Visual beauty -- golf and collage

Golf season is in full swing (pun intended), and the weather has been splendid. So what does this have to do with collage? Well, I am spending more time on golf courses lately, than in the studio (that's why I haven't posted in a while). But what I find interesting, is that I think there is a connection between golf and collage, at least for me, personally. Both activities involve an appreciation of visual beauty. And both involve dedication and problem-solving skills. Last week, several of my long-time friends treated me to a week-long golf and kayaking vacation in northwest Maine. I am profoundly grateful. It was beautiful (and challenging)! I do have two ongoing projects in the studio, with others waiting to emerge. But for now, I thought I would share the visual beauty that I experienced in Maine.

A "good" conundrum

Okay, so I have done some cutting, and trimming, and experimenting; and have identified the beginning of what I think is a good composition. I think these colors work very well together, and I love the dimensionality of the sketches. But I find myself at a "fork in the road" at this point. I think that inclusion of the guy's muscle portrait works well. But I also like the elements without the portrait -- and perhaps it creates even stronger dimensionality. If I don't include the head, I might place some colorful orbs within the "tentacles" of the blue field. I certainly will play with that. On the other hand, the head element is so powerful (and I don't have another one... and I don't do photocopying) and fits well with the strength of the other elements. What to do? A real conundrum. A good conundrum, to be sure. But I am feeling rather "stuck". I'm heading out of town for a week-long golf trip to Maine; so I will be away from my studio for a bit. Maybe when I get back, I will feel less torn (... then again, probably not ;-)

More science inspiration

I'm playing with another portion of the science classroom poster/map that I used for another collage I posted a while ago. So excited to explore and see what comes of this!

 

Inspired by science

 I finished this pair of pieces last night, They are entitled "Prelix Supra" and "Prelix Infra". The pieces are 3" x 5" (8" x 10" framed). The letters represent the complementary amino acids found in the double helix of DNA. In this case, the string of amino acids in each composition are unpaired (although the sequences of each individual composition is complementary to the other). That's from where the first part of the title comes -- "Prelix" (before "helix"). BTW, the small "u" in the composition represents "uracil" which is found in place of thymine in RNA translation of the DNA pairs. The "supra" and "infra" part of the title simply refers to "above" and "below", respectively. That's the arrangement of this pair that I intended (i.e., one above, and one below)

The Making of "The Sacredness of Comfort and Care" -- imspirations, parallel processing, and emergence of a collage composition

Check out my new video on YouTube about my process of making a collage...

https://youtu.be/S_gWqImwO7E?si=iva1czZcpE6RQbby 

detail follow-up

I wanted to follow-up on the last post with an illustration of the perceptual impact of subtle changes in composition. If you focus on the urchin (the spherical element) in the bottom right area of these two images, you will see the subtle shift in the position of the element. The first image shows the urchin encroaching on the golden braid. The second image, has the urchin placed so that it is not overlapping. Of course, overlap is a key cue for depth perception, so it is not surprising that the different placements suggest differences in "depth". I ultimately chose the placement in the second image, as I think it elicits the perception that "looks better" to me (and I hope, to the viewer). The bottom image is the completed collage (with the blue element adjusted to the horizontal).

Iconic

Finished this piece today. The mat dimensions are 8" x 10". I have not settled on a name for it yet; but wanted to post it because I'm excited about it.