Marilyn Basehoar
As a grade school student, my favorite activity was cut and paste. A little later, elementary teachers taught a lot of drawing and left cut and paste to the younger children. The epiphany for me happened in my mid-teens when I found out that I did not have to give up cut and paste after all…it was called collage, and from that time on, I was hooked.
I used magazine pictures, newspaper, wrapping paper, and various other papers in my early work and gradually added other materials which eventually elevated the content and visual complexity of the pieces.
These days I usually tear different papers of all weights, rather than cut, but the paste methods are mostly the same. My art has evolved into other mixed media techniques and the addition of embellishments such as shells, beads, jewelry, glass, stones, string, fabric, or paper mache objects. My mantra is: if I can get it to stick, it’s going on there.
As a way of changing moods, I prefer still life for my oil paintings, including old relics, antiques, and florals, with an emphasis on hard elements such as stone, glass, brick, and wood. I paint almost exclusively with knives, giving the pieces texture and layers as in impasto. I often let the colors of the paint mix right on the canvas, and due to the slow drying time, I can play with the composition for quite some time.
In addition to collage, mixed media, and oils, I also enjoy working with pencil, charcoal, pastels and acrylics. Paper mache sculpture and small assemblages help to fill any empty spaces in my creative endeavors.
