Arabesque: Morning Dew Collage

In many of my past works, though I have been influenced by European masters, mostly Dutch - Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondrian - there has always been a subconscious Eastern influence. This combination would not be too surprising, as I have both a Western and Eastern heritage. What is surprising though, is that after five decades of creating artworks, it is only now that I have made this realization, and have come to recognize the Arabesque in many of my landscape oil paintings and charcoal figure drawings. The word "Arabesque" is a French term derived from the Italian word arabesco, meaning "in the Arabic style". The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage". In this series of collages, I chose to embrace the Western and Eastern influences with a geometric backdrop for an Arabesque tree. Each inter-weaving sliver of customized colored glossy paper is knife-cut by free-hand, and glued in place. The 2" black mat around the work has become part of the creation, as the arabesque branches move back and forth within the landscape. "Morning Dew" captures the rays of early morning light glistening upon the tree. The collage has a black frame, and measures 18"x22". Each piece of artwork that I have created comes signed and dated, and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. For more information about a piece, please contact The Gallery At Miracle Manor: .