Archive for the ‘J A Dixon’ Category

LexArts 50th Anniversary Auction ends tonight!

Sunday, December 11th, 2022


 

These collector bottles want a home, but most of them would settle for the humble “man cave.” Auction closes at midnight tonight. A perfect gift for that eccentric Bourbon lover and a way to support the arts in Central Kentucky with a year-end donation. Opening bids are only $350.

Or you may want to grab my #008 version while you still can!
 

 

 

The Wild Why of a “Whisky Wall of Wonder” . . .

Monday, December 5th, 2022


 
 
 
@n online auction of collectible Maker’s Mark Art Bottles takes center stage, now that the “Whisky Wall of Wonder” has made its splash (last Saturday night during the 50th anniversary celebration of LexArts and the associated Horse Mania Auction at Keeneland). When the distillery teams up with the arts institution in a milestone dollar-raising concept connected to the legendary race track, I can’t help but be a “part of the action.” However, unlike when I created my only collage on bowling pin, the participating artists don’t get a “piece of the action” this go round. No exploitation here, folks. It’s a total, eyes-wide-open donation to observe the half-century mark and benefit the arts in Central Kentucky. It’s been no secret how I view the whole subject of periodic contributions of creative labor to nonprofit groups, in case you’re interested in linking through to that archive of opinionated posts.
 

It was stimulating to delve into collage solutions that had to take into consideration multiple viewing orientations — a worthwhile assignment for someone wrapped up in his two-dimensional practice. The experience also triggered recollections and inevitable allusions to the “Mark of Great Art” pieces that were made for my 2008 collaboration. Who knows what became of them after they ended up in Europe? Who knows what will become of these peculiar bottles? May they bring joy and perhaps a bit of amusement to those who take stewardship!

The online auction destination accepts bids until midnight, 12/11/22.

Whether or not one is vying to secure an original artifact full of private select whisky, it’s fun to take a peek at some of the current bids!

Our “En Plein Air” show in Danville

Monday, August 22nd, 2022

“And yet, standing at his appointed place, the trunk of the tree, he does nothing other than gather and pass on what comes to him from the depths. He neither serves nor rules — he transmits. His position is humble. And the beauty at the crown is not his own. He is merely a channel.”
— Paul Klee
 

Another anticipated En Plein Air annual exhibition has appeared and vanished, my sixth consecutive participation since I took up the challenge of “painting in papers” with the PAACK. My sincere thanks to Art Center of the Bluegrass for continuing to support our regional group!

The two miniatures that I included in the show are featured here. Completing both of them in the studio raised some concerns that I’d be able to retain my on-site impression as I made detailed additions too delicate for outdoor work. Did I manage to do it?

 

East End Survivor
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6 x 7.125 inches, framed 11 x 14
available for purchase

 

Gardener’s Nook
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.25 x 7.25 inches, framed 11 x 14
available for purchase

Eleventh Chapter — Paint old Lex in papers . . .

Saturday, July 2nd, 2022

“If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.”
– Edward Hopper
 

Here’s my collage en plein air for this summer’s annual “Paint the Town” challenge (organized by Kate Savage of Lexington’s Arts Connect). Hours never evaporate so alarmingly fast as during this event. It had to be delivered framed and ready for immediate display within the six-hour deadline. The piece looks a bit unfinished to my eye, and probably will until an image wrapped in expectations has faded from my head. My insane trackside rig (located across from the Lawrence Brewer & Son Horse Oats warehouse) drew the attention of a railroad inspector, but, thankfully, I was left uninterrupted.

Do you think I should’ve brought along the kitchen sink, too?

 

Oathouse
collage en plein air by J A Dixon
100% / 0% — site to studio
10 x 10 inches + handcrafted frame
available for purchase at CAMP

A satisfying momentum . . .

Wednesday, June 15th, 2022

I’ve been out on location, painting in papers — to build a new series of collage landscapes that I shall talk more about soon!
 

 

My Oh So Fallible Intuition

Sunday, May 15th, 2022

Did you celebrate World Collage Day?
Check out this Instagram tag and be amazed.

 

My Oh So Fallible Intuition
collage experiment by J A Dixon
6.25 x 6.6875 inches
a salute to World Collage Day, 2022
available for purchase

PAACK kicks off 2022 season!

Thursday, April 14th, 2022

I really enjoyed PAACK’s chilly kickoff outing at the home of Mrs. Penn. As everyone began to focus on her exploding flower beds, I turned my attention in the other direction (for some odd reason). I couldn’t deny an interest in her staging nook near a teal fence (in the same way I was captivated by the back of Tillie’s garage last year). I’m completing the collage I started that day, and it will be a challenge to finish it for our summer show within the 50:50 limitation. I wouldn’t mind interpreting the gardening table, but I’ll need to omit that element to pull this off. I’d rather “move” the nearby bird feeder into my composition for a splash of complementary color, and also to find some way, within the remaining time, to “paint” the hay bales with paper ingredients.

Do I have to count the minutes I spend staring at my reference photo?
 
 
 

My 50:50 time constraint will necessitate simplification,
but inserting the colorful bird feeder is a given!

Happy Happy to my Partner in All Things!

Monday, April 11th, 2022

 

1979
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.75 x 5.0625 inches
collection of Dana Lynn Dixon

Collage studios exposed! Endorse the CHAOS!

Friday, April 1st, 2022

“It took me 1-1/2 years to tame this beast. The whole process was such an emotional rollercoaster. It’s interesting to notice how contradictory I (still) feel about the whole thing. This might sound weird, and don’t get wrong – I’m super proud of the book and this is the biggest thing I’ve ever done, but when I started the project, I was in a very bad place. The company I had founded filed a bankruptcy, and years of mistreating myself led to collapsing and struggling with very negative thoughts. After the worst waves, I felt I needed some kind of personal project, so that I could focus into something else other than my problems. And so this project was born. I’ve received overwhelming support and positive feedback, which has helped me to push forward.”
— Niko Vartiainen
 

One of the most dynamic guys in the collage scene is Finland’s Niko Vartiainen. His new, highly unusual book, THE CUTTING CHAOS, celebrates the diverse studios of 28 international collage artists. I’m pleased that he chose to showcase my basement workplace with an eight-page feature. It’s a real privilege! Photos reveal my tools and chunks of the surrounding stash. One of the images highlights the “collage kit” that enables me to work in the medium en plein air. The approach relies on a re-purposed plastic dish drainer that was spared a land-fill demise. Paper resources fit into the slots for plates (protection from the breeze), and my three different adhesives are held in the flatware compartments. Next to the kit you can see an ancient, ugly hair dryer that still gets almost daily use. The 244-page hardcover publication includes an interview format. Participating artists share their answers to a set of identical questions about their workspaces. My subterranean “fortress of solitude” in our bungalow hasn’t been kept a secret, but only a few people have seen it before now. Hello, world!
 
 
 
 
 

 

Tenth Chapter: Painting from nature with paper

Saturday, February 19th, 2022

“Follow the ways of natural creation, the becoming, the functioning of forms, then perhaps starting from nature you will achieve formations of your own, and one day you may even become like nature yourself and start creating.”
— Paul Klee
 

As I pushed toward the hanging date for Change of Seen last month, I pulled out an unfinished work. In 2020 it had been my hope to complete it as part of the Paint By Nature entry — an interpretation of an urban oak tree. Everything was done except for the tree itself, which I’d wanted to paste together in a burst of spontaneity. The “start” went into cold storage when I ran out of time for two submissions. Fast forward to January 2022. Now I had the ideal scenario. My tight deadline would not allow me to indulge any slowdown or second guess. Positive, unanticipated things often happen when I occasionally challenge myself to work under a severe constraint. The hesitant, rational mind is sidelined in favor of an intuitive response that is rooted in everything one has ever created. This can be the case with music, writing, or nearly any artistic format, but the phenomenon especially lends itself to painting.

Interestingly, I’ve always preferred watercolors to other paint mediums because of its unpredictability and the “happy accidents” that occur. I admire oils greatly, but they hold no attraction for me as I approach my 70s. I hadn’t expected to discover that “painting in papers” could captivate me so and knit a reverence for nature into my art. One of the primary appeals of collage is total flexibility. It’s almost impossible to make a blunder, if one stays “in the zone” without letting the intellect gain an upper hand. When others use words such as exacting or meticulous to describe what I do, it usually throws me, because I consider my approach as more instinctive. And yet, there is no denying the presence of “artisanship.” With any task at hand, craft is essential. It was drilled into me with rigor after I chose the path of applied design. (That the young are asked to dedicate themselves to a particular discipline and to ignore countless alternatives is a weird fact of life. Many of us spend decades unraveling it.) So, a certain precision is fused into my method, even when I’m racing the clock. One man’s chaos is another man’s perfectionism.

I’ve lived my adult life trying to spin creative gold in a studio of one sort or another. A supremacy of the natural world in my youth had been set aside as part of an itinerary toward the graphic arts profession. Reflecting on a long journey that leads to the ever-rolling “now,” I recognize that nature was always calling. It influenced my leaving big cities for a smaller community. It provided a firm foundation for my diet and a health-oriented lifestyle. It was an unfailing source for well-being when conditions seemed out of balance. Even so, an unsatisfied need remained elusive until I finally took paper and paste outdoors, where the potential for inspiration was out of arm’s reach. That I could respond with collage, and find it so rewarding, is something I hadn’t foreseen.

If you want to start with the first chapter, you can find that story here. It’s been almost five years of direct observation, and I’m itching to begin a new season of working en plein air. The broader point I’d like to make is how the experience also has invigorated the way I approach representational collage in the studio. It feels like it’s all been funneled into an evolving intuition. Working outside has transformed how I make visual decisions even when using photographic reference under pressure, as I did with Grand Chinkapin. After quickly preparing piles of printed scrap that seemed appropriate for tree foliage, I was able to explode those ingredients into place with a minimum of conscious thought — not unlike I try to do every time I take my collage kit on location. “Painting from nature with paper” has become a more integrated practice, inside or outside. Change of Seen shares this adventure with others.

 

Grand Chinkapin
collage with combined mediums by J A Dixon
0% / 100% — site to studio
11 x 7.75 inches + shadow-box frame
available for purchase

Watch my new artist bio by Fine Art Photographics!

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

   

 

   

Immense thanks to Brett Henson, John Hockensmith, and Kate Savage for bringing this video to fruition! For anyone who wants to discover a bit more about my plein-air approach to making collage landscapes.