A Colorful Collage

I recently finished an online collage class with Sarajo Frieden.

Sarajo taught several techniques for hand-painting paper to be used in a collage.

One of her methods was scraping paint with this little yellow scraper that you can buy at the hardware store. I’m not sure what the scraper is called but they aren’t very expensive.

I have done this method before with watercolor but this time I used fluid acrylics.

For the above paper, I started by doting an orange color of paint in a line across the top of the page and then adding dots of a blue color below it. Then I pulled the yellow scraper down through the paint in one direction first. Then I went in the opposite direction until I liked my results. And Magic! A quick background was created!

I created this 15 x 11 inch colorful collage from the papers I made:

The background for this collage was done by wetting my paper, painting yellow stripes across the paper then adding payne’s grey color at the top of my paper. I spritzed water to encourage the blue paint to run over the yellow stripes. Next, I flicked the blue paint onto the wet surface with a brush. You can see the background better in this photo:

I liked the softness of this background since I added a lot of pattern, color and shape with my colorful collage.

Next Wednesday, I will show you more of my hand-painted papers.

Cheers! 😃

Recycling Art – Part 2

Last Wednesday, I showed you some of my art I wanted to recycle.

This week, I want to share 10 recycling art ideas with you!

1. Cut It Out – you only have to keep the parts you like of a painting or a collage on paper. I cut out the collage I did here and reassembled it to create another collage on a gelli-printed yellow background.

2. Use Scraps in a Journal – I like to keep a baggie filled with collage paper scraps that I take with me when I go somewhere. I draw a square or rectangle in my 7″x10″ mixed media art journal and then using scissors and a glue stick, I paste them into the spaces I create. I write around the collaged areas. I find collaging this way to be really meditative as no one else sees it and I can experiment with color, shape, etc Plus it adds color to my journals!

3. Paint Over It – I had a watercolor experiment on this piece of hot press paper that I painted over it with acrylics and cut out a shape to use in a collage.

4. Turn It Over – Acrylics are great for painting the other side of collages or watercolors. Sometimes, I will use the other side of a piece to try out a paint palette or use up leftover paint on a brayer or brush.

5. Experiment – Use it to try a different paint technique or sew on it. Sometimes it is easier for me to play when I don’t worry about messing something up.

6. Create Cards with Positive Affirmations – I like using my painted papers to create cards for myself to write positive affirmations or Bible verses I want to memorize on the blank side.

7. Make a Copy of It – When I have an original that I don’t want to part with, I will make a color copy of it to use in my collages. The one below on the right side is the copy.

8. Take a Photo or Scan it – I find this is the best way for me to keep a record of my art journey. It really saves on space! Plus I can create an album on my phone or computer so it is organized.

9. Share with a Friend – I have exchanged some of my collage papers with a friend in the past. This is super fun! I also like to make my own greeting cards such as the one below I made for my mother-in-law.

10. Store for a Limited Time – I have a box of art that I am thinking about framing. I have decided to give myself a deadline like 6 months to either frame, re-use or discard it.

I hope some of my ideas may be helpful for you too when recycling your artwork.

Be sure to read all the other great ideas from your comments on my last post too!

Cheers! 😃

Recycling Artwork

I have a question for you…

How do you recycle your artwork?

I have been going through some of my previous artwork and have been thinking about recycling it.

As a collage artist, I don’t like to discard anything which can become a problem! Lol!

Next Wednesday, I will show you some ways that I chose to recycle my artwork.

Cheers! 😃

P.S. I look forward to hearing your solutions too!

It’s Finished!

Hooray!!

I finished my Priest Lake Sampler painting on Sunday. I am pleased with how it turned out:

I made a few changes since I last posted my painting…

I removed the pine cones and added trees. I learned that I can use a second stencil over the first one and therefore I added patterns to my trees.

Next, I added the wildflowers, huckleberries and beach rocks.

I feel there is a good balance with color, patterns and design. I think I also represented all 4 seasons.

It took me about 3 months to complete but I’m glad I kept going!

Thanks for all your support and encouragement!!

Now, what to work on next…

Cheers! 😃

Hoppy Easter

I discovered that Gelli-printed paper makes great paper eggs!

There is something meditative about cutting shapes out of paper…

And then rearranging the scraps on paper:

Did you know that the 3-dimensional version of an oval is called an ovoid?

I have fond memories of dying eggs as a child. My parents hid them and then my sister and I tried to find them in the yard.

One year my hubby and I hid plastic eggs filled with money for an Easter egg hunt. It was a big hit with young and old!

Do you have a favorite Easter memory? I hope you share it with me!

Hoppy Easter! 😃

Signs of Spring

We’ve been having unusually warm weather lately where I live in the Pacific Northwest. Sunshine with temps in the high 60’s!! Is it really only March?

I walked around my yard yesterday and took a few photos of signs of Spring to share with you.

The Day Lillies coming up – so wonderful to see some green!

And the rhubarb too!

Fresh chives pair well with eggs.

The lilac is getting ready to burst into bloom.

And just look at that gorgeous blue sky next to the red maple buds!

The weatherman is predicting rain for the weekend and cooler temps but I’m enjoying this sunshine now… hooray for signs of Spring!

Cheers! 😃

P.S. I hope to share my completed Priest Lake Sampler painting with you in a couple of weeks!

Hawk, Pine Cones and Ferns

I’m getting closer to being done with my Priest Lake Sampler painting! Hooray!

I added a yellow highlight to the water for the sun and a black hawk:

A bouquet of pine cones:

And a few ferns:

Only 3 sections left to complete…

I think blogging has motivated me to keep working on it because I’m kind of tired of it! Lol

I appreciate your encouragement, THANK YOU!!

Cheers! 😃

Making Progress

I decided to change the lake water on my Priest Lake Sampler painting.

I like the stencil pattern of the lake much better now!

Some weeks it doesn’t feel like I’m making progress but I know I am!

I changed the mountains a little bit with gelli-printed collage papers, to add the appearance of trees and added the sun.

It is fun to add a little something when I have a few minutes. I always have my Gelli Plate out and ready to go!

Next, I want to add some yellow below the sun so it doesn’t look like it is floating in the air!

I am so ready for Spring, how about you? Tulips are in the stores which is always a good sign!

Wishing you a happy day!

Cheers! 😃

The Conservatory

There is a wonderful conservatory where I live…

Winter season with its gray skies and cold days had me seeking green plants and COLOR last weekend.

I took over 100 photos but don’t worry, I will only show you a few!

I thought this sweet flower was an orchid but it is not…

It is a Bleeding Heart Vine. I had never heard of it, have you?

Of course there were some lovely orchids:

I like looking at the flowers but also the shapes, patterns, colors and textures of the plants themselves and the ones next to them.

The above pink flower is a Flamingo-Lily.

And I’m sure you recognize this flower!

Yes, it is the Bird of Paradise, also called the Crane Flower.

I loved the textures and color of this Urn Plant or Fendler Bromeliad:

And loving the bright green of the Coleus next to the red:

There were a few Tulips and Daffodils in pots in anticipation of Spring:

The Conservatory also had some interesting cactus but I will save those photos for another day!

One last photo for today, just look at the colors and different shapes!

I hope these photos encourage you to take a minute to notice nature around you today.

Cheers! 😃

P.S. I will show you my progress on my Priest Lake Sampler painting next week!

Peaceful Waters…

As I continued my Priest Lake Sampler painting this week, I focused on the lake.

First, I changed the background color for the lake:

But when I taped my masking papers to the board to protect the other painted sections, I accidentally ripped part of my mountains when I pulled off the tape.

This required some fixing with collage papers to cover up the torn sections so I decided to add some specific details to the light gray mountain in the background. I added “Chimney Rock” which is a well-known landmark at Priest Lake.

You can see “Chimney Rock” in the distance of this photo at Priest Lake, Idaho taken on a lovely summer day:

I used a stencil for the lake but I wasn’t happy with the choppy water… (see above)

So I tried to soften it with a paint brush. I am letting the peaceful waters simmer for a little while to see what direction I want to go next.

Tip for the day: Never waste leftover paint! It has potential for future collage material:

Wishing you a peaceful day…

Cheers! 😃