Archive for the ‘J A Dixon’ Category
Friday, January 31st, 2025
“The landscapes that I choose to paint are tied by a common thread, a sense of nostalgia, a setting that at once is current, but also captures a sense of the (Sacramento) valley that hasn’t changed for many years. I believe that landscapes live in us.”
— Phil Gross
While away from the studio, with limited collage ingredients, I made a miniature copy of a splendid oil painting by Phil Gross. I’ll probably add a few finishing touches and then decide if it’s appropriate to sign it. This turned out to be a very different kind of exercise than any other paper landscape that I’ve done. My thanks to Rowland William Breidenbach for the opportunity to spend time with this landscape.
California Theme (after Phil Gross)
unfinished collage landscape by J A Dixon
10 x 8 inches
framed: 16.75 x 13.75 inches
• S O L D
Posted in Collage, Influences, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Landscape, Nostalgia, P Gross | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 1st, 2025
“My father told me when I was a little boy that people in authority lie and the job in a democracy is to remain skeptical. I’ve been science-based since I was a kid. Show me the evidence and I’ll believe you, but I’m not going to take the word of official narratives. The way you do research is not by asking authoritative figures what they think. Trusting experts is not a feature of science, and it’s not a feature of democracy.”
— Robert F Kennedy Jr
When I indulge the impulse to have a collage catharsis, the Fred Otnes influence of my editorial past often bubbles to the surface. So be it. Wishing everybody a new year brimming with creativity, marked by discernment, and devoid of fear!
American Janus
collage catharsis by J A Dixon
11 x 10 inches
Posted in Catharsis, Current Events, F Otnes, Illustration, Influences, J A Dixon | No Comments »
Saturday, December 28th, 2024
Nine segments from 2024 artworks of which I am still fond — aesthetic beauty within the Merz tradition continues to wrestle pictorial collage for my attention. Which approach do you favor in the coming year?
CLOCKWISE TO CENTER:
La Monda’s Refuge, Wind Harbor, Our Lady of the Cheap Shot, April Burst, Down Side Up, Unprotected Speech, War and Peace, Maybeland, Up the Channel
Posted in Collage, Details, J A Dixon, Links, Multiple Miniatures | No Comments »
Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
“Sometimes a man humbles himself in his heart, submits the visible to the power to see, and seeks to return to his source.”
— René Daumal
This small landscape found its start a year ago during one of my library demonstrations. I finished it from imagination in the studio this past week after a season of “painting in papers” outside.
La Monda’s Refuge
collage on canvas by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
private collection
Posted in J A Dixon, Landscape | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 17th, 2024
“Dixon hopes his students will share the belief that Kentucky’s landscapes need its inhabitants’ care and attention to preserve the space for generations to come.”
— Lilly Keith
What a surprise to have something happen with which I had no initiating role! Students at the University of Kentucky’s lifestyle magazine made an editorial decision to include my LITTER-ALLY KENTUCKY traveling exhibition in an article to showcase artwork created from repurposed material. Much appreciation to Lilly Keith and Alexis Baker for their contributions! (And thanks again to the PAACK member who provided this image of me “painting in papers” on location.)
Posted in Collage, En Plein Air, J A Dixon, Landscape, Publications | No Comments »
Friday, November 29th, 2024
Mindful of small pleasures,
Gave thanks for life’s treasures.
Thankful Ode (to Merz)
holiday collage by J A Dixon
13 x 15 inches
available for purchase
Posted in Holidays, J A Dixon, Merz | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 27th, 2024
“Say thank you in advance for what is already yours.”
— Denzel Washington
As the holiday nears, gratitude is in the hearts of all who silently look inside and attune, especially those with circumstances in flux between sweetness and sorrow — for those of us less tempted to take things for granted — as a tide of adversity and bounty reminds us that thankfulness must be present in the midst of both suffering and grace.
A long practice of making crafted cards for others, the wellspring of my concentration on the art of collage, occasionally sparks an unexpected commission based, more often than not, on the traditional photo montage. These works may not be destined for a museum, but the response makes them a most rewarding experience, as I participate vicariously in an apex of family joy. The type of “legacy collage” featured below is an ideal gift because it is highly meaningful to the recipient, of course, but everyone also relates to the inherent “cut and paste” technique, accessible to all, with its deep heritage in the domestic and applied arts.
Bouquet of Memories
legacy collage by J A Dixon
11 x 14 inches
Posted in Commissions, Gift Art, Haus of Cards, Holidays, J A Dixon, Legacy Series | No Comments »
Friday, November 8th, 2024
“This year has been the biggest one yet for the Contemporary Collage Magazine Awards. We received almost two thousand entries across all six categories and the calibre of work has been outstanding.”
— Les Jones and Molly Campbell
Delighted to announce that my collage landscapes have earned international recognition from Contemporary Collage Magazine, with a Bronze Award in the Nature Series category. The jurors also placed my LITTER-ALLY KENTUCKY artworks in the overall “Series Shortlist.” The England-based publication has set an impressive standard for worldwide coverage of our artistic medium. My thanks to the panel of judges, with congratulations to fellow award winners, including friends Teri Dryden, Allan Bealy, and Robert Voigts.
It is gratifying not only to have my particular area of concentration gain recognition, but for it to be in the context of a wider acknowledgment of representational collage as a vital approach to the medium. I give great credit to CCMag for their ongoing salute to “collage as painting,” and to all the 2024 competition adjudicators.
Above Curtis Road
Boyle County, Kentucky
collage en plein air by J A Dixon
11 x 8 inches
part of the LITTER-ALLY KENTUCKY collection
giclée print available
Posted in A Bealy, Collage, En Plein Air, Honors, J A Dixon, Landscape, Publications, R Voigts, T Dryden | No Comments »
Friday, November 1st, 2024
It’s November! I’m pleased to share a notice for SMALL WORKS and that my collage landscapes will be a part of this group exhibition at Kleinhelter Gallery in New Albany, Indiana.
Posted in Exhibitions, J A Dixon, Landscape | No Comments »
