MUTANT, A COLLAGE PAINTING IN MEMORY OF PLAGUE VICTIMS

I'm mad as hell about it, hate that 100,000 Americans could die from Covid-19, and countless others have already lost their lives in the pandemic.  I'm in sorrow, sheltering in place & hoping you are staying safe.

This artwork began on a vintage anatomy chart. 

It was a canvas-like scroll with rods at top and bottom.

I'll show some steps and techniques below. 

Original old medical chart.

Because the virus is rough, I added texture in places.

I didn't want the original warm tones of the figure (they were too pleasant), 
so I made a Dioxazine purple glaze. But I didn't like that either! So I went blue.

A cool blue wash (acrylics & water) for some of the

background, too, and white too. But I also wanted visual texture.

PAINTING TIP: Open a packet of de-oxidizer, desiccant or silica gel (sometimes found

in new shoeboxes). I sprinkled those tiny pebbles into the wet paint

and got a cool effect!

Close-up of part of the painting and collage elements.

I painted a cut-off tree trunk to symbolize all the lives cut short.

I collaged a cut-out eye, heart, and 3 birds into the piece. 

Owls and ravens are symbolic, too, of course.  

21" x 5.5'

Detail of ravens.

MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE - PAINTING ON CANVAS

I WOULD LOVE A NIFTY TITLE FOR THIS NON-OBJECTIVE WORK.

GOT A TITLE SUGGESTION 

FOR THIS NEW, MIXED-MEDIA WORK?

STEP-BY-STEP FROM SKETCH TO FINISHED PROJECT

MY ORIGINAL SKETCH...I thought it would be horizontal!

I wanted a limited color scheme of cream, light and dark gray, and cool red in a variety of values. I used acrylic paint, textured papers, my own decorated papers and more.

The photo shown below is in progress.  I goofed by leaving a very dark area in the center.

At this point I hadn't yet decided to finish the piece as if it would hang vertically.

The finished work.

Note (above) the several small, brighter accents as focal points. 

Please comment if you have a good idea for a name for this. 

Or if you like it!   THANKS!

FOUND OBJECT ASSEMBLAGE ECO-ART

If you feel as strongly as I do about protecting

our world, please leave a comment about

saving our lands, our waters, our national parks. 

MIS-MANAGED, 2020, 18" tall

Hazard symbols painted in acrylic

Doll body encrusted with bits of rusty metal.

A different doll head adhered, painted, and altered.

Wood, metal, nails
(Free-standing or wall-hung)

 

Thanks for looking, and do come back again!

                                                               Paula

ABSTRACT COLLAGE - PAINTING with TERRIFIC TEXTURE

ROCK, PEBBLES, SAND

...and Water!

Neutrals rule! I've always liked neutrals: tans, beiges, cream, ivory, white, Payne's gray, brown, khaki colors, rust, warm stone colors. In clothes, shoes, art, and more.

Neutrals, or natural colors, are not bold or vivid ones. They can be light, medium & dark, & of course you want a contrasting combo of values in your work. 

Texture is an art element I'm fond of, too. Some areas were made more textural with handmade, ridged art paper adhered to the surface.

TIP: If any of you wonderful readers plan to work with heavy texture, DO use a board: if not an actual wooden or Masonite board, then at least a canvas panel. You need a stronger support than a stretched canvas!

I wanted an abstracted effect of clean, clear water over rounded pebbles or river rock. Wet stones are the most beautiful!

Close-up detail

The clear or frosted beads are called river pebbles, glass gems, or even fire pit pebbles. I found a mixed bag for cheap at the thrift shop: some translucent, some opaque, even some iridescent.

My original sketch for the artwork.

DecoArt also makes Sandstone Textured Acrylics, which I employed in a brown, a tweed, and their Terra Cotta (in the Grand Canyon color). Burnt Sienna & Van Dyke Brown acrylic paint were dabbed, stippled, & rubbed selectively to get a stone effect.

 
For an abstract stream, I first thought of ModPodge.
It's self-leveling, so I needed barriers to hold in
the very fluid medium. To form "walls" to prevent
the runny ModPodge from going everywhere, I
used DecoArt Texture Stucco (see the white line below).

Unfinished. Detail. The white you see is actually a short barricade to hold in the fluid medium.

The finished artwork.

Spattering would be good for a rock-like effect, too. Can you spot the fine, dark lines as well? I always enjoy a bit of mark-making!

With this abstract acrylic painting with collaged elements, I set out originally to  use ONLY neutrals, but decided the brighter orange was necessary. I think it contrasts nicely with the (complementary) blue-gray areas. More contrast is seen in the smoother, shinier areas versus the matte. The entire piece turned out warmer than my original concept. But then I always love rich, bright color, don't you?

VINTAGE ANATOMY CHART AS COLLAGE BACKGROUND

I altered a large, old school science chart & it was fun!

This mixed-media project was a blast to complete. I used acrylic paint, other mediums, metal bits, clockworks, fibers, found images, and so much more. (See the finished work following some details.)

 

Coils & gadgets & more!
(Detail.)

The organic shapes of rubber bands (see directly below) reminded me of cells or organs inside the body.      

Detail.

Another close-up.





Fibers & pics from an anatomy book.
(Detail.)



At last, here's the completed piece, below.

 

 

Thanks for viewing! - Paula

 

 



NON-OBJECTIVE GRID PAINTING WITH SEVERAL TECHNIQUES

LARGE ACRYLIC PAINTING WITH TEXTURE

 

This could also be called an abstract painting, I suppose, if I had used a landscape as my inspiration. Do YOU see it as a simplified scene?

 

I often use a grid system to keep my composition pleasing. Check out the horizontals and verticals in the artwork below.

The finished painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail. I repeated drips elsewhere on the canvas, too.

 

 

Another technique I used was to apply very thick paint with a painting knife in a few swoops to lead the eye. You can see them in the top picture.

 

Here's a close-up of scratching that's not too visible in the large photo.





Thanks for viewing this! I appreciate you.

Paula



A MIXED - MEDIA PAINTING WITH SUPER HEAVY GESSO

I'm sure this product has been around for awhile, but it's new to me. I found it at Hobby Lobby. It's a very thick surface-prep medium that dries matte and opaque. Use it to prepare a canvas for either acrylic or oil paint. Create thick, impasto effects!

You can tint the white color if desired.

I used a sturdy canvas panel that had previously been painted. A knife or brush can be used to apply the product.

I blocked in the composition using the gesso.

Stippling created heavy texture where the bouquet would go. Let the gesso dry overnight if you apply thickly. It dries without yellowing.
Next, I used acrylic paint, and finally, collaged translucent napkin paper onto the piece.

Floral still life in an impressionistic style.

 

SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA ADMIT YOU GOOFED!

I'm not afraid to say I really did fail with this acrylic painting. Don't know why my heart wasn't in it, but I've already scraped the art board so I can use it again. Below read what my intentions were! First photo, below, is just the beginning.

I love the graceful lines of antlers, so I based my sketch on them.
Then I had the idea of painting bright, strong hues in some places, with their pastels in others, thus the unfortunate divider line.

My color scheme was red, yellow, and blue. When I didn't like the smooth effect, I thought texture might help...texture USUALLY helps, right? Right?

Ugh. Sorry I couldn't display a masterpiece here, but everyone has their days. I hereby promise to post a motivational, inspiring, maybe even lovely mixed-media example soon! In the meantime, if you have a nice piece combining both pastels (high-value colors) and their vivid, pure counterparts, please let me know so I can add it here as what TO do! Thanks!

MORE IDEAS, TECHNIQUES, & MIXED MEDIA ADVICE

Texture: A good way to break creative block is to collage rice papers and paper scraps onto heavy watercolor paper with matte medium. See the example above. After it's dry, use pastels, pencil, watercolor, acrylics, or whatever you wish to finish the piece!

 

Love those old wallpaper books!:
Ask for old swatch books free from the paint store, and use the vinyl samples as a support for various media. Oil pastels are great because you can layer and sgraffito the pastel and enjoy a bit of the background pattern showing through. See below.

Oil pastel over vinyl, then scratched through.

 

They DO look like china flowers!

Make your own “porcelain” flowers:

Believe it or not, these “porcelain” blooms are fabric flowers dipped in tinted plaster of Paris!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A cool technique with acrylics:

See my own above! I plan to use this cut up into pieces!
Create interesting backgrounds with rubber cement, to keep certain areas white. First, apply some rubber cement and let it dry, paint a color and let dry, apply rubber cement in an interesting pattern and let dry.  Do again with another color. When that’s dry, pick up or rub off the cement across the entire piece, and see what is underneath.

(I did the one shown above 4 or 5 times on a single white surface, and needed elbow grease to remove all the rubber cement!)

 

Lefties:
For left-handed artists...turn your spiral bound sketchbook upside down and work from the back of the book. The spirals will be on the right side and not interfere with your hand.
 
A fun exercise to motivate you:
When you need inspiration, try the two-hand method. Pick up a different-colored marker or colored pencil in each hand and draw something—or nothing! Move both hands at the same time, alongside each other in a similar pattern. You'll be amazed at what your non-dominant hand can produce. A great warm-up tool.





 

TREASURED TEXTURE TECHNIQUES

FIVE FABULOUS WAYS TO ADD DIMENSION &

INTEREST TO YOUR MIXED MEDIA WORK

The first example depicts fabric folds collaged onto a sturdy support. When the adhesive (acrylic medium) was dry, painting over the rhythmic folds was easy.

Tactile! The ridges really stand out.
 

I painted & stamped the bubble wrap first, then squiggled.

 

Secondly, texture achieved with dimensional paint writers, above. Let yourself go and have fun with these.

 

 Next up, a textural method using a stucco-like medium. I pressed mesh into it while it was still moist and let it dry that way. Then I peeled off the mesh and painted, washing a dark, thinned color into the crevices.

Like many of the paste mediums, stucco is very absorbent.

 

 

 

 

 

  
 Modeling paste was mixed with acrylics in the example below. Not pretty, I know, but it could be painted to look more appealing when dry.

I used a stiff square of matboard to scrape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our final textural method, below,
I used a chiffon scarf (found at a thrift shop). A heat gun shrivels, puckers, and generally makes the fabric very cool! (Hot but cool.)

This photo is before painting!

I hope these ideas spark more creativity in YOU! Tip: Try the one that gets you the most excited...your finished piece will surely be a stunner. 







Textured Mixed Media Painting

This largish artwork feels tribal to me, with the animal and "moon."
When I cover an old, unwanted canvas, I try to leave bits of the
previous work showing wherever I can. I also try to use major
texture, especially if previous brushwork or dimensional edges
show through (and if they don't work with the new idea).


I used acrylics and thick mediums.

I enjoyed creating this piece, and it went quickly. You, too,
should try symbols in a largely non-objective or abstracted
work...they can add meaning and interest!

GRIDS ARE THE GREATEST!

A grid composition can be very gratifying. 

 The mixed-media painting shown below is extremely textural.

I added sawdust to the paint, but you can try crushed eggshells, sand,

or store-bought texture mediums.

Pastel tones may not be your preference, but for a large,

 soothing work suitable for a bedroom, perhaps,

colors with white worked out ok for me.



Try a grid painting or collage yourself!

Here's another idea if you feel your grid is too boring: Add lines,

scribbles, or stamped-on words, numbers, or letters.