A 12 by 16" abstract painting. Black and blue paint studded with failed dice castings drips down from the left of the canvas. The bottom and right side of the painting fade from bright yellow-orange to red, with swoops of color and random objects dotted throughout.

Community Trash, 2024-ongoing

Mixed media art waste from friends and community members (including watercolor, acrylic, fabric paint, spray paint, PVA glue, paper, resin, and wood) on previously used canvases

The ‘Community Trash’ series is an extension of my series ‘Trash Paintings‘. For Community Trash, I collect discarded or unwanted materials from friends, family, and community members: too-small offcuts and scraps, dried-out or contaminated paint, canvases lumpy with failed attempts, boxes laden with the dust and guilt of abandoned hobbies. Repurposing this creative trash reduces both my effect on the climate and the clutter in my friends’ homes.

See more of my art.

A close-up of the same painting from the side, showing objects that stick up off the canvas, like a glittery purple paintbrush and a red arc of resin.

This piece appeared in Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery‘s “Fire and Water”.

A wooden tray abstractly painted with thick layers of black, orange, green, blue, and yellow paint. Objects are embedded under the paint: dice with visible flaws, wooden rings, resin scraps. Gold glitter accents some of the surface.
Community Trash #2, 2024
A close-up of the corner of the black tray, showing the handle and one of the dice.
A 20 x 24" mixed media abstract painting. It has a central mound of arts and crafts trash in the center, bursting outward to the edges. The entire surface is painted in shades of green.
Trash Painting #3 (Green)
A close-up of the corner of the green painting. Visible beneath the dark green paint are a lightbulb, sandpaper, a thin piece of resin cast in a R2D2 mold, and various small laser cutting scraps.
A side-on view of the green painting. A large empty paint bottle fills the center of the painting, and paper towels, gloves, dice, and gimp cord, all green, surround it.

This piece appeared in Gallery 263’s “Future Craft”.

A 20 x 26" mixed media painting, all painted bright red with subtle tonal variations. Art scraps, primarily wood, fill the canvas. The laser cut word 'FUCK' appears many times. A wooden star, partially contoured and partly flat, stands out in the top right. The edges of the painting are matte and the center is glossy.
Trash Painting #4 (Red)
Another close-up of the red painting, featuring many polyhedral dice with holes/flaws in them, a large hand-sawn wooden star, and laser-cut wood hands, rings, squares, and F-words.
A close-up of one corner of the red painting, with a hollow plastic cone, resin disc with curlicues of cast resin atop it, scraps of wood and plastic mesh, and cracked chunks of red paint.

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