Landscapes of Wonder - Richard Ely

 Richard Ely

Richard Ely is a Madison-based artist who does torn tissue-paper collage.  Though he has no formal training and hated art class as a child, for the past five years he has found himself "drawn to the pleasure of tearing brightly colored paper."  His work is currently showing at Mother Fools Coffeehouse in Madison until the end of the month, and the show (his first) is entitled Landscapes of Wonder.  

Here is an excerpt from his artist statement:  "In general, my collages have no meaning to impart. I am drawn to elements of the natural world—landscape, sky, water, trees. Often I begin with either a simple image in mind—a silver tree, a straw-colored nest—or merely an impulse toward color or mood. In the early stages of each collage, my process tends to be intuitive, even random. But as I progress and a "picture" begins to reveal itself, my choices become more measured. By the end, I am often working with painstaking precision to achieve specific effects. I deeply enjoy the process of not knowing what I'm doing, of allowing intuition, accident, and surprise to guide me. I'm happiest when my creations turn out to be "successful"—beautiful and joyous - but I also accept my interesting "failures."' 

 

Richard Ely

 Richard Ely

 Richard Ely

Richard Ely