Mixed media on paper, 16×20
©2025 Jeff Lung
Friends, I’ve been on a mixed media kick and I totally dig it! Thankfully, my instincts haven’t been for naught, as I’ve been getting accepted into shows using collage techniques. The latest piece to showcase is the one featured above entitled: “Peace Be With You”. This work is part of the current Color Field exhibition being held at the Ardest Gallery in The Woodlands, TX, now through July 2025.
Like many of the collage pieces I have worked on, this one didn’t know what it wanted to be until it just… happened. Instinctively. One thing led to another. It created itself. I was just a facilitator.
It started off with the gold VIP sticker that was on my booth tag from this past Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. I glued that in the center of a large 11×15 piece of paper, then started doodling around it, accepting and building, one thing leading to another. Nothing planned. Nothing thought out.
In doing that, shades of blue began appearing, and in trying to match that vibe I scoured some old magazines from the 60s I got in a recent “junk” box haul. I cut some pieces out, mixed and matched, and as I was doing so felt like the piece was sending me a message of peace (pun intended).
“Peace be with you!”
That’s what I felt. Peace was with me. Creating generally creates an environment of peace and calm for me, which is why I constantly go back to it.
“Peace be with you!”
Jesus said it to his disciples after he appeared to them, resurrected from the dead. Holy smokes! (Literally). Can you imagine someone you watched die reappear to you days later, alive and well, boasting the salutation: “Peace be with you”?
How jarring that must of been for the disciples.
In thinking about that while making this piece, I felt I needed those exact words incorporated. Over and over and over again. No pauses. No spaces. If you zoom in on the images, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
As a result of accepting that invitation of peace, arranging everything into a tangible composition just sorta happened, without much thought or planning. Mix. Match. Adjust.
Collage in the key of peace.
And voila! A whimsical geometric playground for your eye!
What’s your favorite thing about this work? Does anything jump out at you? Tell me in the comments!