Filling the Gaps
In my history as an artist, I have spent a few years creating found-object assemblages, inspired by Joseph Cornell and La Wilson. I'm not suggesting to you that I am on the same plane as they were, but I bowed to them with each piece of work in my own hands.
Now, I am more interested in painting than in assemblage work, but I still have old boxes and found-objects leaning against, well, every available space in my studio.
A couple of weeks ago, I was spinning in my chair and thinking thoughts—you know how that goes—and I spotted an antique printer tray I had bought a while ago but never used. It has 147 little compartments, and the idea of filling them with little things put me off of the project. BUT, how about filling those gaps with tiny paintings, I thought? Now, that's something I could do and would do and would enjoy doing.
I settled, randomly, on creating 130 tiny paintings, each 1" x 2", using cold wax and oil. With the image of a standard landscape in my head, I painted some blue for sky, some dark blue for clouds and some yellow and green for land. I used small pieces of scrap wood to raise the level of the tray floor and glued in the tiny paintings, fitting them together like a puzzle to create the landscape and leaving empty spaces for effect.
In the end, that effect created a depth to the work that intrigues me. This is now my favorite piece so far, and I can't wait to get to work on that other old printer's tray that is wrapped in cobwebs, leaning against something or other.
You can find this piece in my shop HERE.