If you have read a few of my blog posts then you will know that I tend to be self-effacing to the point of being self-deprecating. Partly it is just a British thing – not tooting your own trumpet and all that – and partly it is a me thing. When I consider that I have no ability with a particular skill or that I am terrible at it, what I actually am is mediocre and potentially improving. I am a pretty driven person and I always aim to do things to the best of my ability, be the best possible version of me I can be with lots of effort and diligence, so I tend to magnify any lack of success. One of the side benefits of all of the diverse art learning I have been doing is that I have had a crack at things I know I will find challenging and I have had plenty of practice at having to accept that I cannot be good at everything, that there are things I am just mediocre at and that is OK.
All of which preamble is to confess that I have skipped over a few Life Book lessons recently. I have been very pushed for free time and, because they were lessons that I knew were not my cup of tea, I decided to give them a miss – at least for now. When this week’s lesson arrived in my email inbox, I confess I thought it would be another one I would skip over. I looked at the exemplar outcome and thought to myself that I would absolutely make a mess of the lesson, that it was not something I would be remotely any good at. However, I didn’t want to skip another lesson in a row so I decided to push myself to do it and plunge on in. I am so glad I did. It turned out the thing I thought would not be my cup of tea was something I enjoyed immensely.
The lesson was taken by Roxanne Coble and was entitled “Your Story; Your Altar”. Essentially the lesson involved combining paint and collage, something I have had mixed results with, but what I really enjoyed about it was the approach to curating and placing the collage elements, the messy imprecision of the paint layering, and all the mark making. There was a really good balance between intuitive and intentional arting, just the sort of balance I have been striving to find. The way Coble applied the paint and the marks she made were all elements that were completely familiar to me and so, while I expected to feel frustrated with my attempt at the lesson, I found that I was comfortable with the techniques and having a lot of fun. In fact, I enjoyed the process so much that I think I might use my sidekick journal (where I smear all my leftover paint) for just this sort of technique.
Really cool! I love RC’s style, you have a great take on it here, but keeping it your style too. Nicely done 🙂
Thank you very much. That’s the thing: when I first looked at the lesson I thought, “That’s not me at all”, but when I started on it I realized that actually much of her approach totally conforms to my own style. Then I was hooked and loved the process.
Oh aren’t they the best! Love when that happens, maybe cos we let go of expectation and all the natural art comes out!
I love this!! I really like how well all of your elements go together. Even though, you collaged elements together, it seems as though it is one beautiful picture. The paint dripping ties it all together too. WOW!
Thank you very much, Jade. I often use dribble and spatter to unify a piece. And also because I just like that sort of messy mark making.
Mystical Laura, I love the whole process in this piece. I’m glad you decided to carry on and create your art!!
Thank you very much, Sharon. It was a good lesson in not letting fear of failure block me.
Good for you, yea!
I think this is one of your top tem.
Thank you, Claudia! I was hoping you would approve as I know you are such a master at combining paint and collage. I really loved this process.
I think you have an aptitude for it and it really shows. Hope to see more!
Thank you. I hope to do more.
This is an absolutely wonderful piece Laura–I love the layering, the detail of the books, the photos peeking through like hidden treasures.
Thank you, Hannah. I’ve always been a bit random in picking the collage elements in previous pieces so it was a much more rewarding and ultimately successful approach to curating to pick things aesthetically but consider why they spoke to me too, what they might say about my life. I think it makes for a much more cohesive result.
I love it Laura! Its different but I could see something uniquely you in there. Awesome page!
Thank you very much! 😀
Ah, it’s such a fine line between being modest (or self-effacing) and undercutting ourselves.
It is indeed and I’m frequently guilty of wandering into the undercutting territory.
We’ll probably stumble over each other there from time to time. I have a pretty convincing sure-of-myself act but, well–.
Thanks for checking out my blog Laura! Love this post 🙂 Looking forward to reading more!
Thank you for visiting my blog too.
I love mixed media too! What kind of glue do you like to use?
Thanks, Sue. I use Golden Matt medium as a glue because I’m messy with it and that way I can paint over it.
Oh yes! I love the Golden Matt medium too! it’s a good glue! Do you use it in bound books too? For art in bound sketchbooks I use the Twinrocker archival neutral ph glue – http://www.twinrocker.com/ – so that the pages are still flexible.
I’ve not even heard of that glue. I will need to check it out.