Coffee is definitely one of my favorite still life subjects to collage, but I decided to change things up a bit and throw some breakfast foods into the mix. I think my next couple of pieces will also be food collages, but we shall see. Sometimes, without expecting it, I get inspired to work on a specific subject. That may or may not happen this time. Any way, there will be more collages to be made in this series.
This piece was inspired by a trip to New York City where I enjoyed pastries and coffee in a few fantastic coffee shops. And this is also part of my quest of becoming more confident with still life as the subject matter for my artwork. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a tendency of wanting to make collages of people and animals more than anything else. But by making myself step aside from my usual subject matter, I’m beginning to enjoy tackling different subjects.
Stay tuned for more food art…
I’m always drawn to colorful window displays in bakeries. This collage is inspired by several bakeries I visited on a trip to NYC. I’m thinking that this could be a possible series, since I am a fan of sweets.
My next collage will most likely be another still life. I’m determined to build up my still life portfolio since I have a tendency of focusing mainly on animal portraits. Anyway, I’m off to get started on some more artwork!
A collage of one of my favorite beverages of all time – coffee! I’ve mentioned before that I’m not really a fan of making still life art, but I figure it’s a good exercise to tackle an area that I’m not as familiar with. By focusing on still life objects that I enjoy in real life, I’m hoping to build this area out to other subjects in the next few months.
Anyway, I’m off to get started on a sketch for my next piece!
Here’s a study of the Washington Monument that I completed last night. As an artist living in the Washington, DC area, I’m often inspired by my surroundings. Every once in a while I’ll tackle familiar sites and landscapes when I decide to take a break from my animal or people portraits.
My next piece will most likely be another still life study. My current series of still life collages has definitely been a learning experience. I’m finding different ways to get excited about a subject matter that in the past I often tried to avoid.
Bosty was getting tired of the daily grind in DC, so he decided to spend a long weekend in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Enjoying the sun on a beach resort? Don’t mind if I do!
He liked taking advantage of room service on the resort. His favorite dish was pretty healthy – a fruit platter.
After snacking, Bosty would go for a quick walk along the beach. Sometimes he would sprawl out on one of the beach chairs and sun bathe.
He loved all the palm trees and the beautiful landscape. We lucked out and had some great weather – so we could take advantage of admiring our surroundings.
When Bosty wasn’t in the mood for sun bathing or strolling down the beach, he did some cloud watching. What do those clouds in the distance look like to you, Bosty?
After our stay, he was disappointed about leaving paradise. But don’t worry Bosty, we’ll have another great adventure sometime soon.
This is a quick still life study that I completed the other night. As I continue to complete these smaller pieces, I’m going to start exploring more complex compositions. Right now I’m just focusing on practicing still life collages. Hope to create more of these soon.
This week I heard from Elizabeth Crites, a teacher from Ohio. She contacted me to see if she could send me images of her student work. Her 7th grade students worked on a “painting with paper” project where they looked at images and videos of my artwork. Then they brought in pictures of their pets, or if they didn’t have pets they made collages of other animals, and completed their own “painting with paper” works of art.
Here are some of their wildlife animal collages:
And here are images of the pet collages:
It’s wonderful to see the work of young artists. Elizabeth’s students did a great job – and it’s fun seeing how each student had his or her own style.
Still life is definitely my least favorite subject to collage. So I figured, why not explore a still life series? I’m hoping to get more excited about still life as I experiment with different subject matter in the genre. This piece was meant to just be a simple collage that can hopefully get the ball rolling with this new project.
It’s been a while since Bosty traveled to Chicago, so he thought another visit was long overdue. Time to take in the sights and take plenty of pictures of that Chicago skyline!
He started the day off by getting one of the Divvy city bike shares so he could bike around the city.
And take a look at some of the area’s art, like the print of Julie Murphy’s Bunny Snail featured on a street station sign.
He especially liked Steinunn Thorarinsdottir’s “Borders” sculptures. Looks like he was trying to get between these two.
After wandering around the city for a couple of hours, he decided to take a break and savor some local food. We stopped by Eleven City Diner for a quick lunch.
Bosty just had to order a pastrami and corned beef sandwich. How about a nice towering sandwich for lunch? Don’t mind if I do!
Once we finished our delicious lunch, we headed to the convention center so Bosty could enjoy the wonders of being part of the Comic Expo. He even had his Darth Vader mask handy to wear for the occasion. He liked playing doggy Darth Vader for a while.
All the excitement from the convention center, seeing lots of other comic costumes, made Bosty work up another appetite. So we stopped by Blackbird for some arctic char.
Next up, we did some more city wandering. Bosty loved checking out the street art. He was amused by this wall art that featured a man with a nervous look on his face while trying to catch pigeons with a net.
To complete our day of walking, we checked out the Chicago Riverwalk.
And spent some time strolling around the various parks. Bosty pointed out these colorful signs sponsored by the Morton Arboretum. Thanks Morton Arboretum for reminding us that trees surround us in beauty!
Bosty was pretty excited about our dinner plans. He felt like one incredibly cultured doggy after experiencing the fine dining cuisine at Alinea. His favorite dish was the dessert they prepped right on the table.
With a full belly, we made our way to Buddy Guy’s Legends for some live blues music. Bosty felt like we had one incredible Chicago experience. Although, he had to point out, we made a big mistake by not having any Chicago dogs or deep dish pizza.
Don’t worry Bosty, we’ll do that the next time we visit.