Dust Paintings (11 works)

These paintings of people were created... from dust collected from their homes. Artist Alison Cortson beats out vacuum cleaner bags and uses the collected dust in her unusual works. She spends weeks creating the details of her paintings, applying glue to the canvas and then scattering dust on it.







Eric descends the stairs. The painting measures 172 x 228 cm.

Alison is from Los Angeles. She says dust is the perfect material because it's created by people themselves. "I was sitting on the couch one day and saw dust particles floating in the sunlight from the window, and this idea came to me. The older we get, the more dust we create, since it's made up of 70% dead tissue. I love painting people, and I thought dust would be the perfect material." Pictured: Alison Cortson poses in front of her paintings.



Alison photographs people and then borrows their vacuum cleaner bags to create "materials." She then paints the person from the photograph with oil paints, and dusts the background by smearing glue on the canvas and then dusting it. To create highlights, she brushes off excess dust, and to create shadows, she mixes dust with acrylic paint. Finally, Alison varnishes the painting to prevent it from bleeding and causing allergies. Pictured: Alana (152x182 cm).



"I paint very quickly." It takes a week or two to complete a painting, depending on the size. I don't use any special equipment, except for a mesh filter I bought at a kitchen supply store to sift out the dust." Pictured: Marina in Rioja; 152 x 182 cm.



"I mostly paint close friends, but sometimes I come across people I don't know very well. I enjoy painting, and I especially enjoy painting people in simple, natural poses. I also want to make people think about the nature of reality, as our universe is full of mysteries." Pictured: Lee in the dust; 152×182 cm.



Two girls on the floor; 121×182 cm.



Ramona; 45×60 cm.



Murder by music; 45×60 cm.



With them; 76×101 cm.



Adriana; 45×60 cm.