'60 Pontiac Bonneville
©2025 '60 Pontiac Bonneville, Maria Morris
Collage, Interrupted
The core elements and the color story came together quickly for '60 Pontiac Bonneville. Those were the only parts that did. Holiday prep interrupted the flow. I set her aside to deck the halls, trim the trees, and design the atypical family holiday card. I gave myself the out to relax and keep The Written Record newsletter light this round. But Ponty Bonney sat there. Taunting me. “C’mon. I’m not done,” she said. And I listened because I’m geared to finish what I start. But from beginning to end, she fought me. I blame my deadline-driven brain, Bonney’s feminine energy, and the evil (reptile) eye.
Modishness meets muscle
The focal images are all big, so I began with an appropriately sized canvas. I learned my lesson with '78 Toyota Cressida.
Circles are a theme. Glass, which reads as “clear”, can be tricky. The white and clear gin bottle pulls focus when everything surrounding it is flooded with color. More “clear” and white images are needed.
Canvas size: 20' x 16'
Millions of peaches …
Peaches for me. The biggest peach didn’t photograph well and looks rotten. Gross. Ignore that.
And dang. There are too many of the same blue-and-gold macaws. It’s March macaw’dness. Ugh. Sorry. Cheesy basketball pun.
Still rotten.
The central peach looks even more rotten in this image. 🤮 What the heck?
Bringing in some additional white and clear elements, plus some silver and metal finishes, to harmonize with the stethoscope’s chest piece. Glittery fishing lures feature the full range of the collage’s color story.
Bulbs!
Holiday sequined bulbs and the electric light variety add more white and blue repetition. A bowl of sliced peaches fits the theme but may not actually fit into the composition. While in a white bowl, they’re awfully yellow.
One macaw flew out, and two more flew in.
Gettin’ the feel.
What? Another macaw? Why not. More fish, too. The big peach looks less rotten but is still not quite right.
The angles and directionality are starting to tighten up and provide a subtle grid.
Another orange Gerbera daisy is needed. I went back to the folders and envelopes without luck. I had to dip into the magazine stash.
P.S. I hate having to go back to the magazines.
It needs more (cow) blue.
I found some orange Gerberas, but they clashed with the previous bloom. Plus, the seam where the image crossed over the magazine’s fold bugged me. The bowl of sliced peaches needed to go, too. A blue plastic robot and some blue snowy mittens were temporarily added.
Ponty Bonney’s got good jeans.
Denim. That’s the blue that was needed. The glass of milk from the globe cookie needed a pal, so more milk was added. It may be a milkshake, but close enough.
Hammered rings with sapphire gems added more gold and blue tones to balance the image of King Tut, which was standing out more than I wanted. More white imagery was needed on the left, so two plastic spoons are getting freaky with two silver spoons.
The sexual undertones of '60 Pontiac Bonneville are decidedly feminine.
Rips and tears are better for denim.
I had some gluing struggles, ripped several small elements, and accidentally mixed up some layering. I successfully fixed most of the issues “in post”.
As I said, Bonney was a fussy bot from beginning to end. On the plus side, the big peach was finally captured without looking disgusting. Hail, Caesar!
Less obvious imagery to look for: blue agave, a cigar label with blue agave, three small condoms, one lone present, Caesar as art and currency, a puffer vest, the evil (reptile eye), goldfish, a fabulous ruffly stiletto, and one rock candy.
Where it began.
The pieces.
