A Surrealist collage
It's Cobalt Blue, Burnt Sienna, Sand & Sea Blue for Week 10
‘I have spent my whole life in revolt against convention, trying to bring colour and light and a sense of the mysterious to daily existence. One must have a hunger for new colour, new shapes, and new possibilities of discovery.’ - Eileen Agar
After International Women’s Day on the 8th I’m featuring a female artist of the mid-20th century sharing one of her collage artworks. Speaking of which, Collage Makers Summit starts in a week, I’m one of fourteen artists who are teaching on this event from 17 to 30 March, click here to get your Early Bird tickets (ends Sunday 16 March).
Described as a reluctant Surrealist, Eileen Agar (1899-1991) created in a number of mediums: painting, collage, photography and sculpture. Born in Buenos Aires, she moved to England to attend boarding school before studying at the Slade School of Fine Art in the mid 1920s.
Her work often incorporated found objects from nature and she had a fondness for marine detritus such as shells, bones and coral. In 1934 she met the artist Paul Nash whilst on holiday in Dorset and together they searched the beaches for objects that that could be incorporated into sculpture.
It was the International Surrealist Exhibition of 1936 that introduced Surrealism to Britain and launched Agar’s career. One of the few new women included in the exhibition, she later said “I became a Surrealist almost overnight”.
Throughout her long career, Agar continued to experiment and develop her artistic practice. She experienced a revival of interest in her work in the 1970s, with major retrospectives highlighting her contribution to 20th-century art. Her autobiography, "A Look at My Life", was published in 1988.
Agar's work is now held in major collections including the Tate Gallery in London, and she's recognised as an important figure who brought a distinctly feminine perspective to Surrealism.
Read more about Agar here and here and listen to a podcast all about Agar by the Whitechapel Gallery here.
‘Two Old Men in the Sea”, mixed media collage on paper, Eileen Agar, undated
Colour Combination
Blues and browns are some of my favourite colour combinations, I’ve picked colours from the featured artwork: Cobalt Blue, Burnt Sienna, Sand & Sea Blue. Use them together with neutral lights and darks to create an artwork in any medium or style.
As always, I love seeing what you’ve created. If you’re posting on Instagram, please tag #coloricombo and #estemacleod and join us in the private Facebook group Creative Prompts.
Collage Makers Summit
This years summit starts in a weeks time, on 17 March. There’s an early bird price of $77 (usual price $97) available until Sunday 16 March so if you’re thinking of joining us, EITHER
ℹ️ Go to the summit information page OR
➡️ Go straight to the checkout page
If you’re a contributing #coloricombo subscriber, you can even get an extra $10 off which really makes this event incredible value.
The code that you’ll need to enter at checkout follows.