airdgallery.org online collage show. My collage ‘blue dog balloon’ is included in the show.
‘blue dog balloon’ from the ‘nosferatu’ series online through www.airdgallery.org
‘blue dog balloon’, collage, acrylic paint on canvas. 8x10” Online art exhibit, October 2022, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto. $225.00
The book ‘nosferatu - the vampire’s circus’.
Available on Amazon. ‘nosferatu - the vampire’s circus’. Also, ‘dancing down entropy street’, and ‘echoes in the void’.
Me at the art show this past weekend. I had a really good time.
Amy’s paintings of Paris. So beautiful.
The poster for the show. It looks good.
Facebook ad for the show. My little wooden dice collages, and Amy’s Paris painting.
The table set-up at the art show. Lots of little collages on canvas, and some altered corned beef tin lids.
…and more collages.
‘nosferatu - the vampire’s circus’ painting/collage at the show.
‘nosferatu - the vampire’s circus’, ‘two jugglers and an acrobat’ painting/collage at the art show.
I had some posters made for the show. They’re $30.00 each, the black background looks like velvet, it’s so black. I love it.
I uploaded the book to go with the collages. Available for purchase now on Amazon.
My copy of the book, with the original collage. I like it. I couldn’t get copies in time for the sale on Saturday and Sunday, but I thought I could at least show people what it looks like, and they can go online and order one for themselves. I got it a day earlier than I was supposed to, which was great.
‘nosferatu - two jugglers and an acrobat’, 36x36” paint, collage on canvas. It’s almost finished.
I made a banner for the show. I like it. I just have to figure out how to hang it. I’ve also entered two collages into a show in Toronto. Maybe they’ll like them. This makes me want to do larger paintings from the small collages. I have two 36x36” canvas I could do.
‘the magician’s wife’, paint, collage on canvas. From a vintage photograph of my mother’s mother. I keep altering it a little. I think it’s finished now.
‘swan’ collage. Collage, acrylic paint on canvas, rhinestones. For ‘the vampire’s circus’.
Collage of my dad, Ron Small, with a dog. I added the image of the dog on the left side. Collage on canvas, paint, rhinestones.
The collage of my mother, Trudy Small, from a vintage photograph.
I’m doing another collage of my mother. The original photograph was taken through a window, and there is a reflection of what looks like an advertisement with a woman’s face in the glass. I painted that, and the man standing in the background. I altered it a bit, and it looks weird, but I like it.
The finished collage, with the painted reflection, and the man standing in the background.
I’m doing one of my mother, Trudy Small now. It’s not quite finished. I like the hat. For years I’ve looked at this photo and thought the white collar was a collar on her dress. Looking more closely at it now though, I think it was her apron. She was working in a restaurant when this photo was taken.
The two paintings hanging in the front foyer.
‘nosferatu’ icon. paper collage, paint, jewels. ‘wolverine icon’.
‘nosferatu’ burning tiger and butterfly. Collage, paint, jewels on canvas.
I’m not doing these in order. This is my latest collage. I like the dog, and the horse. The tents look like mushrooms.
‘nosferatu’ angel with butterfly wings. Collage on canvas.
‘nosferatu’ fairy skeleton on a jeweled horse. Collage on canvas, jewels.
‘nosferatu’ jeweled horse and collage.
I got a little carried away, as usual. Circus juggler with mushrooms. I painted two circus tents in a previous collage, and they looked like mushrooms.
I have a ‘mirror’ setting on my camera. I took this with it. It’s interesting. I did a great portrait of myself with it too.
A mirrored image of one of the collages. I could do a larger painting of the collages. I’ve only done 82 of them, so that wouldn’t take long, would it?
‘nosferatu’ - the clock. Unfinished. I need a bit of wood to fill in the gap behind the clock mechanism, so the hands are at the right level. I looked, but I don’t have anything in my studio that will work, so I’ll have to slide into the garage and see if there’s anything the right height out there. Collage, paint, jewels on wood. I got this and another clock body at the thrift shop. The other one is a heart-shape, so it might be a bit harder to do. I haven’t started it yet.
‘nosferatu - Jo, mirrored clown image’. Collage on canvas. I’ve only just started this one. I don’t think it will need too much. This might make the cover of the book, instead of the icon image.
‘nosferatu - skeleton pegasus’. The painted image and the painted canvas.
‘nosferatu - skeleton pegasus’. The image cut out, and taped to the canvas for the photo. I like the shadows. It could be interesting to do something with that.
The baby clown shoes I made a while ago. They fit with this poem, so I’m going to use them in the book. They go with the painted photograph of me when I was 1.
Hand-painted photograph of me when I was 1.
‘nosferatu’ - Jo, mirror-image clowns. Collage on canvas, paint, rhinestones, heart jewel. I like this one a lot, it might make the cover of the book.
‘nosferatu - winged horse skeleton’, collage on canvas. I like this one too, but then, I like them all.
The back of the clock. I haven’t finished the front yet.
The background for the next painting. I got the already-painted canvas from the thrift shop. I’ve left the coloured stripes and some of the blue in the sky. I’m going to do a juggler, and maybe some animals in it ? I don’t know yet. It’s the moon, shining in through the top of a circus tent, for ‘the vampire’s circus’.
The juggler, for the painting. I don’t think I’m going to use the zebra as it is. I might redo it, as a collage element, or paint it directly onto the canvas, I haven’t decided which one yet. I added shoes to the juggler, I really like them. They’ll all have them after this. I’d really like a clown costume, so I could photograph it. I might have to find or make one. The pants, at least. I do have clown shoes, but they’re baby shoes.
The baby clown shoes, for the poem. I’ve got half a book out of this one poem, so far.
A closer look at the deconstructed juggler. The circles are from my friend Cher, who does resin projects. I don’t know how they’re made exactly. I’ll have to ask her.
‘nosferatu’, juggler. Circus tent. It needs something on the left hand side now.
I printed the image of the horse, then painted it, then I cut it out and glued it to the canvas. It’s easier to paint before it’s glued down.
I added a two-headed horse, and a ball to the collage. It’s still not finished. I need something on the left hand side still.
I added a fairy ballerina/juggler to the two-headed horse. It still needs more work.
I signed it, so it must be finished. I’ll have to just look at it for a while. It has to be varnished still. I have to either start a 36 x36” painting now, or go to the store to buy more small canvases. I haven’t decided which yet. Sometimes it depends on the weather. It’s grey and wet out today, so I don’t feel like going out. I’d also like to wait for a week or so and see what happens with the no mask thing.
So I added a bit more detail, and some more rhinestones. It’s varnished, so it must be finished.
Assemblage, corned beef lid, paint, beads, eye.
XYZ assemblage. Corned beef tin, paint, beads, domino, text from a fortune cookie. These will be for sale. They may or may not be included in the book.
A photograph of a bowl of water in the rain, for a verse from the poem ‘the vampire’s circus’.
‘nosferatu’ circus horse, dragonfly wings.
‘nosferatu’ winged torso clown, butterfly.
‘nosferatu’, doll collage on canvas. Paper, acrylic paint, metallic paint, rhinestones.
‘nosferatu’ - burning angel. Paper, acrylic paint on canvas, small playing cards, rhinestones. This is turning out to be the longest poem I’ve ever written. I’m up to page 102 so far. I’d like to do 125 pages at least.
‘four of hearts’, collage on canvas, small playing cards, rhinestones, acrylic paint, glitter.
‘the card-player’. Vintage photograph, small playing cards, paint, rhinestones on canvas. 9x12”. My dad used to play solitaire at the dining room table. That memory inspired this collage.
Jo - Clown with ball. Collage on canvas.
Blood’s a sweet elixir on
the slither of the tongue,
‘there must have been a bee’, you said,
the canky ankle, stung.
nosferatu - leopardskin girl. Collage on canvas.
nosferatu - mom with butterfly wings, collage on canvas.
‘nosferatu - magician, cards’. Collage, paint, on pink glitter canvas. I have a blue glitter canvas I’m working on as well.
‘blue glitter canvas magician’. collage on canvas.
‘doll’, not finished. Kind of has a Marilyn Monroe hairstyle. 9x12”.
Finished collage.
The next collage. Not finished. I like the wet-on-wet paint muscles.
First I paint the printed image, (bottom), and paint the background on the canvas. I cut out the image and glue it to the canvas after it’s painted, (top).
‘Dreams will be forgotten in the unrelenting heat, you stood beside the mad magician, roses at your feet’.
Unfinished, ‘burning tiger’ collage on canvas. I like it so far.
The finished collage.
‘blue dog balloon’, paint on paper for collage. Not finished. I do love the balloon dog.
The painted image glued to the black canvas. Not finished.
The finished collage. O.k., so every time I finish one, I think ‘this is my favourite one’, but really, I like this one a lot.
‘rhinoceros’ collage, unfinished. I painted the rhino orange and yellow to go with the butterfly wings. It’s from a photo of a plastic rhinoceros toy I made into a fairy rhino for my fairy garden.
The toy rhino, with glass fairy wings.
‘nosferatu - rhinoceros’ collage on canvas. I might do a little bit more on this one, but I like it.
…then again.
‘nosferatu’ clown, unfinished. I printed 3 different images for this collage. I’m adding a left arm to it. It has an egyptian vibe.
and the finished collage. I like the rainbow.
‘Magician’, fire hands. Collage on canvas, small playing cards, paint, heart jewel.
The eighth circle of hell, with the collages.
‘high-five dice’, collage, paint, on scrap wood.
‘high-five venus’, unfinished. I’m going to add the moon collage piece to it.
I added the moon as a separate piece. It’s finished now.
‘high-five venus’, take two. Paint on paper. I’ll cut it out and collage it onto a painted canvas next. The moon is integrated into the image, so there’s only one layer of paper.
‘high-five venus #2’. Collage on canvas, paint, rhinestones, recycled heart earring. I like this one.
‘blue baby butterfly’ collage on canvas, paint. I took the photograph of the baby through a window at a medical office. There are images I’d like to have that are hard to make. I have a couple of good shark photographs that I took when we were in the aquariums in Toronto, and New Zealand. I love it, but that’s as close as I’d like to get.
‘the house of nosferatu’. Paint, collage on canvas.
‘The house of nosferatu rises slowly
from the sea,
‘we’re home’, you said, but I believe
the road remembers me.
The beginning of the next collage. It looks like Princess Leia’s grandmother. It’s actually my grandmother, on my mother’s side. The paper image is painted, now I have to glue it to the canvas.
The finished collage. I like the colours. I did a bit more work on it. She looks better now.
‘swan’, print on paper with the verse from the poem, on my writing clipboard. This might be a good way to show them.
‘the lighthouse keeper’, collage, paint, on canvas. Sold.
Tiger, for collages.
‘tiger’ #3, in progress, and some really big playing cards, with some regular sized playing cards.
‘doll’, ‘two hearts as one’, paint, rhinestones on canvas.
‘venus’ orange hair, collage on canvas.
‘winged magician’, paint, small playing cards, jewels, collage on canvas. 12x14”
I got a couple of small easels to put these collages on. I’d like a lot more of them. I’ve also got two sheets of thin styrofoam to use as display walls so I can hang the collages on them. They have to be covered in paper or painted (or something) next. They’re very light, so they should hang from the tent structure without being too heavy, (finger’s crossed).
‘mirror image circus horse’, paint, collage, rhinestones on canvas.
‘tiger tiger’, paint, collage on canvas. I’m starting a 36x36” canvas from one of the collages next. I haven’t picked out which one yet. It has to be a square format, so that will limit me a bit, but not much. I have a lot of square collages I really like in this series. I’m not sure I’m going to get it finished in time for the show on the 18th, but I’ll try. I have to finish the book and get it printed next. That usually takes a long time to do, but I’m hoping this one won’t take forever, since it’s just one poem.
I did some small collages on some wooden blocks I got from the trash can. Imagine throwing something out?!? Never in my world.
The backs of the wooden blocks. They sit on a surface, so they won’t need hangers on the back.
Small wooden collage, star, domino, die, rhinestones, paint on plywood.
Small wooden collage #2, domino, die, bead, paint skin, paint, crackle glaze, rhinestones on plywood.
I ended up painting the doll. I like it better this way. I’ve started a 36x36” painting of one of these images. I have two large canvases, so I’m going to try to do one for the show on the 18/19th. I’m not sure I’ll have time to finish it, but I’ll try.
‘nosferatu - two jugglers and an acrobat’, paint, collage on canvas. I have to print the images on separate pieces of paper and then paint them, and cut them out. I can only print 8 1/2 x 11”. I’m adding another figure to this. I was just going to do a painting from one of the collages, no paper involved, but instead, this happened.
The acrobat, taken from an image on the internet, altered. The arms are from a medical textbook.
Three images on the canvas. I’ll paint the pink background black, probably, yet to be determined.
I finished the acrobat, and the two moons and the balloon dog. Now I can start the background.
Layer one on the background painted. I like the colours.
I finally finished the background, now I can glue the figures down.
I had some new business cards printed for the show. My two favourite clown paintings.
Tiger and tiger collage. Two different tigers, of course.
The tiger in the collage. I added glass fire wings for the skeleton fairy garden. He needs to be fixed now.
Some of the collages on the display board. Getting ready for the sale at Amy’s on Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th.
I’ve glued down the jugglers and the acrobat onto the canvas. It needs a few more details added, but it’s pretty much finished now. I do like it, but then, I like them all.
The ‘circus’ painting on the new easel. It only took me 2 days to put it together.
…and that’s a wrap folks. Packed up and ready to go. Three small corned beef tin assemblages. Paint, dominoes, beads, found objects, jewels, wire.
‘venus headspace’, acrylic paint, collage on canvas. I have a few more small canvases to use, so I’m doing some more collages. I really like doing them. Small letter earrings from the thrift shop spell ‘vnus’. There were no letter e’s.
‘venus’ ouzo bottle from the thrift shop. I’ll definitely do something with this.