New mini postcard art from Jazz Green:

As some visitors to previous Artworks exhibitions may have noticed, I quite enjoy creating small, intricate collages. These are original paintings on watercolour paper, inspired by the endless scraps of paper and card that I duly keep for mixed media & collage. There is something very therapeutic about working on a small scale. Usually, textured abstraction is seen on large scale canvases in big galleries – so my work seems to be an inverse of that genre of art – domestic, modest, intricate, personal.

This painting is untitled, although ‘Yellow Submarine’ was a suggestion. It is signed JG on front, JazzGreen 2021 on reverse. Size 10cm x 7.5cm, on ‘Arches’ paper, water-based, acrylic paints.

Like many abstract painters, my work is influenced by various experiences of being in the world, any views or impressions are not fixed or representational – they evolve into something ‘other’ during the process of thinking & painting – which in itself is a journey.

These little paintings are about half size of a regular A6 postcard, so technically not postcards, closer to an American format known as ACEO*.

I started out with 12 small cards, cut from a larger sheet of Arches paper (a quality French make of printmaking paper), but they are not alike: A few share similarities, but most have distinct colour palettes.

‘three blues’?

Like many artists, I had jobs to support my art practice, and when work was cancelled I took to Ebay to have a small studio sale. Simultaneously, the #artistsupportpledge started on Instagram. Exhibitions were cancelled. Through my Ebay I set up a percentage for charity. After a few sales I was delighted to discover I had donated over £100, but new art was less forthcoming in the anxiety; it seemed self-indulgent to just paint and I was unsure how to express mixed emotions. I busied myself with kind offers of work. I also decorated & decluttered, as if paving the way for a new start. A few months prior, my computer crashed and I lost all my art photos & documents, so starting over from nothing seemed to be a recurring pattern! I reflected on the tiny space in which to make some art, less space & fewer materials was somehow more reassuring – less pressure, but just enough ‘edge’ to begin.

ACEO is an acronym for ‘Art Cards, Editions and Originals’ that usually measure 2.5″ x 3.5” – they are a great way to purchase art from a range of artists, or add to an existing art collection for a gallery wall display.

See Jazz Green’s website for more details on this series of tiny paintings.