surrealism – Page 2 – The Used Life

Cosmic Summer

Cosmic Swim, paper collage, 2025 I don’t like naming my collages. That’s one of the reasons I typically choose simple descriptive titles. I don’t like analyzing my work, and I don’t like forcing it to mean something. I like to create fun (and sometimes funny) fantasy worlds that I would like to inhabit–or that I…
Sea View & Other Art

Sea View, paper collage, 2025 I recently scooped up a vintage book of undersea photographs at a local antique shop. The backdrop of Sea View is my favorite image in that book. In fact, it’s actually a two-page spread. In the image above, I edited the final scanned collage to remove the center seam where…
Movin’ On & Other Art

Movin’ On (no. 1 of 4), paper collage, 2025 When I first started collaging, I used to finish compositions very quickly. If I found a few pieces that worked reasonably well together, they got the glue. The reason for that, I think, was lack of practice. I found two pieces that actually go together? Score!…
There’s One in Every Pack & Other Art

There’s One in Every Pack, paper collage, 2025 Here are some experiments in collage art from the past few days. Among my favorites here are “There’s One in Every Pack,” “Tiny House,” “The Missing Piece,” and “Hummingbird Fields.” Fun fact: Parts of “The Quest” and “Pink Dream” come from the back cover of the Firefall…
Dream Cake & Other Art

Dream Cake, paper collage, 2025 I picked up a few vintage Life magazines while I was out running errands yesterday morning, and I haven’t been able to put them down since. The ads are so good–especially the food ads. You’ll find some of them below (and in Dream Cake, above). I had a lot of…
Cruisin’ & Other Art

Cruisin’, paper collage, 2025 I recently purchased a bunch of new (or not-so-new) 1950s-1960s National Geographic magazines. Whenever I get new source material, there are certain elements that I get really excited about and tend to want to work with right away. Vintage car ads are among those elements, and luckily my new magazines have…
Bloom & Other Art

Bloom, paper collage, 2025 Here are some new experiments in collage art. I hope you enjoy this collection.
Torn & Other Art

Torn, paper collage, 2025 Here are some new experiments in collage art. I hope you enjoy this collection.
Good Morning & Other Art

Good Morning, paper collage, 2024 Here are some recent experiments in collage art. I’m starting the new year with fresh materials, including a bunch of 1940s-50s National Geographic magazines, Arizona Highways from the 1970s, and a Spiegel catalog from 1956, which is a treasure trove of fun images. It has everything from vaccuum cleaners to…
Cactus Lounge & Other Art

Cactus Lounge, paper collage, 2024 Here are some new experiments in collage art. I made most of these within the past few days. An observation: I often spend hours, days, weeks, or sometimes even months working with a series of images without committing to a particular compostion. I typically feel during that time that the…