Alternative Materials "Trash Art" Abstract Mixed Media Collage

Unapologetic #trashartist submitting less-than-stellar work that has gone through several reinventions and is likely itself heading for the dumpster.   Clearly the product of an unsettled mind.   (See final two slides for pairing with another much larger piece of similar style from mid-June of last year.)

Untitled 24 in. x 18 in. alternative materials mixed media abstract collage comprised of spray paint, house paint, acrylic tube paint, 8 mm and 3 mm iridescent sequins, smoky black glitter dust, torn paper, stiff thin cardboard of a tissue box and a gift tag, broken yellowed plastic shards, sweatpants drawstrings, satin ribbon, loose black threads from an unraveling cotton scarf, mohair yarn, purple netting of a produce sack, hot glue, Mod Podge sealant

Fairies, skip hence: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Costume Designs

Yesterday’s solar eclipse is now long completed, and yet an eeriness lingers.  In acknowledgment of the mystical elements summoned forth (and any sprites or goblins released) I thought to share four of my six “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” conceptual character sketches unearthed from sophomore year of college at New York University's Gallatin School, spring semester 2002.  Submitted here from Act III, Scene 2 —on 15 in. x 18 in. watercolor paper + material swatch samples— in descending order is fairy queen Titania, trailed by her attendants Peasblossom, Mustardseed, and Cobweb (with some discoloration on the latter’s arm & cheek due to aged rubber cement as my then go-to glue before learning that it yellows over time, sadly):

“The Indomitable Miss Elsie Palmer”

10 in. x 20 in. mixed media collage on black mounted canvas incorporating visuals inspired by John Singer Sargent’s 17 year-old subject Elsie Mellen Palmer (1890), with acrylic tube paint highlights, Mod Podge sealant, and lattice criss-cross blue & gold washi tape edges

Fun fact:  The original life-sized oil portrait —which is at times called either “Young Lady in White” or “Girl in White”— now resides at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center where her uncompromising stare has guests dubbing Elsie the Mona Lisa of Colorado Springs.

#surrealart #analogcollage #modpodge #MissElsiePalmer #classicalartportraits #JohnSingerSargent #turnofthecenturypaintings #YoungLadyinWhite #GirlinWhite #ColoradoSpringsFineArtsCenter #playingwithscissors #fiercefemales