Andree's work is youthful and playful—it reminds me of a storybook illustration style. Yet, at the same time it is a little curious and strange, like the dada style that collage comes from in the first place. (Also, I can't concentrate at all right now because there are four people playing Rock Band in this room!) Great work, Andree!
Name (Real or Screenname): Andree Tracey
URL (Blog, Website): www.andreescollages.com
Location (Where are you from?): Minnesota, USA
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Surreal, fantasy, dreamlike, whimsical, humourous.
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I like working with vintage photos, my own photos, magazine clippings, decorative papers, text, maps, old postcards, paint, and any ephemera that seems to fit the mood.
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: Collage is actually new for me—I've been working on it for about a year. I had been painting large scaled paintings for many years when a family situation changed. I'm now care-taking, and all my artwork must be done in a small room in my house. So I decided that the dreamlike imagery that I favored in the paintings could be created with magazine scrap and photos in a smaller scale. It's been quite interesting to go from one scale to the opposite!
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I work full-time as a freelance illustrator.
Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I graduated with a Bachelor Degree of Fine Art from the University of Iowa and later studied at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California.
A: I like trying different things, but I notice that I do gravitate toward several techniques. I love using clear contact paper (shelf paper) as a transfer medium. I stick an image onto the paper, soak it, and then pull off the paper. The image remains on the contact paper, translucent and direct (not backwards) . This is helpful when you want to put found text on a piece. If you want to try it, you must photocopy the image first, ink jets won't work, and neither will original magazine images, either. I like using maps and vintage sewing patterns—both for the images and for the tissue paper that creates great textures—and I really love painting the backgrounds.
Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: It hasn't been made yet.
Q: What other artsts do you admire?
A: There are just too many! I'll just limit my list to painters and photographers that I admire: Peter Doig, Walton Ford, Thomas Woodruff, Anselm Kiefer, Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Eric Fischl, Elizabeth Murray, Paula Rego, Alice Neel, Laura Owens, Julie Mehretu, Gregory Crewdson, Loretta Lux, Patrick Nagatani, Bruce Charlesworth, Sally Mann, George Tooker, Magritte, Edward Hopper, Maggie Taylor, Boyd Webb, I think I better stop now...
Thanks Andree!