WIPs—Cardboard Quilts' Early Layers

M Y   A R T — I've begun the "painting and papering" phase of my next series and thought I'd post a few of the works-in-progress, or WIPs, as the kids say, lol. These are all of my "trademarked" cardboard quilt construction. The pre-cut cardboard squares are assembled in three overlapping layers for strength and texture. I'm covering these base layers with pre-printed patterned paper that was originally meant for scrapbooking. I've mentioned on this blog before that this huge book of patterned paper reminds me of those large books of wallpaper I loved to peruse as a child. These pieces will probably eventually receive top layers of vintage portraits. My typical pieces might have 7-8 layers of paper images and 10-20 layers of painted stripes and squares, all mixed with layers of polyurethane and wall joint compound. These pieces will be in the 15-25 inches high x 25-36 inches wide range.

The "theory" behind these pieces is just to show how I see things. By using pre-cut cardboard squares—culled from boxes of advance books where they're used as packing spacers—and preprinted paper, I'm using mundane everyday items. I'm using these colors and textures next to each other, on top of each other, some relating to each other, some standing proudly alone. When I view the world, I tend to see most everything as simplified colors and shapes and how they relate to the simplified colors and shapes around them. I'm always cropping sights I see—editing them, adding to them—it's just an automatic thing on my part, the way my brain works. Probably why I tend to wander around a lot, lol.