Every ending is a new beginning to something else.

"Beginnings"

5x7 collage

Using Anne Bagby's technique of making 'complicated' papers, I made this collage for a new book I am creating.  It feels so good to be playing with paper again. After my husband died very 

unexpectedly, I felt like I would NEVER create again. Slowly, the Muse has returned and I am, once again, creating. This collage is about my life after his death. New Beginnings. I am just now, after almost 2 years thinking of the future and what is NEXT...

stretching my art muscles

 Face of woman 1 

using Lynn Perella's techniques

 Face of woman 2

using Anne Bagby's techniques

Face of woman 3

using Anne Bagby's techniques

This past weekend I attended a great workshop. I try to go to one a year. This one was fantastic!

The teachers were both amazing artists, Lynn Perella and Anne Bagby.  We all met in Connecticut and spent a wonderful 3 days flinging paint and cutting paper! Can it get better than that?? The workshop was called Marrakesh Destiny. We focused on Moroccan art and design. It was other-worldly, moody and all around amazing.  I met wonderful fellow artists. If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with either of these artists you will love it. I learned a lot and stretched my art muscles, which is always a good thing, Going out of my comfort zone helps me expand my art. It helps me to see my art in a whole new way and wakes up my Muse.  Last night I got out my idea book and the ideas were flowing. I now have a series starting in my idea book. Isn't that the way of art? I feel so blessed to be able to spend my free time as a retiree making my art. Life is good!

if I were queen...finished

 

If I were Queen,

everything would be different

5" x 8" mixed media collage on paper

 



Using Anne Bagby's technique of copying your own drawing, cutting it out and then incorporate it into a collage, I made this piece. The background uses a stencil I bought from Stencil Girl Products. The background is painted. Her dress is collaged, as is the face. I used color pencil to color her face. The Roman numerals are painted on using Venetian Gold paint. The numbers have a nice shine that doesn't show up on the scan. If you have not seen Anne Bagby's website, head on over and see some beautiful artwork!

Scapino

 

Scapino, collgae and acrylic

8" x 5" in my art journal

 



Scapino is another character from the Comedia Dell'arte. I am having fun doing the research and then a collage/painting of a character/clown. This is all in the attempt to improve my drawing-of-people skills. I am also fairly obsessed with Anne Bagby's process and how she makes her own papers and then uses them in collage. I really admire her work.  In this collage/painting, the background was done first. I used a photo reference and painted it in acrylics and then collaged it on top of the background. I then did a very faint black outline around the clown. then I added shadows etc. Great fun!

Altered book page

When I am in my 'down time' mode of art making (art not for sale), I love working on altered books. I've been working on one about women for some time now. The theme of WOMAN has so many way to be expressed. This is one page- sort of 'historical' women...long ago...was going for that 1400's European time...

I used hand stamped tissue papers for the back ground- painted with acrylics after I glued them down - a technique I learned from Anne Bagby's wonderful DVD. The faces I drew with markers and then painted.

Making collage paper

I've been having great fun making collage paper à la Anne Bagby. I mentioned her new DVD in a past post and have begun making her style of collage paper. It's really easy. Start with deli paper- the kind that a deli uses to wrap up your morning bagel. Using gesso, first paint the paper either black or white. Once that is dry, stamp with opposite color of gesso. That's it! What you now have is a thin collage paper that can be torn up and used in a composition. I used mostly store bought rubber, but I did carve a few stamps as she suggests.

So far so good.

The black and white paper is later colored by adding acrylic glazes. I'll start with a substrate of 300 lb. watercolor paper.

More to come...

Anne Bagby's DVD is terrific!

I first learned of Anne Bagby in 2001 when I bought my first issue of Somerset Studio magazine. In that magazine was an article and artwork by Anne about "La Commedia Dell'Arte" and I was so captured by her beautiful artwork and have watched for her over the years since.

She just released a DVD through Creative Catalyst Productions and it is terrific! I dreamed about collage last night after watching her DVD! It is exciting for me to finally learn how she makes her layered collages and her papers! I am going TODAY to my BJ's to get deli paper and plan on getting down and dirty with her technique for making collage papers. Can't wait!

Her work is moody, layered and there is an edge of sophistication to her art- by that I mean that she makes it look easy, but one can see that she really knows what she is doing- this is not willy nilly, lets-make-a-mess-collage. Her art is classic and pure funk all at the same time. There is a wealth of classical art training behind her work, is my guess.

Anyway- I highly recommend the DVD! Here's a cool link to preview DVD's from Creative Catalyst Productions