Deja Vu!

Meadowlark, Fly your Way Down...

This meadowlark might look familiar to those who saw my earlier meadowlark collage this summer. I happened on an extra inkjet printout of it today when I was going through some papers and thought it was too good to waste. Plus, it gave me a chance to try a gel transfer with the gel medium I bought recently. I'm trying to integrate more of my own drawing and painting into my work. In this collage, I scribed leaves into gesso along the lefthand side and aimed for watercolor effects the in the background. I'm pretty happy with it as it is, yet it may be a work in progress, as I look at it and think about whether it needs anything else to feel finished.

Fly Away?

This bird seems so pensive as if thinking of flying away, but not quite sure. I used an inkjet image transfer, then enhanced it with pencil and paint. I happened to find the "middle of nowhere text" in an old magazine ad and thought it fit perfectly with my theme of escape.  An old musical score adds interesting visual texture, but also suggests the beauty of a bird's song, as well as music's powerful ability to transport us to another place and time. I'd made the butterfly stamp used in the top right corner awhile ago, and thought it would go nicely with my thoughtful bluebird.

Another Bird!

This is a larger collage, still following the "Hope" theme as in my earlier series of mini-collages. I used a 9' x 12" gesso board, again with a combination of collage, image transfer and fun paint techniques. My first image transfer attempt failed, so I painted over it with acrylic paint and did an acrylic paint transfer. To get the droplets and texture effect in the background, I sprayed dishwater suds into the wet paint. I love the effect it creates!

The first photo shows the partially completed collage, with the image transfer in progress. I used an inkjet print, painted the collage surface, and the surface of the image, then pressed the image down into the paint to dry for a few hours. 

Next you can see the completed collage, with the transferred bird image. I used a meadowlark because I often saw and heard their beautiful song in my childhood. 

I love the paint image transfer technique. It's quite easy to do and the end result is not too perfect nor is it immediately recognized as a photographic image. To me the effect is quite interesting and visually pleasing. The vine and leaves to the left of the bird were stenciled on a page from an old book, then enhanced with drawing. I also drew and painted, as well as collaged some other similar, but not identical leaves to balance the composition. 

A mixed media collage series

I've recently been in a collage and mixed media frenzy! At first, I was primarily experimenting with techniques and materials, as some of them are new to me. Sooner or later, it comes time to take the next step and create some finished pieces. The following are a series of collages, loosely based on a lovely Emily Dickinson poem entitled "Hope."

I used 4"x 4" canvases, so these are definitely mini-collages. I used ink-jet image transfers for the bird images, together with a variety of other papers and paint effects. It was definitely a satisfying endeavor to move beyond exercise to creating finished collages!