Seven - a collective of seven artists from rural Nova Scotia

My artwork for our Danish exhibitions is complete.... big sigh...  There's still much to do in the way of paperwork for customs, sending press releases and invitations, packing... 

Hard work?  Yes!  Stressful?  Yes!  Time consuming?  Yes!  Would I do it again? ......

I'll let you know while I contentedly partake of a lovely red wine on a Copenhagen terrace in a few weeks.  In the meantime, I'd be delighted to share with you some nuts and bolts of my process when creating a series of artworks: 


Ideas come at any moment - while driving, while showering, while dining with friends, and the ones that stick long enough to touch pen to paper, wind up in my artbook full of sketches, torn bits of paper, phrases, paint smudges and pastel scribbles.


Over the next while, I ponder bits and pieces to the point of distraction - missing portions of conversation, driving straight past my exit... twice, placing the milk carton in the  dishwasher.  Honestly? I can spend days thinking about various shades of pink!

Once my subject has firmly established itself as an obsession, I begin to photograph.  Hundreds of photographs - stored, selected, grouped, reselected, regrouped.  Then, I embark on days of digital manipulations - printing the results on heavy weight art paper.



Mixing colours and layering upon layers, I create the lyrical abstract landscapes in which to suspend my subjects.


Here is my artist statement and, below, two of my cows:


"My art celebrates that moment of eye contact when we become engaged with beings other than human.  My works are an invitation to look outside of ourselves at the creatures that feed us and give us the products we use routinely.  Layers on layers press my subjects to the fore of the picture plane, openly inviting an exchange with the viewer."

                        cow 545, 36"x48", acrylic and photographic collage on panel, $1200



To see the rest of my herd, visit my Adagio Cow Collection through my personal blog. (Click on one of my cows on the right.)  Readers of this blog may be happy to know that I offer these collage paintings at a special pre-exhibition price of 10% off my shop price.

Sold or not, all works in this collection will be touring Denmark from mid-July to the end of October.  Imagine, you could be the proud owner of Dane-admired artwork that is very likely to bring a smile to your face each time you gaze upon it.


Deborah

cow grazing, 24"x24", acrylic and photographic collage on panel, $400