibit - "Lincoln Memorial" and "Washington Monument."

There's a bit of a funny story behind my two pieces in this show. Apparently the labels got mixed up so that "Lincoln Memorial" was beside the Washington Monument while "Washington Monument" was beside the Lincoln Memorial. Apparently lots of visitors noticed this mix-up and kept approaching the gallery sitters to let them know that the labels needed to be fixed. The curator wasn't sure if I wanted the labels to be this way - if I was trying to prove some sort of point. Eventually they switched them so the collages were properly labeled. It was pretty amusing to hear how many people took note of the mistake and almost demanded that the labels get fixed on the spot.

Above is an image of the gallery with the "Made in the U.S.A." artwork on display.

And this is the ad that is being used to advertise the exhibit.

I hope everyone is having a Happy Fourth of July! The Del Ray Artisans exhibit is definitely very fitting for the holiday.

Published in Somerset Studio Magazine

2011-07-01T11:02:00.006-04:00

My artwork is featured inside Somerset Studio magazine's July/August issue - in an article called "Painting with Paper." Wanda Edwards, another paper collage artist, is also featured in the article. Somerset Studio is a national magazine that focuses on paper crafting and mixed media art. You can order a copy online through Stampington & Company's website, or you can swing by your local Barnes & Noble and pickup the magazine at the newsstand. Below is the table of contents from the issue.

I have yet to get my hands on a copy - but once I do, I'll go ahead and post a couple preview images. It was a lovely surprise to hear that I was inside the July/August issue. I'm pretty excited to see how everything looks in print.

Duck & Fish Stickers and the Giveaway Winners

2011-06-30T00:15:00.004-04:00

Whew! It has been one busy month! I'm currently waiting to receive my proof copy of Duck & Fish in the mail before I make the book available to everyone - I want to make sure everything looks as it should. Lately I've been giving out Duck & Fish stickers (see above) to my clients. I used moo.com to put together these sticker packs - and they've been great since they give folks a sneak peek of a few illustrations from the book.

And in other news, yesterday I drew the names of the winners of my Duck & Fish book giveaway contest - Rachel from Minnesota and Christine from California are the winners. The giveaway received quite a response from people and I'm planning to run more giveaways in the future - they will be announced on my blog when the time comes. So if you weren't a winner this time, you'll have more chances in the future.

Anyway, I'm off to work on some more planning for my upcoming exhibition. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer thus far!

Collage: Painting with Paper

2011-06-24T09:16:00.005-04:00

Front view

Back view

I just received the order of postcards for my upcoming solo show at RedRocks - Collage: Painting with Paper. The show will run from July 1st until the 31st, with an opening reception on July 7th. You can see from the postcard images above that the featured image is a collage called "Blue Rhino." I've probably mentioned how I have a tendency of liking all things blue. And when I'm tired of incorporating blue into realistic scenes, I like to use arbitrary color so I can use blue for all different kinds of animals.

At the moment I'm dealing with the mad rush to get things done for the exhibit. Solo shows can be a bit stressful with all the marketing involved, although at the same time, once you manage to pull off everything it's such a rewarding feeling. But I must admit, it's a bit of a relief that my next solo show won't occur until the beginning of next year (more time for planning it!).

In other news, I'm pleased to announce that I'm putting the finishing touches on my children's book. It should be ready for print this weekend!

Studio Update: Projects and Upcoming Solo Show

2011-06-21T00:51:00.004-04:00

I've been itching to begin work on another batch of collages - it's been tough focusing on editing my book, but it will be well-worth it when it's complete. I've especially been wanting to begin work on new artwork since several pieces sold recently - including the above "The Artist from a Distance." It's time to start cranking out more artwork!

Aside from book work, I'm beginning to come up with ideas for future works of art. First I'd like to work on another set of animal collages. Perhaps I'll stop by the National Zoo sometime soon to find some inspiration.

I'd also like to film a collage being pieced together from start to finish. I'll start this project off by testing it out on a smaller collage. Then hopefully I can figure out how to speed up the footage, and ta-da! I'll upload it to the web for all to view. I'm very much interested in sharing more of my process with everyone.

And I'm beginning to work on selecting artwork for my exhibit at RedRocks which is part of the Firebricks & Frames exhibition series. I've designed and ordered postcards for the exhibit (fingers crossed - hopefully they'll arrive in the mail soon!) which I'll post soon. The show will open on July 1st, so it will be here before I know it! Anyway, off I go - there's lots to do!

Drawing Inspiration from the Figure

2011-06-19T19:08:00.003-04:00

This weekend I stopped by the Del Ray Artisans to check out the "Drawing Inspiration from the Figure" group exhibition. My collage "Man at the Market" is currently on display at the show. The exhibit opened on June 3rd and will run until the 26th.

Above is an image of my collage on display.

And here's another angle of it.

Things are slowly but surely coming together with my children's book, Duck & Fish. I'm running a giveaway for the book that ends on June 28th - find out more about it here. At the moment I'm working through a few more revisions. Once I'm finished with a couple more rounds of editing, it should be complete. Aside from my book work, I've been busy planning future exhibitions.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Father's Day!

The Firebricks & Frames Exhibition Series

2011-06-08T00:55:00.010-04:00

Front view

Back view

A couple months ago I heard that I was accepted to be part of a new exhibition series in the area – “The Firebricks & Frames” exhibition series. The series is managed by Gallery Thirteen and RedRocks. From June until December of this year, a different artist will be featured every month. The art exhibitions and receptions will be hosted by RedRocks but planned and organized by Gallery Thirteen. Above is the postcard for the series - my "Blue Rhino" collage is the image I'm using to advertise my solo show.

Tonight we’re having a launch party for the series. I’m going to be the featured artist for July, so I won’t have any work up during the launch party, although I will have an opening reception during the first week of July when my work is installed.

In other news, it will be a little while before I have any blog posts up with new artwork. I haven’t gotten around to making new work since I started revising my children’s book and working on marketing upcoming shows. So much to do, so little time…but soon I’ll have some time to devote to art making. More to come later!

Anyway, I’m off to celebrate with other artists at the launch party!

My First Children's Book: Duck & Fish - and a Giveaway

2011-06-03T22:59:00.008-04:00

So here it is folks, the cover art for my first children's book - Duck & Fish. It's currently undergoing some editing, but I hope to have it completed relatively soon. I was pretty excited about putting this all together. It all began last fall with a couple of sketches and a rough draft of the story, and gradually, whenever I had a spare moment in between commissions and exhibition work, I would work on piecing together the illustrations and refine the storyline.

Duck & Fish tells the tale of a mallard duck who meets a flying fish at the beach. The two animals tell one another about the joys of flying in the sky or swimming underwater. Once they go their separate ways, Fish finds himself imagining what it would be like to fly while Duck ponders life underwater. What would happen if they could live such different lives?

To celebrate the release of my self-published book, I'm running a giveaway. You can enter for a chance to win a free copy of my book - the giveaway ends June 28th and the winners will be announced on June 30th. The giveaway is now closed and the winners have been announced.

And of course I couldn't resist Photoshopping a picture of myself to include the two stars of the book - Duck and Fish.

Jasper Exhibit (Part 3): Around Town and Back

2011-05-16T00:41:00.007-04:00

In a couple of weeks my show in Jasper will end - so I thought I'd post a few more of the pictures I took during my trip over there. I'll have to make the trek again before I know it. Anyway, the photo above is from Jasper's town square - all the stores were displaying artwork by students in their storefront windows.

Here's the town square at dusk.

While driving around the area, this little guy came out of nowhere and ran across the street.

After my workshop we drove to Bloomington, Indiana to spend some time walking around, sightseeing, and checking out Indiana University's campus.

We got our caffeine fix at a couple of local coffee shops.

Strolled around a bit.

Enjoyed the sights and noticed that a few squirrels seemed pretty used to people.

Before long, it was time to make the journey back to Northern Virginia. Again we drove by lots of fields and farmland.

When we were almost home, we hit quite a bit of fog. It was so foggy that I could barely see in front of me - had to turn on my emergency blinkers and creep along the road. Above is a picture that Ben took out the window.

Anyway, we made it home safe and sound. And I'm looking forward to our next journey to the Midwest.

Paper Collage at Krempp Gallery

2011-05-10T21:56:00.006-04:00

Here's the postcard for my Jasper, IN show at Krempp Gallery:

Front view

Back view

The show went up on May 4th and will run until the 27th. It includes several of my animal, portrait, landscape, and cityscape collages.

And here's the Jasper Arts Center where the gallery is located.

Unfortunately, I won't get a chance to see the exhibition up. I only had time to deliver my artwork before heading back home. Hopefully the gallery director will take a few pictures of the installed exhibit for me.

Anyway, I'm off to begin planning another solo show that's coming up in July.

First-Ever Collage Workshop

2011-05-07T12:34:00.006-04:00

A week ago from today I ran my first-ever collage workshop in Jasper, IN. Above is an image of some of the attendees working away on collages. I like how the tables got covered in bits and pieces of paper.

An action shot of me presenting. I began the workshop with a brief overview of a history of collage, sharing the work of well-known collage artists, and then we worked on three collage projects. I planned out several projects for the class, but we only had time to create the first three.

Really getting into my talk. It's amazing that a couple years ago I was terrified of public speaking. Then after several artist talks and a couple of lectures, I find myself really enjoying it. With the workshop I was only a little nervous about whether or not the attendees would have a good time and learn something. I was very pleased to see that they were enjoying themselves.

Some of the supplies alongside my postcard for the Krempp Gallery show.

I did a lot of pacing around the room, taking a look at what the attendees were working on and offering them a bit of help here and there if they needed it. And thanks to Benjamin for being the photographer for this event - I think he took some excellent pictures!

A couple collages made during the workshop.

Passing out materials while presenting the next project.

Some of the marketing materials I brought with me to give to the gallery.

Here we were working on a simplified version of my "painting with paper" collage technique. The attendees received reference photos of public domain images. First they made a quick sketch based on the photos, and then they started cutting and pasting magazine strips on top of the drawing. Here I am providing a bit of help during the drawing stage of the project.

A collage in progress along with the photo it was based on.

This attendee made a collage of a crane.

And here's another crane that was being pieced together.

Towards the end, the tables were just about completely covered in paper.

Here I am with a couple of the ladies who work for the Jasper Arts Center.

The workshop lasted several hours, although it went by very quickly. It was a lot of fun and I was incredibly happy about the response I received from the attendees by the end of it. I was so glad that everyone had a good time. I know that I wouldn't mind running another workshop sometime in the future.

Bosty Meets His Match: Mr. Penguin

2011-05-05T22:56:00.008-04:00

In Louisville, Bosty decided to stay at the 21C Museum Hotel. He met a red penguin in the hallway when he was on his way to see us.

Bosty realized he had met his match - Mr. Penguin was starring in the photos now. All Bosty could do was get his ears or a small part of his face in each photograph.

Once Bosty got over the fact that there was a new star for this series of photographs, the two of them let themselves in so they could pay us a visit.

Mr. Penguin made himself a little too much at home - he started to unpack his bags.

"Need an extra towel?" Bosty and Mr. Penguin asked as I was blow-drying my hair.

"Look at that fine-looking guy" Mr. Penguin told his reflection in the mirror.

What should we do next?

How about watching some TV? Don't mind if I do!

Then Mr. Penguin and Bosty decided to make some long-distance phone calls on our room phone.

But soon they were bored of calling, so they turned to looking at my fashion magazines.

Mr. Penguin got a little tuckered out so he took a power-nap on the floor.

Time to go?

Ben decided to walk our visitors to their own room before saying good-bye.

Bosty goes to Louisville

2011-05-04T20:19:00.006-04:00

After Bosty heard that I was in Louisville, Kentucky, he got a little jealous and decided to go on his own trip. First he stopped by the Louisville Slugger Museum. He really liked the enormous bat out front and thought he could buy himself an enormous baseball at the gift shop. But alas, they had no giant baseballs.

Next he wandered around town and noticed a couple horse sculptures. He liked the way this one was painted to look like it was made of colorful puzzle pieces. Could he find anymore?

He sure could!

Next stop was the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. Bosty is quite the theatre enthusiast.

While going for a stroll, he noticed the KFC Yum! Center. For some strange reason he started craving fried chicken for lunch. Yum!

He walked by the river hoping to take a look at the beautiful sights overlooking the water. Unfortunately Louisville has had quite a bit of flooding from all the spring rain. The Ohio River was muddy from all the rainwater.

Bosty kept on strolling - he wanted to enjoy the cool, spring weather before going back to his hotel.

"Hmmm, I think I might know someone else who is in town. They're not over here..."

"There she is!"

Bosty crept up right behind me. He's always up to something!

Jasper Exhibit (Part 2): Getting There

2011-05-03T19:06:00.009-04:00

After the car was loaded up, we were off. We decided to drive to Louisville, Kentucky to spend the night - that way we'd have a short car ride to Jasper, Indiana the following day.

We were off to a rainy start, but eventually the skies cleared up and we enjoyed some sunny weather.

We drove by lots of farms and hilly terrain.

Until the sun started to set on the road.

After a ten hour drive, we made it to Louisville, Kentucky. It's amazing how quick the drive went - time really flies when you're playing your favorite tunes on the radio.

We spent the night at 21C - a fantastic hotel with several art galleries inside of it. They also have these red, plastic penguins everywhere - even outside on the window ledges.

Here's one of the galleries at the hotel. This exhibit was pretty fascinating - it's the work of Virgil Marti. The artist screen printed fluorescent and rayon flock on paper. The paper was wallpapered to the gallery walls and lit with blacklights. The overall effect was pretty psychedelic.

There were also some interesting photographs that featured x-rays of the human body with objects like faucets and scissors.

Here's a picture of the main gallery area.

And I noticed that one of the chandeliers on our floor had pairs of scissors hanging from it.

The next day we wandered around town. Here I am working out the logistics for delivering my artwork. I'm next to a limo they had out front of our hotel - it had all these red stones covering it.

Then off to Hillbilly Tea for lunch and tea. I liked their extra touch of putting clothespins on all the napkins.

Lastly, a walk around the city to enjoy the sunny, spring weather.

I have a feeling that Bosty might have his own Louisville adventure soon...

Jasper Exhibit (Part 1)

2011-05-02T18:21:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago I worked on getting organized for my art show in Jasper, IN - which meant selecting pieces for the show, framing them, documenting my inventory, and then packaging each piece in cardboard and brown packaging paper. I wanted to wrap up each work of art so that once I stacked all my artwork in the trunk of my car, I wouldn't have to worry about the frames getting scratched when they shifted around. Above is an image of my packaging efforts.

Then there was the challenge of packing everything into the trunk of the car. Luckily we got everything in there and had plenty of room for our luggage. I also brought along some magazines for the workshop that I ran.

And above is yet another image of the artwork stacked in the trunk of our car. I brought along a total of thirty-seven pieces.

We spent about ten hours on the road before we reached Louisville, KY where we had a pleasant stay before venturing off to Indiana. On Saturday, April 30th, I ran my first-ever collage workshop in Jasper and it went very well. So many positive and enthusiastic attendees - what fun!

Anyway, I have some photos from the trip and workshop that I'll post soon.

Studio Update: Current Project and Upcoming Exhibit

2011-04-25T18:01:00.003-04:00

Things have been pretty quiet on my blog. This month I’ve been hard at work getting ready for my solo exhibition in Jasper, IN. At the end of April I'm making the trek over to Indiana to deliver nearly forty of my collages for the May exhibition. I'll also run my first-ever collage workshop at the Jasper Arts Center. I’m planning to review a brief history of collage as an art form with attendees and then focus on making a few small collage projects.

And lastly, I keep mentioning that I’m working on my first children’s book (writing and illustrating it). Just yesterday I finished the last illustration for the project, however I'll need to go back in and edit a few of the pieces before I can really call them "complete." Overall, it should take me a month or so to finish editing and planning the layout for the book. And once I put together the layout for the cover, I’ll post it here so you can get a glimpse of the main characters.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Q & A: Outside of Collage

2011-04-21T19:50:00.006-04:00

What’s your favorite color?
Blue. You can probably tell when you take a look at my artwork. Blue shows up again and again. Often times, if I’m working on a portrait and I’m not sure what color to use for a person's shirt, I’ll just default to blue. I’ve also created a series of animal collages where I used an arbitrary color scheme – making the animals blue.

What other media do you like to use besides collage?
Collage is by far my favorite, although I’m interested in dabbling in film and animation. In the future, I may take some classes so I can get a better idea of the technical skills I’ll need in both areas.

I used to enjoy painting, but over time I drifted away from it. Below are a few of the paintings I did while in high school and college.

Do you do anything else for a living besides being an artist?
Yes - I work on the websites for a couple of nonprofits. After graduating from college in 2008, and in the midst of the recession, I realized I needed to teach myself a few skills that I didn’t gain from studying creative writing and painting in school. So I read several tutorials, watched how-to videos online, and taught myself the necessary software and coding for putting together websites.

The design and problem-solving aspects of working on websites is why I like it so much. And the skills I’ve taught myself for non-studio-art-related-work have really helped me when it comes to promoting my art. Thanks to my studies, I was able to design the logo and layout for my website, and also be my own webmaster.

What are your hobbies?
Daydreaming and storytelling. Reading and learning about technology. Exploring new cities. Learning new things. Being an avid watcher of Netflix Instant Watch Movies. Living the creative life.

What do you think is the most inspiring place to visit?
Anywhere, really. If I'm in the mood or if I'm visiting someplace new for the first time, it's amazing how inspired you can get just by looking at the scenery with a fresh pair of eyes.

Bosty Enjoys the Spring Weather

2011-04-18T19:06:00.006-04:00

Bosty noticed some of the neighborhood dogs were being walked, and demanded that I take him for a walk as well. It was a gorgeous day outside, why not go out and enjoy the warm weather?

He loved taking a look at all the spring flowers that were blossoming.

He even found some flowers that he decided to name "Bosty Flowers" because they were purple just like him.

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling down the city streets, imagining what the people were like that lived in the colorful townhouses.

It's Only Rock n' Roll, But I Like It!

2011-04-10T11:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I gallery sat at the Del Ray Artisans' for their "It's Only Rock n' Roll, But I Like It!" exhibition. The show features work inspired by musicians, bands, instruments, and anything music-related.

When I arrived at the gallery, I was pleased to see that my "Guitar" collage had sold. A local purchased it during the opening reception about a week ago.

It was dreary outside, but the gallery sure looked great.

And I was especially impressed by a hand-made and functional bass guitar that was on display. Any three-dimensional work I make seems to come out looking flimsy. I'm not accustomed to working that way, and I'm always in awe of those that can do a fine job at making sculptural work.

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a lovely week. I had a chance to spend quite a few hours on my children's book. I'm getting close to finishing it, but still have quite a bit of work ahead of me. I'm definitely looking forward to posting the cover art once it is complete.

Q & A: What Motivates You?

2011-04-05T20:10:00.002-04:00

People who know me often comment on my work ethic. How do I manage to work on my artwork just about every day of the week, have a web-related day job, and have time for hobbies and, well, everything else? First and foremost I’d have to say that my love for the arts is what drives me. I also have a strong interest in learning new things and I’m constantly working on different ways of improving my work and myself. This passion for the arts is why I work so hard and why not getting very much sleep every night doesn’t really bother me. I’ve figured why not work really hard and do as much as I can while I’m young. I also have this mentality that I can't wait for opportunities to magically appear for me - I need to put in the work to make them happen.

Lastly, I must admit that the negativity that I’ve encountered in my life motivates me to prove those negative forces wrong. Rejection comes with the territory with being an artist, as well as hearing negative views from others about the arts. Instead of giving up when I hit a negative wall, I get momentarily irritated before getting over the irritation and moving on to work harder. And at the moment this has worked for me. I manage to turn these negative experiences into something positive for my art career.

Mountain Land

2011-03-24T00:00:00.002-04:00

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"Mountain Land"
Collage on mat board (coated paper)
7"x5"

Another day, another collage. Decided to crank out another abstract landscape piece before I dive back into my children's book illustrations. I had to put the book project on hold for a while as I worked on the new education section of my website. So now I'm back at it - I have about four more to do, but then of course comes the editing and revisions I'll need to do to the previous pieces. I'm getting pretty excited about it and hope to have everything completed within the next couple of months.

Collage in the Classroom

2011-03-23T13:51:00.008-04:00

A couple months ago I received an email from Eric, an artist and art educator in NYC. He had a few questions about my collage technique and told me that he was doing a collage unit around my work and the idea of "painting with paper."

Yesterday he sent me the activity guide he used as well as several pictures of student collages. It made my day seeing some "painting with paper" work that was done in the classroom. Take a look at some of the student work, it's very impressive:

The students used Chuck Close's technique of using a grid to make large drawings. Then they collaged on top of their drawings.

New Education Section of Website

2011-03-21T01:33:00.003-04:00

I've added a new tab to my website "Learn" - an education section. Over the past couple of years I've heard from various teachers who have used my artwork in their classrooms. These messages inspired me to put together an entirely new section devoted to students and teachers. At the moment it includes lesson plans and activities for kids such as worksheets for connect the dots, puzzles, matching games, and more.

In the future I hope to add a video section that includes "how to" videos for collaging and showing my process.

Beyond Form: Expressing Art Exhibition

2011-03-20T14:09:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I did some gallery sitting at the Del Ray Artisans' "Beyond Form: Expressing Art" group exhibition. Two of my latest abstract collages were in it - a non-objective piece and an abstract landscape one.

The exhibit showcases a variety of abstract artwork done in all different mediums by local artists. The show opened on March 4th and will run until the 27th.

Above is an image of a section of the gallery space. Yesterday was such a beautiful day - the lighting from outside was shining in through the windows, making the place look all the more beautiful.

And now I'm off to finish up some work for a new section of my website. I'll add a blog post when everything is up and running.

Golden Plains

2011-03-15T00:51:00.002-04:00

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"Golden Plains"
Collage on mat board
7"x5"

I decided to put together another abstract landscape collage today. It's really nice to change up my technique to make these - they're pretty fun to do. Usually I focus a lot of time on little details, and it's nice to cut loose and just focus on color and texture while tearing paper instead of cutting it.

I'm still working away as usual. March has been a quiet month for my blog - I hope to post more next month. I'm striving to finish a couple large projects relatively soon, so once they're completed that should free up my schedule a bit. Anyway, I'm off to work on some more illustrations.

Guitar

2011-03-08T23:40:00.002-05:00

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"Guitar"
Collage on mat board
7"x5"

This is a simple collage that I put together for an upcoming group exhibition. I've been missing in action a little bit these days when it comes to blogging - been a little tied up with a couple of large projects that I'm anxious about completing.

And next month will be another busy month - I'm making a trek to Jasper, Indiana at the end of April for my solo show and day-long workshop. So far it looks like about forty of my pieces will be on display for the exhibit. Yep, I've got quite a bit of planning ahead of me but I'm pretty excited about getting everything ready.

Bosty on my Mind

2011-03-03T19:35:00.004-05:00

Perhaps Bosty and I should go on a trip sometime soon? We shall see!

I'm still having a bit of fun with Photoshop and putting together a few images for the education section of my site. I still have a ways to go!

Things on my to do list:

Finish my first children's book - I'm on illustration number 20 now, about 10 left to go!
Finish the online lesson plans so I can launch the education section of my website.
Start doing some video work. I'm going to write a few scripts and then hopefully my brother and I can make a collaborative video project where we'll use video and animation.
Make a collage animation.
Video record one of my collages from start to finish. I got myself a camcorder already, so I suppose you could say that's one step in the right direction as far as tackling these video projects goes.

I'm so anxious to get things done since I'm pretty excited about the projects currently on my plate. Life is pretty busy, but I couldn't be happier.

Green Coffee Cup

2011-02-23T08:09:00.005-05:00

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"Green Coffee Cup from a Bird's-eye View"
Collage on mat board (coated paper)
7"x5"

Here’s another collage from the coated paper coffee cup series. Coated paper is much thicker than magazine pages, and I can tell a noticeable difference when working with it. With magazine pages, it’s much easier to layer the paper and work on small details. With the coated paper, it’s difficult to create several layers and I often find myself simplifying shadows and highlights. It’s interesting to change up your materials every once in a while.

In other news, I have a couple of rather large projects on my plate at the moment – there’s the children’s book which is taking quite a bit of time and the new education section of my site I’m putting together. The children’s book is taking a while to complete because it is going to consist of about thirty illustrations where the collage image is about 12”x16” – which is the medium size I work in. I'll also need to work on the layout and edit the storyline I've written. The education project will take a while since I’m planning to put together several different lesson plans that are going to be somewhat interactive. So off to work I go!

Dreaming of Collage Sunsets

2011-02-17T21:45:00.002-05:00

Just daydreaming the day away, thinking about future works of art...or should I say previously completed works of art? I suppose that's how it is in this case.

I've been fiddling around with Photoshop again to make a few images for the new section of my website. I'm putting together an educational section that was inspired by a few recent emails I received from teachers who use my artwork in their classrooms. Anyway, I had fun with the last photo that I did like this (the photo of me is from the same day - same shirt, same necklace), so I thought why not try another version?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T18:21:00.004-05:00

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"When Penguins Find Love"
Collage on mat board
7"x5"

This is an older collage - I completed it a couple years ago, but I thought it was a fitting image for this February holiday.

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!

I've been pretty busy with a number of projects but I hope to make some more mini collages that I can post soon.

Experiment 3: Landscape

2011-02-12T07:31:00.004-05:00

"Experiment 3: Landscape"
Collage on paper
7"x5"

Another experimental piece of mine. It's fun trying something new, although I must admit, I enjoy my usual style of "painting with paper" much better than creating abstract pieces. However, it is pretty therapeutic putting together torn bits of paper.

I set my children's book illustrations aside for a couple of weeks, but I'm back to working on them. And I've started planning an educational section that I'll add to my website sometime in the future. I get emails from teachers every once in a while who use my artwork in their classrooms, and I thought it might be nice to put something together that could help them with their lesson plans.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Experiment 2: Landscape

2011-02-10T19:34:00.004-05:00

"Experiment 2: Landscape"
Collage on paper
7"x5"

Every now and then I'll do some planning for my workshop in Jasper, Indiana. I like taking my time when it comes to planning for exhibitions and lectures, so that way I can ensure everything is taken care of and that I'm well prepared. So bit by bit I've been working on examples that I'll share with the class.

Above is another experimental piece. Again it looks much different than any of my other work. This is more like playing with the materials and seeing what results I can get. It also helps me think about what projects I can have for the class. This piece is an abstract landscape made entirely from tearing magazine strips. You can see that some of the pieces have more obvious tears while others are pretty subtle.

Ryan and His Sweetheart

2011-02-07T18:19:00.002-05:00

"Ryan and His Sweetheart"
Collage on mat board
5"x7"

I like the story behind this collage: Recently the guy who owns the domain megancoyle.com contacted me. I wanted that domain when I first put my website together, but had to settle with mcoyle.com since another Megan Coyle had a site up and running on megancoyle.com. So the owner contacted me, telling me that his client, another Megan, no longer used her website. Thus the web address wasn't being used and was pointing to an error page, although the owner was still paying money for the domain. So he offered to do a trade - he'd transfer the domain to my account if I made a collage for him.

Above is the collage that I made for him. The challenge with this piece was that it was one of my smaller sized collages, and I wasn't doing a portrait of one, but two people. I had to cut the magazine strips pretty small, but I'm pleased that it came together in the end.

Bosty goes to the Country

2011-02-04T19:02:00.003-05:00

Bosty decided to head off somewhere that's a little warmer this time of year (DC is still too chilly for him). So he wandered off to the south to spend some time in the country. He LOVED all the colorful chairs that were being sold by the side of the road.

And he was a bit confused when he noticed all the machinery lined up near his doggy hotel. What are they up to around here?

Lastly, he just had to get his picture by a tractor - to prove that he had gone off to the countryside. Silly Bosty.

Experiment 1: Non-Objective Art

2011-01-31T20:57:00.005-05:00

"Experiment 1: Non-Objective"
Collage on paper
7"x5"

These past couple of days I've been doing some planning for my workshop in April. Part of my prep work includes coming up with projects that the class will work on and creating my own samples to share with the students. I've decided that one technique I'll share is creating non-objective art with magazine strips. I never create abstract pieces myself, but I decided to give it a go with this small collage.

At the moment, I'm also working on a small portrait piece. I'll share an image of that collage once it's complete.

Hope everyone had a happy January! Can't believe it's already been 2011 for a month!

Nancy Pelosi

2011-01-26T17:18:00.004-05:00

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"Nancy Pelosi"
Collage on mat board
7"x5"

And here's the finished piece - as you can see it's much different than the first progress picture. When my client reviewed progress images of this one, she decided she wanted Nancy wearing a dark jacket instead of blue. She also made a few suggestions here and there. Her feedback was pretty helpful with shaping this into a Nancy portrait that looks more like Nancy.

I'm kind of excited about the idea of making a series of political leader collages, especially since I live in the DC area. We shall see how that goes when I get to it...

And now I'm off to work on my children's book illustrations as well as another portrait for a client. It's snowing like crazy outside - good weather for staying in and making artwork!

Nature's Human Exhibition

2011-01-24T18:16:00.006-05:00

Today the exhibition "Nature's Human" opened at Eastern Kentucky University's Giles Gallery. Two of my pieces are currently on display there - "Into the Woods" (pictured above) and "Riverside Loungers" (see below). Both pieces were initially created for one of my solo exhibitions last year - "Stories in Paper." The artwork in this national juried exhibition comes from a variety of artists and was created from quite a range of materials. All the pieces focus on the theme of humans and nature.

A couple weeks ago I made the trek to Richmond, Kentucky to drop off my collages. I wanted to check out the gallery space and get a feel for the area. I'm glad I did, but I'm also glad I made arrangements to have the work shipped back to me after the show. It was a fairly long trip after all.

I was a little nervous about making the arrangements for shipping since I'm always concerned about the safety of my artwork. My "Nature's Human" collages are the largest size I currently work in - both are 18"x24" - and I have never shipped a piece that large before. However, after dropping by the UPS store, buying lots of bubble wrap, and getting a prepaid label that included insurance to cover the value of the collages, I felt a little more comfortable.

Progress Picture #1: Nancy Pelosi

2011-01-23T16:48:00.002-05:00

Here's the first stage of a Nancy Pelosi portrait I did a couple months ago. As you can see, the piece is a bit abstract and doesn't look exactly like her quite yet. When I start collaging portraits, I first block out the color and then come back in with layers of paper to work in more detail. I'll post the finished collage in a couple of days so you can see how much different my work looks once it's complete.

I'm thinking I might do a series of politicians sometime in the future. Looks like yet another item to add to my "to do" list.

So.Many.Ideas.!!!

2011-01-19T22:53:00.005-05:00

So many ideas and so little time! I better hurry up so I can capture them all on paper! Or should I say "in" paper?

My desk is covered in slips of paper - all my "to do" lists. I'm anxious to start quite a few projects and finish them soon, but there's only so many hours in the day. Thus I'm focusing on just a couple of things for now.

I'm continuing to work away on my book but I have a couple of other projects coming up that I haven't mentioned before. A client of mine contacted me about donating my services for a silent auction for an organization called The Cure Starts Now. TCSN raises money for pediatric brain cancer research. I've lost a few family members to different types of cancer, and I couldn't think of any other type of organization I'd want to donate my work to. So it looks like I'll be donating a custom work of art for the first time in the next few months.

Anyway, I'm off to turn my collage thoughts into actual collages.

Kentucky Exhibition

2011-01-17T13:08:00.004-05:00

This weekend I took a long trek to Kentucky to check out Giles Gallery for the "Nature's Human" exhibition where a couple of my pieces are going to be on display. Above is an image I took out the car window as we drove towards Richmond, Kentucky.

The show doesn't start until the 24th, so I wasn't able to see the work installed on the walls but I did get a chance to check out the gallery space. Above is the front of the building on Eastern Kentucky University's campus where you can find the gallery.

I really liked the contrast of all the dark fences we drove by and the snow covered fields.

We stopped by a distillery where I took a few artsy pictures - I liked a lot of the texture on the walls and floors of the buildings.

After touring the distillery, they had plenty of coffee to warm us up.

And after a quick weekend of delivering artwork, arranging for the work to be shipped back to me in Virginia (because goodness me, it's quite a trip out there!), and touring around the crafts city of Berea, we headed home.

I have a feeling that Bosty might be jealous of my trip and may have to pay Kentucky a visit sometime soon...

Bosty goes to Charlottesville

2011-01-12T23:34:00.003-05:00

Bosty decided to go on a trip to enjoy the vineyards and landscape of Charlottesville, Virginia.

He stayed at the Clifton Inn

and enjoyed lounging around on his room's deck.

He liked the rustic decor - although the room was also decorated with a few birdcages. They reminded him a little too much of a pet shop.

And after a lazy day, he ran outside to catch the sunset.

Later in the week, Bosty decided to take a look at UVA's campus. He dressed up for the occasion in a colonial hat...

Bosty sure does love Jeffersonian architecture!

He ended his trip by strolling through some countryside pastures.

Pink Coffee Cup

2011-01-12T21:22:00.003-05:00

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"Pink Coffee Cup"
Collage on mat board (coated paper)
7"x5"

Since I have focused a lot of time on my children's book illustrations, I've decided to strive to complete a couple small collages every week. That way I can break up my illustration work a bit and continue to explore other subjects and compositions. The piece above is something I completed last night. Instead of working with magazine strips like I usually do, I used coated paper. The paper was pretty thick which forced me to work with fewer strips and it simplified the look of the finished piece. This exercise reminds me that I should start thinking about projects for the workshop I'm running in April. I know that April seems a ways away, although it will get here before I know it...

Shelby

2011-01-07T18:46:00.003-05:00

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"Shelby"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

Here's the finished piece. My client gave this collage to his wife as a Christmas gift. I was happy to hear that it was well received. This dog sure looked pretty cute - in all the reference photos the client sent me, Shelby had her tongue hanging out.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the weekend. I'm going to work away on my children's book illustrations - and I must say, it's pretty difficult being secretive about my book since I'm so used to sharing my progress pictures, etc. The only image from the project I plan to post is the cover art once I've finished it. I'm half-way done with the book - can't wait until it's finished and ready for print. I'm excited to share it - even though it's got a ways to go.

Progress Picture #3: Shelby

2011-01-03T19:10:00.003-05:00

Here's the next stage: Shelby's just about finished although her background needs a bit more work. Also her face needs to be slightly reshaped and her tongue is just a pencil sketch at the moment. I'll post the finished image later this week.

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! I had a busy but fun holiday. Lots of food and lots of work. I was happy that I finished all my commissions in time for the holidays in December, although once that was over, I plunged into working on my book.

Any New Year's resolutions? I keep mentioning in my newsletters and blog that I want to do some animation and video work. So I've decided that I'll stop talking about it and actually get started on some video work this year. I'd also like to work on animations, but we shall see. I don't want to bite off too much more than I can chew! (Although I do have a tendency of doing that)

Reflections on 2010

2010-12-31T12:04:00.006-05:00

This year has been quite a busy one. There were a lot of firsts for me which is pretty exciting. And to celebrate the upcoming year of 2011, here are 11 things that occurred this past year:

1) First solo exhibit that was then followed by several other solo shows throughout the year.

2) First newspaper feature

3) First magazine feature

4) Organized my first exhibit reception where I was responsible for everything from PR to the food. It was quite a learning experience!

5) Gave first artist talk and then gave a couple more talks. I’m usually terrified of public speaking, but after giving a few talks this year, I’m more comfortable with it. I actually kinda like it.

6) Scheduled my first solo show in another state (“Paper Collage” at Krempp Gallery in Jasper, Indiana)

7) Related to #5 – scheduled the first workshop I’ll run next year. It coincides with my Krempp Gallery solo show.

8) Started working on my first children's book - I'm still in the process of working on it. Hope to finish it sometime next year.

9) Quit my job last year to work on artwork for a few months this year. Then found a new job doing design/web work – which has been a lot of fun.

10) Learned a lot about business and marketing for my artwork. As a result, I finally documented all my art and started designing marketing materials for myself.

11) Realized that art is something I really want to pursue.

All in all, it’s been quite a good year. I’m so grateful that I have so many supportive people in my life. And I’m incredibly excited about what the New Year may bring.

What did you accomplish this year?

Progress Picture #2: Shelby

2010-12-27T17:29:00.003-05:00

Here you can see the basic color blocking for the composition. You can get a sense of how I like to work back and forth with the background and foreground.

I'm also excited that I've had time to work on my children's book again. After finishing all my holiday commissions, I'm back to work on personal projects.

Hope everyone is enjoying the end of December - and that you're staying warm. I've heard about all the snow going on elsewhere - looks like DC missed out on the snowpocolypse for now.