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.