Wonderland

 I had so much fun making Door in the Woods I made another, smaller (5×7) canvas afterwards.  This time I didn’t use a photo as the starting background.  I made the background with melted crayons alone, then added the collaged elements on top, added more wax, etc until Iwas happy with what I had. 

The theme for this piece ended up being a homage to Alice in Wonderland, because after I altered the picture of the little girl and wax-adhered it to the canvas I thought that Alice might have looked like that in real life, and because I’m a huge fan of Alice.  I see alot of myself in Alice, an awful lot.  It’s no wonder I have such a strong affinity for her.  So with that idea in mind, I began to add a few pivotal characters from Wonderland.  My favorite character is the worm that smokes the hookah, but I couldn’t find the image I wanted so I did without.  But I did get the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat in there.  The rabbit was a must, and I was lucky to find a good image of him. 

Door in the Woods

This is an 8×10 canvas panel with collage, bees wax, crayons and markers.   I’ve been wanting to try incorporating wax (bees and crayons)  into my collages for some time now so today I finally sat down and got busy.  I really like the translucent quality of the wax, and how you can create textures and blends of colors. 

As far as the theme goes, it wasn’t planned.  I wanted to do something with a door and I had a photograph I’d taken on a foggy day recently that I thought would make an ethereal, interesting background.  Well, that’s how it started.  I printed the photo on paper in 6×8 size, then I went over the trees with wax, but the white fog areas have been replaces by melted crayon and collaged images.  So the photograph ended up becoming non-existent, except for the trees. 

 I like combining my photography with found images – the photos give me a starting point for mood and possible theme.  Thing is, even when I plan out an art piece it rarely ends up with the original vision I had for it.  This piece was an exception – almost.  As I started adding the collaged elements, the piece seemed to take on a life of its own.  I find that happens alot when I make art.  And many times, there is that moment of serendipity when I find an unexpected element to add that becomes a new focal point, like the small child I placed over the woman’s right eye.  I love it when things like that happen, it’s the coolest thing.