May day

Well, it's the last day in May. Since I have been trying to post a bit more lately, I thought I would do one more post before June begins. I finished this piece yesterday and posted it on Facebook with a statement that I didn't like some of the technical aspects of it. Let me explain with a little background. I have begun to accumulate quite a pile of elements (some of which are coated and "ready-to-go"). I actually enjoy doing "the search" for potential elements through magazine, yearbooks, and other vintage (and contemporary) publications. And I even enjoy the mundane task of coating the materials with polymer acrylic medium (Golden's). In addition, it also seems like my studio space is in need of cleaning/re-organizing. These tasks are straight-forward and enjoyable whilst I play some of my favorite music. Of course, creating pieces of artwork is sometimes much more daunting (albeit enjoyable and rewarding too). I think I have relatively high standards for myself and so sometimes I think I make the creation process more daunting. I have decided to try to be a bit more productive with the elements I have collected and coated thus far and to be a bit more "accepting" if a piece doesn't reach my high personal standards. I have also collected numerous frames from garage sales, auctions and the road-side that I would like to begin to use (and get rid of). SOoo... here is the piece (9.5" x 7.5"):

There are the three technical aspects of the piece with which I am not totally comfortable. Firstly, the mat perhaps should have come over enough to be flush with the vertical cut on the left side of the woman's dress. I have mixed feelings about this; because in one way, it sort of looks cool truncated as it is (but still a bit uncomfortable). Secondly, it would have been nice for the vertical cut near the phone to "fuse" with the reflection on the floor, rather than to be separated as it is. Of course, I could have "made this happen"; but I didn't for the following reason. Behind the head of the phoning woman, there is a woman sitting near the window reading and drinking a beverage. The large blue-green paper cup from which she was drinking, would have been a distracting background element to the composition; so I wanted to cover it up. The problem that created (in addition to separating the phone and floor reflection) was that it allowed the woman's body to be seen around the head of the phoning woman. Not sure I like this. BUT, I wanted to get this piece "off the table" and done... so I did it. I don't "hate" the piece; but it doesn't quite meet my standards in terms of paying attention to detail. I suppose I would give it a "B". The frame is a "found frame" and so I will be able to put a lower price n this one when (if?) I show it. Wow... I initially thought this post was going to be a quickie ;-)