I began exploring collage when I was undergoing a period of physical limitation which prohibited me from painting or drawing for long periods of time. I had chunks of discarded paint, monotypes, and drawings which had been cast aside, and I found just looking at those materials to be very exciting. The combination of these pieces allowed me to discover a jaggedness and angular texture which I wouldn’t have arrived at by conscious means, where a certain amount of muscle memory dictates how you move the drawing or painting tool.
The process of using collage allows for a different kind of meticulous craftsmanship. The collage detail needs to be visually exciting and challenging, but it needs to feel like part of the overall piece in terms of the balance of texture, color, and line. Weeks, sometimes months, are spent on a single piece working with a dense fragment of collage to merge it into the surface. I will begin a painting or drawing while keeping the collage piece by my side as a visual guide and at a certain point apply it. Other times, the collage piece is the first thing added. If I find the process unsatisfactory, I will tear off the collage, cut it up and reapply, or I will add additional pieces to the collage to reignite the work.