Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 317 (Santa Rosa)

Happy New Year to all! Here's a collage from last summer. This is Untitled Collage No. 317 (Santa Rosa). July 17, 2025. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype. Image size 37.6cm x 23.4cm (14.8in x 9.2in). Matted to 24x 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website. 

In person, my work can be seen at Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. Or, you can visit me during Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier juried open studios event, usually the middle two weeks in October. Studio visits by appointment. 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 316 (Santa Rosa)

Here is a fairly recent collage. I'm getting somewhat caught up on posting new work now, but mainly because I haven't been very productive this year. Sometimes one needs a break from creating. Things are always stewing in my brain though, and before long it will all start coming out on paper again....

This is Untitled Collage No. 316 (Santa Rosa). July 16, 2025. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper (fragments from Carol Dalton), collage. Image size: 27.2cm x 18.8cm (10.7in x 7.4in). Matted to 20 x 16 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website. 

In person, my work can be seen at Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. Or, you can visit me during Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier juried open studios event, usually the middle two weeks in October.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 315 (Santa Rosa)

Here's another recent collage, a very small one. This is Untitled Collage No. 315 (Santa Rosa). June 12, 2025. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper (braille fragment), collage. Image size 6.9cm x 8.6cm (2.7in x 3.4in). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

Elsewhere, my work can be seen through Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa (sadly, now online only), Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or at my studio, by appointment. 

Art I'm Making: Art Trails 2025

Today, Sunday, October 19* is the last day of the Art Trails 2025 open studios event. The weather's fine. A great day for visits to local artists. 

Here's a recent collage: Untitled Collage No. 313 (Santa Rosa). June 9, 2025. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, fabric (book cover fragment), collage. Image size 27.0cm x 18.8cm (10.6in x 7.4in). Matted to 20 x 16 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

Today is your chance to come see this and other work in person, but, for more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

Elsewhere, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or in my studio by appointment. Sadly, however, Calabi Gallery is closing (although it will maintain an online presence)– a great loss for Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. Note also that the Ren Brown collection is closed through the end of next week as Ren is in Japan at the moment.

*Originally published on Facebook a couple of days ago

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 311 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from early this year. This is Untitled Collage No. 311 (Santa Rosa). Completed February 26, 2025. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 12.7cm x 25.4cm (5.0in x 10.0in). Matted to 11in x 14in. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or in my studio by appointment. Sadly, however, Calabi Gallery is closing (although it will maintain an online presence)– a great loss for Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 310 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a comparatively recent collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 310 (Santa Rosa). Completed February 25, 2025. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 14.0cm x 28.8cm (5.5in x 11.3in). Matted to 11in x 14in. 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or in my studio by appointment. Sadly, however, Calabi Gallery is closing at the end of this month – a great loss for Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, California.  

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 307 (Santa Rosa)

Here's another collage from last autumn. This is Untitled Collage No. 307 (Santa Rosa). Completed October 20, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 37.6cm x 28.2cm (14.8 x 11.1 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 of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 306 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last autumn. This is Untitled Collage No. 306 (Santa Rosa). Completed October 7, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper, collage. Image size: 37.8cm x 28.4cm (14.9 x 11.2 inches). Matted to 24 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

This one is a bit unusual for me as it's collaged elements on a substrate. Normally I don't work on a base of any kind. I simply glue together scraps into "rafts" of joined paper. The central pinkish and brick red elements are printed directly on the underlying sheet in this case. All the other elements are collaged bits on top. This one, at almost 15 inches x 11 inches, is also comparatively big for me. Click on the image for a larger view.

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 304 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last autumn. This is Untitled Collage No. 304 (Santa Rosa). Completed September 18, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 27.6cm x 16.6cm (10.9 x 6.5 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment. 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 302 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last summer. This is Untitled Collage No. 302 (Santa Rosa). Completed August 14, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, bark cloth fragment, collage. Image size: 32.2cm x 16.8cm (12.7 x 6.6 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 301 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last year. This is Untitled Collage No. 301 (Santa Rosa). August 5, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper (letter fragment), collage. Image size: 26.4cm x 14.7cm (10.4 x 5.8 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. 

This one is a bit unusual for me as it uses a piece of found paper. Most often my work is made entirely from monotypes I've made myself. In this case, however, the colors of the pair of stamps perfectly complemented the colors in the monotypes. Postage stamps are perhaps the quintessential cliché in collage, but I think it works in this case. 

Click on the image for a larger view. For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 300 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last summer. This is Untitled Collage No. 300 (Santa Rosa), completed August 3, 2024. Image size 23.2cm x 14.8cm (9.1 x 5.8 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 299 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last summer. This is Untitled Collage No. 299 (Santa Rosa), completed July 1, 2024. Image size 34.9cm x 24.8cm (13.7 x 9.8 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.

Books I'm reading: Robert Motherwell: Early Collages

I recently finished reading Robert Motherwell: Early Collages (The Salomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2013), the catalog accompanying a show of Motherwell's early work in collage at The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice in 2013 and the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2014. In addition to about 60 color plates, the book includes four essays on Motherwell's first experiences doing collage, an interest that he continued to pursue throughout his career. 

Among these essays, I found "Made of Paper: Motherwell's Materials in the 1940s" particularly interesting. It discusses the types of paper and other materials the artist used in the early works, the glue he typically used, and the backing materials he employed. I was a bit startled to learn that he used Duco Cement (which I remember from my childhood as a cheap, all-purpose hardware store glue), Lepage's Mucilage, and Lepage's Liquid Glue (inexpensive household glues I remember as well). Clearly, the idea of using archival materials was not well established at the time even among the artists that were starting to lead the world art scene. 

A number of the papers he used were colored with fugitive dyes. Bright purples and magentas, in particular, have faded in some of the work to light brown or a pinkish beige. The essay includes photos of some of the work as it looks now alongside digital recreations with the color restored to what it likely was when the work was new. The digital restorations were based on areas where the original color was protected from light exposure by overlapping collage elements. The fading was fairly rapid, it seems. Motherwell is quoted in the essay in later interviews and he seems to have accepted the changes without too much regret, but clearly the original, vibrant colors make for stronger compositions. Below is just one example.  

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No 297 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from the spring of last year. This is Untitled Collage No. 297 (Santa Rosa), completed May 29, 2024. Image size 21.7cm x 15.1cm (8.5 x 5.9 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 296 (Santa Rosa)

Here's another collage from earlier this year. This is Untitled Collage No. 296 (Santa Rosa), completed May 20, 2024. Image size 22.6cm x 10.5cm (8.9 x 4.1 inches). Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. This piece was recently in the 2024 Wabi Sabi show at The O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, in Mill Valley, California. 

Click on the image for a larger view. For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website. 

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 294 (Santa Rosa)

Ahead of our Art Trails open studio event this year (October 19-20 and 26-27), here's a small collage from this spring. This is Untitled Collage No. 294 (Santa Rosa). May 15, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 8.6cm x 13.1cm (3.4in x 5.2in). Matted to 11 x 14 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website. 

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. Or, you can visit me during Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier juried open studios event, which, and noted above, will be October 19–20 and October 26–27 this year. This year, I'll be Studio 40. Studios are open 10AM to 5PM all four days. Hope to see you in the studio!

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 293 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 293 (Santa Rosa) from May 13 this year. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 17.6cm x 15.0cm (6.9in x 5.9in). Matted to 20 x 16 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 at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. Or, you can visit me during Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier juried open studios event, which will be October 19–20 and October 26–27 this year. This year, I'll be Studio 40. Hope to see you in the studio! 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 292 (Santa Rosa)

This is Untitled Collage No. 292 (Santa Rosa), among the first pieces I completed in 2024. It dates from May 11 this year. It uses one of my favorite colors "Chinese Orange," made by the French paint and ink brand Sennelier, offset by a copper-patina green. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 40.2cm x 27.9cm (15.9in x 11.0in). 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 of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website. 

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. Or, you can visit me during Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier juried open studios event, which will be October 19–20 and October 26–27 this year. This year, I'll be Studio 40. Hope to see you in the studio! See less 

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 290 (Santa Rosa)

Still trying to catch up with 2024, this is Untitled Collage No. 290 (Santa Rosa), the last piece I finished in 2023 (before a fallow period of several months). Dated October 7, 2023. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 41.1cm x 32.3cm (16.3in x 12.7in). 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 of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website. 

 

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay. Or, you can visit me during Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier juried open studios event, which will be October 19–20 and October 26–27 this year. This year, I'll be Studio 40. Hope to see you in the studio!