Experimental figurative collage

Here are the quick experimental cut-out collages that I did for part of the commission proposal -- really needed to see if this was something I could pull off! The test, not to scale, helped me figure out how to approach the entire scene of multiple people, pets, and the tennis ball. The collages were just leaned up in the window seat at home so that I could get the ball up in the air for my photos. It's hard to see the black outline around each one. When installed, the collages will be mounted on a neutral gray wall and will stand out from the wall so that shadows will help to animate the scene, with some imagery falling behind others and appearing to be more distant. I'm just getting going on the final pieces... can't wait to start on the leaping dog I envision going after that ball! Fun to be working on something so whimsical. (Also challenging not to get too cute.)

Synthetic cubism

My website was recently added to the collageart.org directory of collage artists and collage-related sites. It's great to be included among so many amazing collage artists. This resource is worth some serious web-surfing to see the range of work being done in the collage medium. Painter and collage artist Jonathan Talbot wrote about my work, "The collages of Janice McDonald are inspired, in part, by synthetic cubism and other 20th Century art movements." I'd never assessed my work quite that way but found his comment appropriate to much, if not all, of my work. (I was fortunate to study with Jonathan at his studio in 2001 and often recommend his book, "Collage: A New Approach.")I see cubism most obviously influencing my figurative work like collages from the Foundling Series. This is number 19 in the series of small works, measuring 7 x 5."