Below are five collages done over the last few weeks. I guess I am imagining traveling even as I’m sheltering at home.

A collage by J.C. Bray, entitled Cycle: Dusk, made of coloured paper, and dyed newspaper.

A collage by J.C. Bray, entitled Cycle: Morocco, made of coloured paper, and dyed newspaper.

Abstract art tells stories through colour, line, shape, size, material. For me, colour is a particularly evocative means of expressing a mood, emotion, temperature, time and / or place.

A collage by J.C. Bray, entitled Cycle: Mexico, made of coloured paper, and dyed newspaper.

The inspiration for this project was the work of avid cyclist and London ON artist Greg Curnoe (1936–92). His custom made Mariposa bikes were often the subject of his paintings. I started to think about how I would convey a cycling journey if I were relying on colour to tell the story. Every place has a unique colour palette whether it is Mexico, Spain, England, British Columbia, Ontario, a city, or the countryside. In March, the colours in the landscape are different than in May, August, or October. The quality of light is not the same at dawn, as it is at midday or dusk. All variations in colour, and colour combinations, describe something.

A collage by J.C. Bray, entitled Cycle: August, made of coloured paper, and dyed newspaper.

For this series of five collages, I used coloured paper, and dyed newspaper. I layered and experimented with colour combinations, and the width / weight of the bands until I had a colour story that resonated with me. The pencil-drawn circle or cycle wheel superimposed over the colour strips, alludes to movement, travel, change, things happening and not remaining static. Each piece tells a story of a place and a time in abstract.

A collage by J.C. Bray, entitled Cycle: Spain, made of coloured paper, and dyed newspaper.