OIL COLLAGE

Influenced by Rauschenberg’s combine paintings and Bearden’s paper collage, Miklos began combining oil and collage on gessoed panels in 2017. For the AAN Summer Gala Auction of 2018, he constructed a large panel (44” x 56”) for his composition Boat Racks. It was developed from a photo taken during a plein air session with friends at the Madaket Marine boat yard.

Boat Racks began with several pencil studies on tracing paper, each scaling up to a larger size. With each redrawing of the image he was able to capture more intensity and drama in the overall composition. As the work advanced the image was drawn once again on the panel. The layout on tracing paper provided a map to determine the size and location of the collage pieces. The first application of oil paint was a wash establishing the forms within the lines of the drawing.

Like many painters, Miklos applies paint from thin to thick but also adds drawing at each iteration of paint application. For him, the quality and legibility of the line work is most important for the success of the painting. The subsequent layers of paint and pasted-on photos, serve to reinforce the compositional balance and the pattern of light and dark established by the initial sketch.

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