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 16 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.
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.
Trash Painting #3 (Green) on the right in a gallery among other art
(Photo courtesy Doug Brealt)
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 12 x 16" 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.
A 12" square painting with many small items glued to it mosaic-style. A strip at the top of the painting is white, with all white and transparent items; the rest is blue, with areas that have a green background and show the original color of the items. The painting includes pens and pencils, resin scraps with a hexagonal tiled pattern, and a candy wrapper chain,
Community Trash #5
A close-up of the same painting, showing the green background area with the ends of markers, resin casting bits, and many plastic and cardboard circles and hexagons.
A 16" by 28" abstract mixed media painting with a gradient from bright pink to bright orange. The art debris under the paint ranges from popsicle sticks to fabric and a plaster cast of a hand.
Community Trash #6
A closeup of the orange part of Community Trash #6, showing pens, 3D printing scraps, and a cast of a hand.
A closeup of a pink corner of Community Trash #6, showing a lollipop, a lightbulb, and an empty glue container.
A large assemblage on a rectangular piece of wood. Empty paint tubes are arranged in a regular horizontal/vertical pattern, with different colored rectangles behind each tube.
Community Trash #7
A wooden tray abstractly painted with thick layers of blue, green, pink, and yellow paint. The background layer of paint is matte and the thick globs of paint over top of that are glossy.
Community Trash #8
A small rectangular purple art assemblage made from art-related trash. Multiple heart-shaped objects and a big piece of yellow foam poke out of the purple paint.
Community Trash #9
A 3 x 5" blue, white, and yellow assemblage on an clayboard panel. Scraps of material are glued to it, including wire, a transparent resin outlet plate, and a dangling chain with a silver bead on the end.
Community Trash #10
A tall, narrow, small abstract multimedia wall piece, all white and cream. A white piece of ribbon with gilt edges snakes through it, around faux pearls, bits of plastic, and beaded chains.
Community Trash #11 (Debutante)
A rectangular art assemblage made of art trash, mostly discarded beads and pieces of jewelry. Most of the piece is bright yellow, but a triangular strip passes through the middle where the background is purple and the trash is unpainted.
Community Trash #13
A square wooden assemblage covered in art-based trash, including jewelry scraps, pens and pencils, and 3d printing offcuts. The edges of the assemblage are painted black. The background fades into orange at the center, leaving the trash itself exposed there.
Community Trash #14

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