I don’t know of any artist that doesn’t love to try new techniques.  My friend, artist extraordinaire, Joyce Shelton, and I were talking about this very thing the other day ~ how we’ve tried so many different things, then moved on.  I used to feel guilty about buying tools & supplies, only work in a particular medium for a little while, then abandoning it, possibly forever.  But not anymore, I believe that we need to keep trying different things, otherwise you might never find the one medium/technique that makes your heart sing.

So began my foray into collage painting.  Joyce had taken a workshop with the very talented Elizabeth Hilaire Nelson, and when I checked out her wesbite, I recalled that I had read an article by her in Cloth Paper Scissors (Nov/Dec 2008) regarding this type of collaging.  I of course pulled it out and read it again.  I also recalled having read the article twice before (I keep issues of CPS in my car) because I was so intrigued by the process.

Now I was immediately inspired to give it a whirl and Joyce was starting a large-scale “painting”, so we decided to make a day of it at her place.  But first, I had to do some homework, starting with an under painting on Luon (thin board you can get a Lowe’s).  You don’t want to get too carried away with the under painting because it is just a color road map.

Then I spent a blissful Sunday afternoon creating what I would “paint” with.  I used printouts of my own patterns, rice paper, scrapbook papers, old maps, pages from old books, bags I’d saved, etc. and covered them with paint, stamping with both store-bought stamps, hand-carved rubber stamps and anything else I had laying around that looked like it might make an interesting impression.  I concentrated mostly on shades of green, yellow & ivory.

Now, let’s get started!  All you have to do now is rip little pieces of paper and glue them down with medium (we used soft gloss gel).  Well, OK, there is a little thought that goes into which pieces & colors :-)

Here’s Joyce, so impatient to get started on her Van Gogh sky, she didn’t even finish the under painting.

What a glorious, fun mess we made!

And here is my finished piece….  (You’ll have to check Joyce’s blog down the road for hers ~ it’s BIG and is going to take some time!

Let’s  get a closer look, shall we?  My favorite part are the dots in the neck of the bottle.  Ironically, that is the only scrap of paper that is not from my stash ~ I plucked it from Joyce’s pile!

p.s. Elizabeth teaches workshops in this technique all over, so check her site and maybe there is one near you ~ don’t miss the fun!

My very talented friend Robin Zingone has started a wonderful charitable project and made it so easy to participate. Lots of creative goods have been donated and can be purchased for a minimum of $25. Four sets of my Thirsty Stone coasters have just been added.

Check out The Robin Zingone Project to purchase and shop all the other items for sale. Hurry, it’s first come first serve! This month’s charity is Audobon.  With a century-long legacy of conservation in the Gulf region, Audubon was quick to respond to the crisis. Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.