| Some people are interested in how things are made. Part of art is magic, the other is well-developed technique. |
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I begin with a concept, one either generated by my own experience, or one given to me by a client.
The project shown here was a commission for a hotel in Dallas. I worked with a gallery, and they in turn worked with an interior design firm. The majority of my commission work comes to me this way. The client requested that the artwork reflect the history of the Dallas school system. I bought photos from the library archives, scanned and digitized them. That way I was free to enlarge or crop or use any portion of a photo. I included original pages from a vintage English primer schoolbook, printed some alphabets, used wallpaper and borders, gift wrap, headlines from old newspapers, and various textured handmade papers.
I lay out all the elements to get a feel for the scale of each, then I permanently adhere them to the surface of the substrate. Sometimes I will paint part of the background first.
I add color next, a little at a time to get the right temperature and balance. I might add some texture at this point also, in the form of a sand additive to the paint, or some acrylic texture gel. Often I will press objects into the gel to make marks.
I use a lot of gold and silver leafs (although not on this piece) because I love the glow of them. That's the last thing I add.
Each piece tells me when it is finished, and then it's varnished. |
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