Last week’s Let’s Face It tutorial was a paint over collage lesson. It was taken by Toni Burt and we had actually been led through her process for creating a collaged background as a mini-lesson a few months ago.
I really liked the collaged background as it was a bit more thought through and intentional than my collages tend to be. Instead of just tearing up and sticking down paper, I was actually thinking about relationships between elements. I should have thought a bit more carefully about the eventual composition, however, as I ended up with a significant bump under the figure because of the ticket stub. Never mind. Another learning opportunity.
The object was to paint a whimsical figure on top of the collage layer. Burt used oil sticks in her piece but I neither own or have a desire to own oil sticks so I improvised and used Neocolor II crayons to shade the face. It was a welcome break to be working in this more illustrative style again, not having to be concerned about accurate proportions and facial features and all that jazz. I may be guilty of over-simplifying but time is ever my nemesis.
A Pict in PA 
What a happy page. Love her blue hair and the little flowers.
Thank you. I was pretty happy when I was painting this so maybe that appears in the painting.
I like the colors and patterns! Good job with “intentional collage” thinking!!
Thanks, Sue. It was definitely a different approach to collage, more like collating the papers, but of course it was still a background layer so I got away with being a bit rough around the edges.
Sounds like you did what I do: collate the potential collage paper/bits that seem to go together and then…. 😉 I love doing it that way because it allows me to change my mind on a paper/texture before I add the glue. I’ve also found the various gel mediums to be useful to “even out” the rough edges i.e. raise everything to the same level before painting over it.
I’ve always been pretty haphazard before so I’m going to aim for this methodology in future.
Way to go Laura!!! I’ll look forward to your future projects!! Thank you in advance for sharing them!
Taking into consideration the different elements in this piece made a beautiful difference and background. It was just a matter of what colors to use to complement it. You did great! Color combos and your lovely girl were a perfect pair. And if I may say, that egg nest made me love it more.
Thanks, Carrie. It’s funny you mention the best because I was worried it was too distracting and almost covered it up. However, I’m ultimately glad that I kept it.
You’re welcome and it was a great decision.