Drawing #86 - class collage

The teacher brought a few bins of collected pictures for use in collage. I chose one from a bin labeled cool colors. It is really a photo of basalt pillars in a sea cavern, but I turned it sideways to become a stairway to the light. I really can't take much credit for the result as it is all based on that amazing photo. Still it looks really interesting and something to share. It gives me ideas about color and shape and repetitions, so a good stimulus. Because the 4th of July is on Thursday, our class will be skipping a week. Hope I can keep working despite the heat in my studio. Enjoy this one. This is smaller, using 12 x 9" paper with collage and watercolor crayons in interesting colors.

Drawing #85 Revised - Dragon Flight

I did a little more work on this larger piece with the embossed wallpaper and got an idea from my husband about it's having a bit of a Chinese look and a mention of dragons. That gave me a new name and a little more appreciate of the piece. See what you think.

Drawing #85 - Pretty Bird

This is a larger collage with the embossed wallpaper. It is a heavy watercolor paper 20 x 15 inches, the largest size I've used, and that only once for the piece called "Somebody's Mother." I added more collage elements in various shades of white then went to acrylic paint applied with a palette knife. After that I added more collage, more paint, some watercolor pencil and standard colored pencils. I'm not sure it is really finished, but for now I don't think I can go any further. The title is again taken from part of a page for a Third Reader. I think the embossing appeals to me as a substitute for my black ink lines, having instead white lines. See what you think.

Drawing #84 - Starts and Slides

This whimsical piece is on a 9 x 12 inch sheet using acrylic paint left over when working on my latest collage with embossed wallpaper. I added collage, watercolor pencil, colored pencil and a bit of pastel. I've left out any inked lines just to see what it's like. The title comes from a line in the text collage, part of a page from an old copy of Tennyson's The Princess. Originally this size was a step up for me, but now it seems to be my small size. Don't forget to click on the image for a larger view. I think the possible ideas it will generate for you are many.

Drawing #83 - Clouds to Elsewhere

My mixed media class resumed yesterday with a collage project using the embossed wallpaper I enjoyed earlier with the "little trip" piece. The teacher had cut segments for another class to use and the remnants of that provided perfect pieces for me, similar to the one I used before. I also used a sheet from the gelli printing session done with a cloud stencil by another student who didn't want it. I added bits of dark blue paper, watercolor pencil, regular watercolors, and colored pencil. It is on a 14 x 11 sheet, a little larger than my normal size. The teacher commented that it had a look of fantasy. The look is quite different depending on the amount of embossed texture you see. What do you think?

I brought home more of the wallpaper to work on a watercolor block that is a little larger. The designing will need to be a bit different and challenging, I hope.