ON THE COVER

Channel by Mark Craig

Portions of the following are based on an interview with
the artist on September 4, 2020.

The initial appeal of art for Mark Craig, a Canadian
contemporary artist, was academic: art history. He painted
in his spare time but studied the history of art and artists as
he pursued his degree. Following graduation, he was an
advertising art director, always knowing that what he really
wanted to be doing was painting. He felt that it would be a
luxury to fully engage in doing something that he loved,
recognizing that not everyone gets the chance to strike out
on their own. Five years ago, he made that move, “pushed
off from the dock,” and has not looked back.

Through his studies, Craig admired artists such as George
Braque, French painter and sculptor; Pablo Picasso, Spanish
painter, sculptor; and Kurt Schwitters, German painter—all
of whom brought collage to their painting. Craig gravitated
toward their work when he began painting full-time.

Collage-like techniques have existed since the Chinese
invented paper. But modern artists of the late 18th and early
19th centuries adapted and brought collage into their work.
From a technique perspective, when artists like Braque and
Picasso incorporated pieces of paper into their oil paintings,
they added texture, and often the collage material contained
references to current events or items from popular culture.
Viewers could witness the process; they could see the brush
strokes that artists combined with collage material in the
finished work. The insertion of collage “brought meaning to
the ordinary.”

Using collage in creating abstract images was a departure
from the neo-expressionist painting that Craig had been
doing. He began to realize that he needed to get out of a rut.
Neo-expressionists paint recognizable objects—such as hu-
man bodies—in an emotional way to express the artist’s
inner feelings. They are known to be bold with their mate-
rials and often use the vivid colors of the Fauves. Craig
turned to abstract images while keeping the brightness of
color that he had been using.

Craig starts his creative thinking with different colored
shapes that he moves around, searching for a combination
he likes. It is often not what he would have first thought to
do but rather, Craig conveys,

[It is a way to] explore and refine composition, color, pattern
and texture, and to juxtapose design elements that might not
necessarily occur to me. Once I start painting, I feel free to use

the collage as a starting point and allow the paint and the
textured canvas surface to dictate the direction that the final
piece takes. My work is purely abstract but usually makes
reference, if only in an oblique way, to specific places or ideas
that inspire me. (Elaine Fleck Gallery, artist’s statement)

Craig commented that collage works well to open his
mind for his abstract painting. He tends, however, not to use
collage for his landscapes and portraits. At the moment, he
displays only his abstracts, whereas he considers his other
work is still premature. He is waiting to find out what
direction it will take. Will he meld abstraction with land-
scapes and portraits whether collaged or not? He states that
all painting boils down to color, texture, patterns, shapes—
and good design applies to everything.

Channel, the painting on the cover of this issue of the
American Psychologist, began as a collage. The lower left
and lower right of the painting include collage material such
as crushed gravel and sand. There are also bits of the
internal pieces of exploded firecrackers. This painting con-
tains both oil and acrylic paint: Dry-brush oil highlighted
the sand and other material; some of the shapes are placed
over an acrylic underpainting. The dry-brush oil technique
picks up and highlights the gritty hard edges and textures in
the painting. Craig finishes many of his pieces with dry-
brushed oil paints both to emphasize the surface texture and
to enrich the colors.

Craig wanted the blue shape in the center of Channel to
be flowing and provide a sense of fluidity—a cascade of
water. The channel of water adds energy and an organic
feeling. The green shape and its shadow also have an
organic quality. The black shape brings the eyes of the
viewer to that side of the painting. The drips of paint add a
sense of movement and hint at an overall impression of a
watercolor. Craig said that it takes a lot of work to get those
drips to look just right. And, of course, if he had not wanted
them there, he could have painted them out. The drips are
intentional.

Craig is still an art historian at heart. Although he has
never worked derivatively, that is, copying the work of his
favorite artists, he knows that they are there with him as he
paints.

Sandra M. Fowler
Art Co-Editor

T
hi

s
do

cu
m

en
t

is
co

py
ri

gh
te

d
by

th
e

A
m

er
ic

an
P

sy
ch

ol
og

ic
al

A
ss

oc
ia

ti
on

or
on

e
of

it
s

al
li

ed
pu

bl
is

he
rs

.
T

hi
s

ar
ti

cl
e

is
in

te
nd

ed
so

le
ly

fo
r

th
e

pe
rs

on
al

us
e

of
th

e
in

di
vi

du
al

us
er

an
d

is
no

t
to

be
di

ss
em

in
at

ed
br

oa
dl

y.

American Psychologist
© 2020 American Psychological Association 2020, Vol. 75, No. 8, 1183
ISSN: 0003-066X http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000759

1183

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000759

	Channel by Mark Craig