Mother's Little Helper

 

"Mother's Little Helper" Series 1963 ballpoint pen, watercolor, gouache on vintage paper 6 x 9.5 "

This is the first in a series entitled "1963". It was inspired by this stack of vintage photographs I found after my grandfather died. They are portraits taken of hotel guests in the early 1960s. They are fascinating to me in their frankness and the anonymity of the subjects. They are so awkward and candid even though they are posed.

This particular piece reminded me of the Rolling Stones' song "Mother's Little Helper" off of the album Flowers released in 1967.

I don't think of my work as collage, but it involves a layering process that is more organic. I push and pull and move elements around. I love to tear, rip, and cut up elements and rework them. Sometimes parts are far better than the whole. I try not to fall in love with anything because then I am reluctant to play with it.