Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 244 (Santa Rosa)

A small collage from earlier this year (May 10, 2022). This is Untitled Collage No. 244 (Santa Rosa). Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 9.8 x 7.6cm (3.9 x 3.0 inches). Matted to 10 x 8 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

This one is small and simple, but I think it has presence. It repays attention. Click on the image for a larger view. 

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website, at https://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site. 

Art I'm Making: Unintentional Political Commentary

My art is not and never has been political. Most of the art I create is entirely abstract. Composition has always been my focus. It is the formal relationships between compositional elements that interests me. I think of my abstract collage pieces as silent "conversations" between the shapes and lines and patches of color they are made of. 

Yesterday, I finished a new collage. Untitled Collage No. 242 (Santa Rosa). This is a large piece for me, 33.2 x 41.4cm, or 12.7 x 16.3 inches. Like most of my work recently, it is a collage of acrylic monotyped papers that I make myself.

When I looked at it this morning, I saw in it something unintended. Suddenly it looked to me like a field of ripe grain with a backdrop of a dark, threatening sky and I realized that I had created a sort of dark version of the Ukrainian flag that we have seen so often since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine. I stress that this was entirely unintentional and unconscious. Yet, there it is.

For the record, art aside, I stand with the people of Ukraine—and all oppressed people, foreign and domestic. 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 236 (Santa Rosa)

Untitled Collage No. 236 (Santa Rosa). This is another very small  piece, measuring only 6.8 x 6.0cm (2.7 x 2.4 inches). September 10, 2021. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Matted to 8 x 10 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at: https://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site 

Art I'm Making: Recent work—Untitled Collage No. 223 (Santa Rosa)

Some newish work: This is Untitled Collage No. 223 (Santa Rosa), completed last summer—August 18, 2020, to be exact. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size 20.4 x 25.5cm (8.0 x 10.0 inches). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

Click on the image for a larger view. For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website. https://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 213 (Santa Rosa)

Another comparatively large collage. I was in a dry spell, collage-wise, from the end of last year and into the start of this year, but recently I've started making more monotypes again, and that has led to some new collage work.

This is Untitled Collage No. 213 (Santa Rosa). February 12, 2019. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, graphite, collage. Image size: 28.1 x 37.5cm (11.1 x 14.8 inches). Matted to 20 x 24 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 212 (Santa Rosa)

Just when I thought I had no more collages in me, I started making new monotypes yesterday and one thing led to another....

This one doesn't photograph well. The subtleties in the rice paper area get lost a little, but the image here is a reasonable facsimile. I think too often we forget that photographs of art, while they allow a general impression, are never a substitute for seeing the real thing.

Untitled Collage No. 212 (Santa Rosa), my first collage so far in 2019. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper (antique rice paper, found letter with fragments of stamps, handmade paper sample), collage. Image size: 28.0 x 37.5cm (11.0 x 14.8 inches). Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more, see my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Recent Collages

I say in the headline "recent collages" but I've come to a point where I feel like I've done with collage what I can do with collage. I know there are an infinite number of potential works that I might create, but I've lost the intense feeling of urgency about experimenting. This has been typical of me in the past. There was a period when photography was my obsession, a period of intense woodblock and other kinds of printmaking, a period of oil painting, most recently this phase of collage-making. The collage phase lasted almost five years--much longer than usual (although I've never really stopped photography since I began at the age of about eight). The printmaking phase lasted about two years, painting and drawing about the same. I guess I need to take breaks between periods of activity. At the moment, my attention is mostly on making cyanotypes, which, so far, have proved far more difficult than I anticipated. For the time being, though, I post here my three most recent collages.

Above is Untitled Collage No. 209 (Santa Rosa), October 9, 2018,  Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 14.6 x11.0cm (5.7 x 4.3 inches). Matted to 14 x 11 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Below that is Untitled Collage No. 210 (Santa Rosa), October 20, 2018,  Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 17.5 x21.3cm (6.9 x 8.4 inches). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

And below that is Untitled Collage No. 211 (Santa Rosa), November 24, 2018,  Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 11.2 x 6.6cm (4.4 x 2.6 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Art I'm Making: Recent Collages

A couple of recent collages. I've been lazy about posting recent ones, mainly because I'm making them at a far slower pace than in the past. I feel like I've done what there is to do with this particular mode of working, but I'll probably keep at it sporadically. Right now, my attention is turned to trying to figure out the subtleties of the cyanotype process.

Above is Untitled Collage No. 207 (Santa Rosa). September 19, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, fragment of a doodling robot drawing in archival marker, collage. Image size: 11.5 x 12.2cm (4.5 x 4.8 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Below is Untitled Collage No. 208 (Santa Rosa). October 4, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, rice paper, antique silver leaf, collage. Image size: 11.5 x 11.7cm (4.5 x 4.7 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. This one really needs to be seen in person to get the full effect. The antique silver leaf is the large triangular bit behind the rice paper. It's actually inserted into a pocket in the rice paper, floating loose but held in place by the rice paper.

For more, visit http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 206 (Santa Rosa)

Another recent collage, mostly in blues.

This is Untitled Collage No. 206 (Santa Rosa). August 6, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 19.6 x 17.4cm (7.7 x 6.9 inches). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more, visit http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 205 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage, mostly in blues.

This in Untitled Collage No. 205 (Santa Rosa). August 6, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 12.5 x 12.1cm (4.9 x 4.8 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

This piece is in the Art Trails preview show now on at The Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

For more, visit http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site or, even better, come visit my studio during the Art Trails open studios event. October 13 and 14 and October 20 and 21. This year I'm Studio 40, at 973 Stone Castle Lane, in Santa Rosa, California.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 204 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 204 (Santa Rosa). Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, fragment of a doodling robot drawing in archival marker, collage. August 5, 2018. Image size: 13.3 x 13.1cm (5.2 x 5.2 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. One of a number of recent pieces I've done using mostly blue monotypes.

For more of my collage work, visit my website at http://http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site/

2018 will be my fifth year participating in ArtTrails, Sonoma County's autumn open studio event. This year, I will be Studio 40. Studios around the county will be open from 10:00AM to 5:00PM on October 13-14 and October 20-21. Come by and see my art in person. In addition to new collages, I'll be showing photography and printmaking.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 203 (Santa Rosa) and Untitled Collage No. 202 (Santa Rosa)

A newer collage—one of several I've finished in the past three weeks in a spate of activity following a period of too many distractions (What I need is a year-long artist's residency that would allow me to do nothing but work, instead of having to work. All expenses paid, with a stipend, of course. Oh yes, and somewhere like Paris.)

This is Untitled Collage No. 203 (Santa Rosa), August 4, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. 11.3 x 11.4cm (4.5 x 4.5 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

Having just posted the above, I notice that I never put up the piece that preceded this one. Below is Untitled Collage No. 202 (Santa Rosa). May 13, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. 15.9 x 12.2cm (6.3 x 4.8 inches). Matted to 14 x 11 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

 Click on the image for a larger view. For more, see my collage (and photography) website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 201 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 201 (Santa Rosa), April 16, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, graphite, collage. Image size: 37.4 x 27.7cm (14.7 x 10.9 inches). Matted to 24 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more, see my collage (and photography) website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 200 (Santa Rosa)

My most recent collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 200 (Santa Rosa). April 15, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, graphite, collage. Image size 13.0 x 13.1cm (5.1 x 5.2 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mate. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more of my collage (and other) work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 198 (Santa Rosa)

The first successful collage I've done in too many weeks. Sometimes they are a struggle. I'm now quite pleased with this—a much-simplified remnant of a larger piece that stubbornly refused to come alive.

This is Untitled Collage No. 198 (Santa Rosa). April 2, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, graphite, archival marker (fragment of a doodling robot drawing), collage. Image size: 13.5 x 12.3cm (5.3 x 4.8 inches). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more of my collage (and other) work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 197 (Santa Rosa)

My most recent collage. A small piece that once again includes a bit of hand-written music from a stack of old music given me by fellow collage artist Sherry Parker. The music has a seductive charm of its own, but here I've used it purely as an abstract design element.

This is Untitled Collage No. 197 (Santa Rosa). January 29, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper, collage. Image size: 13.3 x 12.0cm (5.2 x 4.7 inches). Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more of my collage (and other) work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 196 (Santa Rosa)

A new collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 196 (Santa Rosa). January 26, 2018. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, graphite, found paper. Image size: 16.4 x 20.3cm (6.5 x 8.0 inches). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more, see my collage website at: http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

At I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 195 (Santa Rosa)

My latest collage. I was in the mood for yellow. I started out with the idea of doing something entirely in shades of yellow, but the process has a way of taking over. Collages have a way of going where they will, and this is where this one went. This is Untitled Collage No. 195 (Santa Rosa). December 20, 2017. Image size: 25.7 x 34.8cm (10.1 x 13.7 inches). Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper, graphite, collage. Matted to 20 x 24 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 194 (Santa Rosa)

After making a number of tiny collages recently, I've finished a couple of larger ones. This is Untitled Collage No. 194 (Santa Rosa). Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper, collage. December 8, 2017. Image size: 24.9 x 32.4cm (9.8 x 12.8 inches). Matted to 20 x 24 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

I normally don't use found paper much, but this incorporates a piece of an envelope mailed from Denmark. Postage stamps in collage are a rather tired cliché, but I hope I've used them subtly here--for their color mostly, rather than in an attempt to evoke some automatic nostalgic response or to suggest something foreign. They are simply a compositional element. Diagonals can be tricky--never stable. I rather like the way the lines slanted to one side here nevertheless seem grounded and, I hope, right.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more of my collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 193 (Santa Rosa)

Another collage....This is Untitled Collage No. 193 (Santa Rosa). November 30, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 19.2 x 23.6cm (7.6 x 9.3 inches). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more of my collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site