I had the pleasure the past few weeks of working on pieces commissioned by friends. They had some specific requests, and that made the creative process even more interesting.
It’s been my experience that having some boundaries and limits can help creativity. If I’m writing music for a defined group of voices or instruments, or for a solo artist, the instrumentation is clear and I don’t have to think about it. The performance setting and subject matter play a role. Am I setting someone else’s words, or creating lyrics and music together? And so on. The fewer open questions, the sharper the focus on creating with the resources available.
It’s the same with visual art.
Defined Colors for Collage Art
Michael Bright and his team of artisans create beautiful and innovative custom fabrications. He helped me with a difficult renovation project several years ago and we became friends. When I started creating art I gave him one of my abstract geometric pieces.
I had used blue and orange, the colors of the University of Florida. That made it the perfect gift for his son, Justin, who was graduating from the University of Florida at the time.
This year the tradition continued. Michael asked me to create a piece for his younger son, Julian, who just graduated from the University of Central Florida. Julian is a talented photographer who will be working for the UCF Knights football team after graduation.
So of course Michael asked I use UCF’s colors, black and gold. And I wanted to create a piece with energy and excitement, reflecting healthy competition.
I mentioned this to an artist friend, Tommy Bayot, and he offered to let me photograph an original gold painting on varied black surfaces. The bulk of the final piece comes from those photos of Tommy’s art, made at his studio.
The work flowed intuitively, organically, as I built patterns of the varying background textures.
That flow continued as I was drawn to a create a focal point of energy and intensity. In the Arena is the result. I wish Julian and the Knights well this coming season!
In the Arena, 20″x24″ collage on paper/mat, 2023
Defined Subject Matter for Collage Art
Double M Aviation in Lakeland, Florida is a great shop that’s worked on my aircraft for many years. Mike McNabb and Audrey Baxcajay have gone above and beyond to solve problems, whenever I needed help, whatever the time of day.
For this collage we wanted to create something that would feature photographs of aircraft they own or have worked on, along with other material I might add. The result is Close Formation, the title a play on the joke that an airplane is just a collection of parts flying in “close formation”.
Just nuts and bolts in the air. And a bit of magic!
I printed their photos and cut the prints into 2” squares that featured parts of planes. I used the squares to create a pattern around a central hub. Then I layered additional squares and smaller pieces of material over that, creating depth and a sense of rotation, evoking the effect of a propeller in motion. It’s there, not super obvious, but there.
Motion and color are compelling elements. If one backs away, one sees the overall effect, and it’s not necessary to know what every plane or part might be.
But get closer, and then there are many individual stories. Dozens in fact, recognizable parts of the overall tapestry. Even my old Beechcraft Baron is flying again, although I destroyed it in a gear up accident back in 2019… no one hurt… thanks to a photo taken in 2015 by Connor Krajnik.
I decided to finish the piece with a gloss varnish, to make the colors pop as much as possible. And the blue frame picks up on the blue in many individual pictures, and in the Double M logo.
Fun stuff!
Close Formation, 20″x26″ collage on paper/mat, 2023
How Can I Commission a Piece?
If you would like to commission a piece, please use the contact form contact and let’s talk about it. You may want something for a particular space, or you may have a particular artistic idea you would like to explore. Collaboration is a good thing!
Five Deuces Galleria: Happy Art That Makes You Smile
If you want to smile, check out the current show at Five Deuces Galleria.
The current exhibition, Happy Art That Makes You Smile, runs through October 2.
The next show, Passions, opens in October; stay tuned for more!
