In my studio practice I utilize collage as a formal element. It provides a way of putting down tone or erasing previous marks. There is a randomness in collage; the secondary meaning in the text or image becomes an important part of the finished work. Collage allows me to layer multiple images over the scaffolding of a drawing. I use materials from the subject's world to create their likeness. This is a modern take on the renaissance tradition of putting objects into a portrait to illustrate the attributes of the subject. With regards to my Late Night collages., for Jay Leno I used collage material from car magazines, since he is such a car fanatic; Bill Maher was done with collage material from High Times, since, well he's Bill Maher; and Jimmy Fallon was done with thank you cards to reference his Thank You Notes segment.
