Phase II: Collage on Wrapped Canvas

"A Mexican Beauty"

9" x 12" collage on wrapped canvas

Two posts in one day. I am recovering from a cold so I am confined and doing art. Can you believe I spent a couple more hours on this piece. I see some things that need modification (I am not happy with the green shadow on the right side). Much more work to do all over this piece. 

I've finally figured out that there has to be a process to this, such as sorting papers ahead of time. I did find a method for cutting small pieces to fit in a space. Borrowing from my sewing experience, I placed tracing paper over the space that I wanted to create, traced a pattern, placed it on the paper and cut the shape.

Tonight I have the Southside Art Club at my house, so back to traditional painting for me. Tomorrow and Saturday are filled, so likely I won't get to this until Sunday or later.

Phase I: Collage on Wrapped Canvas

"A Mexican Beauty"

9" x 12" Collage on Wrapped Canvas

My source photo provided by my neighbor

Taken on a Mexican cruise

Hanging the large show at the forum gave me a sense of completion. Suddenly I was free to explore in new directions. As I mentioned in the previous post, Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society will present a workshop by a young artist, Derek Gores, from Melbourne, FL. I just love his work and am signing up for the workshop, which we expect to fill very quickly. First I tried a mixed media piece that I posted yesterday.  That was fun and fairly straightforward to complete. Then I went for a small collage. 

My source image was taken by my neighbor during a cruise to Mexico that  he took a couple years ago with his wife, and Jim gave me permission to use it for my art (I am always careful about copyrights).  I painted this piece a while back and was lukewarm about my results. I should paint it again. I was inspired by a beautiful huge piece by Derek Gores. Go here and look at the fourth painting down on the right. There is no direct link to it.

I did a freehand drawing using vine charcoal on the wrapped canvas. Then as directed by his workshop materials, I used a fashion magazine as the source of my papers because they are done on higher quality glossy paper. I am getting Marie Claire at the moment, and I probably would prefer to use Vogue, which may have higher quality paper in it. I was intrigued by the artist's use of paper with pictures, drawings, and text, which adds a whole new dimension. You will notice some chairs on his woman's clothing. Yet, the piece reads so beautifully. He advises to use acrylic gel gloss medium to adhere the paper. 

What a challenge and of course, this is the first time I've attempted this type of collage, so I would expect to get faster. I've already spent about 3 hours just getting to this point and I do not consider any areas complete. I find myself thinking about his recommendation  to use 36" square wrapped canvas in the workshop. Will I want to abandon the workshop before I finish? I am liking the results, though. Stay tuned for Phase II. Oh yes, if you try this at home -- large sheets of plastic on the floor, old clothes and cover ups, and lengthy cleaning sessions when you are done for the moment.

I love the work of friend Belinda Lima, a member of my critique group who sells her art in a Los Gatos gallery. Check out her collage work. She says that they take so many hours, and now I have new respect for what she accomplishes! She is planning to attend the workshop as are some other very accomplished artists.

Southern art

Tuesday's Wash

San Miquel de Allende, Mexico

I will be out of touch for a while as I head to South America. I leave you with one of the pieces I did during a trip to Mexico. Adios.

Memories of painting in Mexico

Today was spent doing lots of art related tasks, but no art yet. I wanted to post something before I go off to do art and get busy with the rest of my todo list today. I will share one of the paintings I did on a trip to Mexico.

I was taking a watercolor workshop with Mel Stabin. That day he focused on painting people in their natural settings. Then he set us free to paint and return for critique. Rather than hang around the tourist area of San Miquel de Allende, I went off with one other person to a small plaza frequented by the local people. where a man was shining shoes under a tree. Many of the local people stopped to admire my work and I talked with them the best I could with my limited Spanish. Whenever I look at "Shoeshine on the Plaza," I remember the bright sun, the colors, the friendly people, and the sense of peace I felt that day. Mel found us after a time and immediately set up his easel and captured some gentleman sitting on a bench. I have since seen that picture in one of his books.