I often construct my collages on acrylic painted paper. For a recent group of collages I layered stencil shapes cut from discarded prints (monotypes, collagraphs, etchings) and other found paper on the painted background. I needed one more element to make the collage POP. I found it by using acrylic “spreads.” Never heard of them? Spreads are made by painting acrylic paint or paint + gel medium on a releasing surface like plastic, letting it dry really well, then scraping it off and gluing it to the collage paper. They’re a little tricky to make, but they’re fun to make and fun to incorporate into the collage. They add texture and a bit of 3-D to the flat surface.

Here are some examples from the “Hidden In Plain Sight” series.

#1296 Hidden In Plain Sight 1, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1297 Hidden In Plain Sight 2, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1298 Hidden In Plain Sight 3, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1300 Hidden In Plain Sight 5, collage, 16×20″, 2016

I continue to use pieces of my photographs, like the underfoot and graffiti images with discarded (you could say re-purposed) prints and found paper. May I say “ephemera?” It sounds so much more sophisticated. The compositions extend in all directions on a white background.

Here are a few recent examples.

#1301 Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22×30″ 2016

#1302 Internal:External Forces At Work collage 22×30″ 2016

#1303 Chasing The Unexpected collage 30×22″ 2016

Sometimes you have to go “small.” Same idea, collage on painted paper. What happens when you try to downsize? What do you pick and choose to take? Ugh, you say. Well, I have to make the same sort of decisions every time I look at the paper. I made a series of “minis” called “Mini-Go-Round.” They are 6×8”, a lot smaller than 16×20”, 22×30” or 29×41”, my usual sizes for collage. How would you design a collage on a small piece of paper?

Here are my “minis.” Remember, they are small.

#1304 Mini Go Round 1, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1305 Mini Go Round 2, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1306 Mini Go Round 3, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1309 Mini Go Round 6, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1321 Mini Go Round 18, collage 6×8″ 2016

Have you made collages? What’s your approach?

Robert Rauschenberg once said, “Sunsets and strawberries never appear the same.” Margaret Drabble wrote, in The Red Queen, “Nothing comes from nowhere.”

#1274 Razzle, Dazzle, collage 19 1:2×25 1:2″

#1275 Hip, Hip, Hooray, collage 19 1:2×25 1:2″ 20

When I think about my work (because people ask) I realize it is always about exploring possibilities. Sometimes it’s moving forward, sometimes it’s stepping back. Inspiration can come from anything and anywhere, as complicated as the arc of travel, as simple as the mash up of colors in a bowl of fruit salad. A story, a piece of fabric, architectural details. How do I process all of these sensory experiences? How do I express them?

It’s a balancing act. Assessing, revising, adding, subtracting. The paintings and collages, for instance, are the result of the interplay of line, texture (real or implied), negative and positive space, and color (or lack of). How do the parts relate to the whole?

Where is the harmony? The dissonance? Experience with materials and technique is layered over intuition.

#1276 Going My Way?, collage 19 1:2×25 1:2″

#1277 It Takes Longer Than You Think, collage 19 1:2×25 1:2″

One person’s “serious” is another person’s “playful.” What are the connections within a work and to others that form a series? Must it tell a story or can you connect with it on a different level? Do you seek out metaphors as you study it? “… the eye of the beholder” may sound trite but it’s important to note that you, the viewer, bring much to the work to help you understand it.

#1278 Taking The High Road, collage 19 1:2×25 1:2″

#1279 Flights of Fancy, collage 19 1:2×251:2″

I have no control over how viewers will interpret or connect with my work. I give up control once I determine it is finished. Then, on to the next.

#1281 Rational Exuberance 2, acrylic painting on paper with collage 22×30″

You can find more collages, plus paintings, prints and photographs on my website www.studio7310.com. Have at it!

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When it comes to making collages my mantra is re-cycle, re-purpose, re-use. If “all’s fair in love and war”, so it is with collage making. There are as many ways to make a collage (2D, 3D, mixed) as there are materials.

(Definition: Collage derives its name from the French verb coller, to glue. The work of art is made by gluing things to the surface).

I start with the scary white paper. Blank. Nada. 100% rag, acid free, often Rives BFK, a lovely, heavy paper excellent for general printmaking.

Rives BFK paper 22×30″ 

Sometimes I start by painting on the paper with acrylic paint or making a monotype.

acrylic painted paper

Next comes stash busting. I peruse all manner of my previous prints (etchings, monotypes, collagraphs). The un-wanted. Un-loved. I sort through ephemera.

bits and pieces

discarded prints

ephemera

Peruse, then pick. Decide on shapes. Cut out. Add, subtract, shift around, overlap. Build layers. Do not glue down. Changes might have to be made. Do not sneeze or jostle.

Here is the collage in progress with a few details.

collage in progress

detail

detail

Time to glue down all of those little pieces. To help me remember where they all go once they are lifted off the paper I make a few sketches with notations plus marks on the paper for shape locations. Then I remove a section at a time, add acrylic medium for “glue” and weight it down. This is where those old phone books come in handy.

This is the view of Woodcreek Ranch from my studio window. It’s what I see while I wait for the glue to dry.

Woodcreek Ranch – winter

I return to the collage and repeat the process of removing, gluing, weighting down and staring. Until it’s finished.

Untitled #1282 collage, 22×30″, 2014

There you have it!

You can see more of my collages on my website www.studio7310.com. Click on Tabs “New Work” and “Collages.”

Spring is here! Color is pushing up through the winter soil as daffodils, tulips, forsythia and other spring flowers announce the change in season.

I have selected “Romantic Allusions” for this month’s Art Pick. Not only is it colorful, but like the flowers revealing themselves in the garden, this mixed media work on paper also reveals some hidden elements. Among the collaged papers and painting are sections of colored oil pastel crayons which were initially covered by black pastels. The black was scratched away revealing the underlying colors.

Enjoy whatever is popping up in your garden and add this month’s Art Pick to your collection.

It is available all month at a 30% discount.

#370 Romantic Allusions, acrylic, oil pastels, collage, 22x28, 1989

Price – $800 less 30% = $560. Free shipping.