13-Ivana1
©2010 Craig Ashby
Mixed media on masonite.
7″ x 7″

I have both high and low points in this series, but this is definitely one of the highs. It’s absolutely perfect that the high would be Ivana Trump.

There are numerous elements I love in this. The one pink fingernail. How the pearl orbs really pop into 3D. The prophetic mythical seahorse (hippocampus). The exposed “ribs” on the seahorse that are completely unintentional. Overall the collage elements are just the right balance of chaos and destruction.

You might notice the recurring theme of fruit stickers throughout this series. For the longest time I have collected them as a bragging right in the hip hop tradition. Collecting them like sneakers, gold chains or diamonds.

Still today I peel them off and adhere them to transparencies awaiting use on notebooks and sketchbooks. I started using them in this series selectively. The plastic they are made from increased the drying time tremendously but I just continued to work around it.

I look at these pieces from a couple of years back and feel challenged to do better today. But reviewing pieces like this one, I know I couldn’t have done any better back then.