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

Untitled Collage No. 192 (Santa Rosa)

A small collage, a tiny collage. It measures 3.7 x 4.5cm (1.5 x 1.8 inches). This is Untitled Collage No. 192 (Santa Rosa). 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 collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Ar I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 191 (Santa Rosa)

A new collage, a small collage. This one is only 7.5 x 8.3cm or 3.0 x 3.3 inches. Untitled Collage No. 191 (Santa Rosa). Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. November 13, 2017.

Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 190 (Santa Rosa)

Another diminutive collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 190 (Santa Rosa). November 12, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 14.6 x 10.9cm (5.7 x 4.3 inches). Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. Matted to 14 x 11 inches.

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

Art I'm Making : Untitled Collage No. 189 (Santa Rosa)

My latest collage—a rather large one for me, although small by the standards of most. This is Untitled Collage No. 189 (Santa Rosa). October 30, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 34.6 x 25.3cm (13.6 x 10.0 inches). Matted to 24 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. This one features some venetian red papers I made recently that are suggestive of writing. These asemic scrawls were entirely unintentional, but I liked them.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 188 (Santa Rosa)

A new collage, the first I've made since the chaos caused by the recent fires here. For those of us who did not lose everything, life is beginning to return to normal. I feel for those still sorting through the wreckage, dealing with insurance, finding a place to live, mourning the loss of possessions and, in some cases, loved ones.

Trying to move ahead, this is Untitled Collage No. 188 (Santa Rosa). October 21, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. 20.1 x 20.8cm (7.9 x 8.1in). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 187 (Santa Rosa)

Life has been on hold for the past two weeks, but things are beginning to return to normal after the Northern California fires that hit us on the night of October 8--normal for those of us who evacuated but did not lose our houses, our studios, years of art work, loved ones.

I'm trying to catch up with posting new art. This is Untitled Collage No. 187 (Santa Rosa), the last piece I made before the confusion began. It's a small piece, the result of a difficult birth and many reworkings, but I'm  happy with it now that it's done. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. September 28, 2017. Image size 9.7 x 9.7cm (3.8 x 3.8in). Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 186 (Santa Rosa)

My most recent collage--a small piece, measuring 4.6 x 4.8 inches. This is Untitled Collage No. 186 (Santa Rosa). August 22, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Matted to 11 x 14 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

For those in the San Francisco Bay Area, the 2017 ART TRAILS OPEN STUDIO EVENT WEEKENDS are fast approaching (October 14-15 and October 21-22, 10AM to 5PM each day). I'll have a lot of  work to show--including more than 25 new pieces since Art Trails last year. This year I'm Studio 61, showing at the same location as in past years, 973 Stone Castle Lane, in Santa Rosa. I look forward to seeing you at the event.

Also, TONIGHT, Thursday, September 28, 2017, is the OPENING RECEPTION for the preview show (through October 22) for the entire Art Trails event, 6-8PM at The Sebastopol Center for the Arts. A piece from each of the 151 participating artists is on view. Come by, say hello, check out the offerings, and plan your studio visits.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 185 (Santa Rosa)

A new collage, this one a kind of diptych, the two halves separated by a thin white line. This is Untitled Collage No. 185 (Santa Rosa), finished August 8, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 25.1 x 15.5cm (9.9 x 6.1 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 184 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage, using a comparatively limited palette--mostly reds, browns, and oranges--with some subtly contrasting elements in shades of blue. This is Untitled Collage No. 184 (Santa Rosa). July 20, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper, collage. Image size: 19.6 x 16.8cm (7.7 x 6.6 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 inches. Signed on the mat, signed and dated on the reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 183 (Santa Rosa)

Untitled Collage No. 183 (Santa Rosa). July 10, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, found paper, collage. Image size: 18.7 x 21.4cm (7.4 x 8.4 inches). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse. One of the only two pieces I managed to finish in July.
Click on the image for a larger view.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 182 (Santa Rosa)

Sometimes you finish a piece of work, reluctantly, not entirely happy, but somehow needing to move on, and you're left with something that demands more work or a complete re-think after a little time has passed.

This is Untitled Collage No. 182 (Santa Rosa), initially finished June 8, 2017, but completely reworked on July 13, more than a month later. Originally a horizontal piece, transformed into a much more dynamic and satisfying vertical composition. Now I'm very pleased with it. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, graphite, collage. Image size: 25.4 x 35.7cm (10.0 x14.1in). Matted to 20 x 24 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 181 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage. This is Untitled Collage No. 181 (Santa Rosa), May 17, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size 22.9 x 29.7cm (9.0 x 11.7in). 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, visit my collage website at: http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 180 (Santa Rosa)

A recent collage using a rather bold magenta-tinged blue. Unintentionally, this ended up with the feel of a landscape. Whatever you happen to see in it, I think it achieves the kind of dynamic stasis that is crucial to a good abstract composition.

This is Untitled Collage No. 180 (Santa Rosa), May 21, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size: 25.5 x 19.8cm (10.0 x 7.8 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

On a technical note, I've been describing my collage work as "abstract monoprint collage" but I now think that was a mistake. Strictly speaking, the collages I make are made from monotypes rather than monoprints. From now on, I'll be calling them "abstract monotype collages."

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 179 (Novato)

Finally getting around to posting the last of the four collages I made while co-teaching a class with Suzanne Jacquot at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art back in April.

This is Untitled Collage No. 179 (Novato), April 22, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monoprint, collage. Image size: 34.8 x 26.7cm (13.2 x 10.5in). Matted to 24 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 178 (Novato)

Here is the third of the four collages I made using material I printed at a recent class I co-taught with Suzanne Jacquot at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. All four use the pattern of circles as a basic element.

This is Untitled Collage No. 178 (Novato). April 22, 2017. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monoprint, collage. Image dive 23.7 x 31.9cm (9.2 x 12.5 inches). Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on reverse.

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

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 177 (Novato)

I co-taught a class with Suzanne Jacquot at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art back in April. My role was mostly showing how I make the monoprints that become raw material for my abstract collages. This is the second of four collages I made from monoprints that came out of demonstrating for the class. Suzanne had brought a pile of cardboard sheets with circular cutouts and these made interesting prints. All four of the collages from Novato use images made using the cutouts.

This is Untitled Collage No. 177 (Novato), April 22, 2017, Acrylic on paper (acrylic monoprint), collage. Image size: 35.8 x 25.2cm (14.1 x 9.9in), 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, visit my collage website at: http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 175 (Santa Rosa)

Having just written a brief post about one of my recent collages (Untitled Collage No. 176 (Santa Rosa)), I realize that I skipped posting one I wanted to show here. This is Untitled Collage No. 175 (Santa Rosa). Acrylic on paper, acrylic monoprint, collage. April 16, 2017. Image size: 27.8 x 17.3cm (10.9 x 6.8in). Matted to 20 x 16in. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on reverse.

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