Collage

I was working in collage last week for a magazine in California. The topic was dance in various spiritual or picturesque settings around the world. Here is one early version of the art. The usual sketch-approval process doesn't work the same for collage. You have to find the elements before you can pitch them, which puts the artist and the art director out on a limb. But often the results can be wonderful and evocative in ways simple painted illustration is not.

Iconography

This is one of my favorites from the dot series. I love it because it is so meaningless, which is another way of saying it could mean anything. I do no sketches and study no reference for this kind of painting. I carefully paint the dots, then quickly add the icons. I can't be thinking of anything or looking at anything or trying to say anything, which sounds kind of like bullshit. I suppose it is. I'm curious to see what comes out of the brush when I'm not trying to draw anything in particular. If something concrete comes into my head I make sure it's painted upside down. This is called method. It's a variation on the method I use to paint bagatelles, a way of tricking the subconscious into committing itself to paper.

Egyptian

These were two of several illustrations I did for a P. J. O'Rourke piece in the Atlantic. What do I know about Egypt? Well, the pyramids are there, and so is the Sphinx. The article was typical O'Rourke, sardonic and satiric, so the point was to have some fun with the material at hand. Which I did.