Stone & Beat
A man and his accordion tell their story at the Cliffs of Moher.
Stone & Beat, India Ink, 12 x 18 in, 2022
Gatherings from Ireland
Cortona Collages
A gathering of textures, patterns, and architectural structures inspired a series of collages that represent my time in Italy, specifically Cortona. My collection of drawings consisted of various linework and a selective color palate: black, white, yellow, and green, with the exception of some random pops of color here and there. Once cutting up the initial drawings into different shapes, I found that I could create some of my favorite scenes in Italy by collaging them.
Tether, india ink, chalk pastel, and pen, 2022
After accumulating a large supply of ink and chalk pastel drawings I decided to use them as collaging material. With foam core as a base, I started planning out what specific picture I wanted to recreate using my drawings. At first, I meticulously drew out an outline for what I wanted the final collage to look like but over time, my collages became more abstract. I would end up adding more shapes and linework to the collage than I initially intended to in the beginning. I cut some of the drawings down to skinny strips of paper and used them as a border or as an interesting addition. The drawings complemented each other because they were composed of some of the same drawings and with a similar color palette. Overall, I learned that when I planned out my collage idea in the beginning it usually had a better visual outcome. The spontaneous collages felt somewhat random in their composition but still tied together nicely with the precise collages. I ended up with eight final collages in the series.
Linework
Inkwork
Traveling to Italy for the first time afforded me the chance to discover a new culture with an incredible history. I was compelled to collect various patterns, textures, and interesting compositional scenes that I came across on different excursions in Italy. My sketchbook was filled with drawings of whatever I could capture fast enough, and the rest I collected with my camera. I decided to pull together all the images (photos and drawings) I found most intriguing, and recreate them using India ink and chalk pastel. I chose India ink because it allowed a large range of brushstrokes, such as, thin, small, thick, and large. I could also manipulate the opacity of the India ink using different amounts of water. The more water I added, the more transparent the ink got. If I added more ink than water I could layer it on top of the transparent layer of ink. The addition of chalk pastel provided me with texture and a bright pop of color. The color palette I worked with mainly consisted of green, yellow, black, and white. I drew several different scenes such as cobblestone streets, complex buildings, plants, and abstract linework images.