contemporary collage paintings
the process
Leslie Avon Miller

My life flows when I'm in my art.


Jean De Muzio

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Space and Light


Thirteen Moons

by Leslie Avon Miller

14 x 11.5 mixed media on paper


I want painting to be my flashlight.
~Squeak Carnwath

On my studio wall I have written the words space and light.
Space and light are my anchor, my rock, my beacon if I become lost.


Space is the breath of art.
~Frank Lloyd Wright



I like space in a painting, space to breathe, space to wander around, space to explore.
Space to be.




Space Abstracted



by Leslie Avon Miller


10x10, mixed media collage on paper




In my pictures there are tiny forms in vast empty space, empty horizons, empty plains, everything that is stripped away has always impressed me.
~Joan Miro

I like light in a painting. It adds to the feeling of spaciousness.



The reflections of the moon on one thousand rivers are from the same moon:
the mind must be full of light.
~Hung Tzu-ch’eng




Choreographer of Space
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by Leslie Avon Miller
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22x22, mixed media collage on paper


I have always been drawn to light over dark and dark over light, with each allowing some of the other to peek through.
There is a dance that happens when light and dark are mingling together. I like to watch that dance.



Be a full bucket, pulled up the dark way of the well,
then lifted out into the light.
~Rumi



I enjoy the hints of something from before, traces left which I can just see if I look closely that other marks were first, that there are layers and layers built one upon the other.



I like empty spaces that are no longer occupied,
although you can tell that people were there once.
~Dick Cole




Before Darkness

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by Leslie Avon Miller
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15x10.5 mixed media on paper



Intimacy is important to me in my work. I enjoy looking at the work from a distance, but then finding rewards for coming closer, to see and experience the little things that enrich the experience of viewing the surface.



When you look into the abyss,
the abyss also looks into you.
~Friedrich Nietzsche

53 comments:

  1. Your interpretation of space is interesting - space is so much more than we initially think it to be.Please take a look at my work - it too is about space - or sometimes the lack of, the complexity of.....I've done lots about space - fascinating!

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  2. Beautiful works and words. Very nice. Thanks so much for the post.

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  3. Hi Jane:
    What great conceptual work! Yes, I see your use of space and light. Thanks for letting me know.

    Hi Annell:
    Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Such sensitive work! Love the quotes added to this blog too. It is such a delightful post. My fave is 'Abstracted Space'... a beautiful piece.

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  5. these are really beautiful works with very true words.
    wonderful post. Thank you

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  6. Hi Jo: Thank you. The image looks a bit blue here, but that's just my photography - its really white and grey!

    Hi Petras: Thanks for stopping by.

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  7. Love your sensitive, new works.

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  8. I've been scrolling up and down trying to get a sense of how it might be to view your work on a wall and to move through it and return. I love the quotes you've chosen. The new name that intrigued me from these was Squeak Carnwath. I just searched and discovered another artist I'll be returning to. Thanks.

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  9. I like thirteen moons best. Intruiging title for an intruiging painting.

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  10. What a splendid inspirational post, I love all your work but especially 'Before Darkness'. I must now investigate Squeak Carnworth this must surely be interesting with such a wonderful name.

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  11. Hi Leslie,there is a nice calm language to your work.
    the subject breaths upon the paper.a joy to visit today .

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  12. Hi Eric - thank you!

    Annie and Ian - Squeak Carnwath is an interesting artist. She was pointed out to me in my very first work shop as someone who develops complex surfaces that at first appear less complex. I have always admired her approach. Ian Before Darkness has been through quite an evolution over time. Thank you.

    Hi Carrie- Thirteen Moons means a lot to me. I have been striving for years to create a simple but complex white painting. I find satisfaction in this painting. Thank you.

    Hi David. I appreciate your observations. Thank you.

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  13. i was going to go all artsy, but it comes down to this: you're right and you give me something to think about. visually. and your words, both yours and borrowed. thank you.

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  14. Leslie, I love your work and it resonates with me so well. I have discovered a deep affinity with neutral, high contrast work. I find so much comfort in all or your pieces and look forward to every post you send. These pieces are wonderful and I especially love the Choreographer of Space, as I am largely a figurative painter and seem to see figures in everything and everywhere. Thanks again for the wonderful posts and links!

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  15. Lovely.

    Choreographer of Space kept me so from scrolling down.

    What you call space, i call breath. For me something must be able to breathe. That is my phrase.

    love that Squeak quote, too.

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  16. What a beautiful body of work, Leslie. "Choreographer of Space"
    is tender, dignified and magical. Plus, "13 moons", what a fantastic title! These are great. So happy I stopped by tonight.

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  17. oops- Jason is actually me. Guess my hubby was signed in.

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  18. Hi Velma: There is something about the quality of light and the space it's in, isn't there? Somehow at the northern latitudes we experience light differently. Light can be all more precious. Thanks!

    Hi Cathy: I am a fan of your figurative work. I think you make it look easy, which says a great deal about your ability because figures are not easy! I explore figurative work now and again, so when this one showed up on my collage paper, I kept it. It took weeks to decide how to complete the head. Finally the little dots did it. Thank you.

    Hi Mansuetude: I feel the breath in your work at all times, serene, open, and rich. You see. Squeak is an interesting artist! Thank you.

    Hi Shayla: Thanks for stopping by. I was curious who Jason was! I'm enjoying hearing which pieces resonate with each person. I came up with Thirteen Moons, because I knew "moon" was part of it. I counted the "moon" shapes and there was the title.

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  19. Leslie, I am respectful and full of delighted from your ideas, themes and paintings!
    I enjoy your blog very much!

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  20. Lovely as always. I see a deepening and development of your work and a sense a bravery and confidence in your words. Inspiring and beautiful!

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  21. Beautiful paintings, and wonderful, inspiring words. Thanks! A perfect Monday morning lift.

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  22. LAM- love the openness of Thirteen Moons - a sense of light and space as you say. I often think negative space in the landscape, a sculpture or other works is the real focal point - the art between. Thanks for reminding me of this. B

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  23. wonderful paintings. so peaceful. and your words about what you like to create: wonderful too.

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  24. I often want to put everything into one painting. I really appreciate your perspective on space; it will help me to think about putting LESS into a painting and yet have it say more.

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  25. I love the title of "Thirteen Moons" and all the wonderful quotes. I get a feeling of a human presence or form in all that lovely space.

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  26. I really love these paintings! There's so much to look at. I wish I could stand both far away and close up to see them. Thank you for sharing.

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  27. Hi Leslie, I enjoy seeing your paintings juxtaposed with the quotes. I collect quotes, some of yours are my old friends too. Like an old wall weathered by time and elements, I like to wonder what happened, who lived there, thinking up stories. Your works speak volumns.

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  28. Beautiful beautiful calm complete work Leslie

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  29. Thanks for posting your creations, words and words of others. Always a peaceful visit. here. I appreciate that you share.

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  30. Leslie,
    Your description of your work is as exquisite as the work itself. There seems to be be much thought in your placement of words and this allows me to enter easily into the art work--like walking into the warm water of the sea.

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  31. Hi Ralph - You are always encouraging. Thank you!

    Hi Zdot: Thank you. There is some bravery in saying yes to who we are as an artist. Thanks for pointing that out.

    Hi Lynn: Thanks so much. Its good to know you got a Monday lift from the post!

    Hi Barry - so true about sculpture. Whats not there is also important.

    Suki - I am glad you enjoy the peace. I know you love color!

    Thanks for stopping by India. I know you are a thinker.

    Nancy - I find if I create a lot of things in a painting I have to fill the whole thing - its another kind of quiet.

    Hi Mary Ann- Thank you. Thirteen Moons is also the name of a great Santa Fe gallery, but I didn't think about that when I named the painting.

    Hi Deb - I wish you could see them in person too. I am not sure my photography captures the nuances.

    Thank you Di - Thank you for visiting.

    Hi Chris - I love a good quote. Just enough to give me something to think about.

    Thank you Renee. I like peaceful, and am glad that speaks to you as well.

    Oh Hannah thank you so much. I like that idea. "To enter easily into the art work--like walking into the warm water of the sea." Beautifully said.

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  32. I was sitting quietly sipping my cup of coffee, contemplating this post and enjoying your work and quotes .... when I remembered to click to enlarge .... and am now enjoying them all over again, loving the "layers and layers built one upon the other" ... and the "traces left". I could get lost in Thirteen Moons. Beautiful!

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  33. Oh good point Robyn! Clicking. I forgot we can click images to see them larger!Thanks!

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  34. Love the wiry, tendrilled presence in "Space Abstracted." It seems to burst forth from the place where someone was marking days on the side of a cave. You touched off a fanciful flight. Thanks, Leslie.

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  35. This is my first time seeing your work. So beautiful! And such a beautiful blog post. Many thanks.

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  36. Gorgeous pieces here, each and everyone. The use of space in painting is so fascinating and a great theme for a post.

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  37. Hi Leslie . . They're ALL lovely. My favorite is "Before Darkness".

    It was first seeing your work on fb that ignited my journey into neutral, and as it also turns out, space.
    I'm glad I sent a friend request!!

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  38. I love it when you post your own work and then speak your own words to reveal what's on your heart, for that's where your work originates, Leslie, from your heart.
    These pieces show great depth, layers that seem simple, yet are quite complex. Good honest work.

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  39. What a lovely theme to have for your collages and for your blog-- space and light- the light before the darkness.. wonderful quotes too!

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  40. I love that you are drawn to "light over dark, and dark over light...
    What thought felt words you write here to describe your amazing art. roxanne

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  41. Stunning work...and although I mostly create densely, I appreciate spaces very much...
    xOxOrly

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  42. such wonderful work Leslie !!! Everything...work and word... is so balanced
    Love your blog :)
    Michele

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  43. 'Thirteen Moons' really touches me. Although these days I'm mostly concerned with film I am also going through a huge monochrome phase right now….a pairing down and an absence of colour shifts your perspectives.

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  44. un travail lumineux , avec peu de moyens et très fort.. j'aime!!!!

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  45. Lovely, lovely space and light! I think the top one is my favorite. I also enjoy the enriching experience of viewing the surface; thank you for making your photos (clicked-on view) large enough so I can find rewards for (virtually) coming closer...

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  46. I like your work, beautiful pictures

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  47. What an inspiring post Leslie! and I am moved to be diligent about my sketchbook now!......I usually use one to record process.....sort of like a journal......but I think I will start one in honor of the journey I will soon be taking.....Thank YOU! And to read all these comments is simply a testiment to your wonderfilled approach to art making! Marianne

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  48. Great to read this post again Leslie. I followed the link from Seth's post on Cresendoh. "Space and light are my anchor, my rock, my beacon if I become lost" ...... food for thought.

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    1. Thanks Robyn, and thanks Seth for pointing the way to this post. I need to be reminded, especially in this time of change in my work, that space and light can be achieved with any medium. Space and light allow room for the viewer to move in to the work and experience it on an intimate level. The words space and light are still on my studio wall. ;o)

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  49. Following this post from Seth's Post as well. Lovely to read and view- space, light and wonderful reflections. What a wonderful treat!

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    1. Hi Jill: Nice to see you! Space and light always attract me.

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