Experiment in Collage

Untitled, Acrylic and Collage on Watercolor Paper, 9"x10", NFS

Report From Camp - Part 1

I recently went to a watermedia workshop on portraiture with Jean Pederson in North Carolina. Part of that workshop involved experimenting with collage, abstraction, wild and crazy grounds - all of which would be used to create unique and interesting portraits. This painting involved most of the elements that were covered in the class - the substrate began as an abstract collage on watercolor paper; the portrait is that of one of the models I sketched during life drawing; the elements of the collage were created using paint, stamping, splattering, etc. on sketchbook paper and cut up. The portrait was painted over the collage, incorporating the collage into the face and background. Because this was a classroom piece (my experience with collage is minimal), parts of the collage ended up getting painted out, while other pieces of collage paper were added as needed. I used a light green wash to unify the entire painting (the photo is more intensely green than the actual painting.)