Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Layers for Cold Weather

Another collage assignment/exercise in process.

First step, gather a bunch of print matter with varied fonts, styles, sizes, papers, and lines. I cull magazines and my GOOS (Good On One Side) scrap pile. The GOOS pile always makes for an engaging archaeological dig: old reports, practice maps for student geography tests, a personal narrative, estimated tax forms, intake sheets. Great fun.

Next step, tear pieces and affix them to a substrate (watercolor paper, in my case) with matte medium.



Then, veil the collaged substrate with white acrylics thinned with glazing medium. Also great fun, and surprisingly freeing.  



Next, introduce a thin layer of neutral color. I mix cadmium yellow light hue and titanium white, and Payne's gray and white, and move back and forth between the two, letting them blend. After that, provide a touch of color. I add a thin layer of liquid yellow ochre and glazing medium to warm it up a bit. Before the paint dries, I blot away paint in some spots to allow more hints of print to show through.


Gotta have layers to stay warm in cold weather.

14 comments:

Sheila said...

Having fun I see :)

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Hard to say! This particular assignment feels kind of awkward. I took heart from your having posted recently when you didn't really feel inclined to post, and I followed suit.

Joany Kendra said...

Makes me think of warm summer sand as I look out at mounds of snow in my yard.

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Glad to bring you respite!

Gillian St George - Painting with Passion said...

Dotty, what a great idea to take photos as you go along and post. I loved your cards from the previous posts too. Sorry I've not been in touch a lot. It's hard to keep up with everything! Love all that you're doing! Gillian

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Gillian, thanks for stopping by and thanks for your affirmation of my taking photos as I go along and posting them. That is what I have to give. Thanks for your appreciation of my cards in previous posts. I have to say that the cards and this in process collage feel like completely different experiences—the cards magical, this collage not so much, at least not yet.

I totally hear you re keeping up with everything. It's a challenge, I tell ya!

Joan's Art Blog said...

Hey Dotty! Love the step by step and all the layers. Look forward to what comes next.

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Joan, thanks for taking a peek and for appreciating the process. It IS a process. For reasons mysterious to me, this assignment hasn't been an easy fit for me. No more mysterious, I suppose, than when I enjoy the magic of creative flow. Just not as much fun!

Unknown said...

It's great to be able to see your process. Thank you for sharing how you create these pieces! Sure makes me want to play with layering...

Laurie Mueller said...

Nice, Dotty. I love seeing your progression on these. Yes, layers! I thought of you in my first class the other day...I had them do the magazine exercise. First with three values, then two. They loved it! Anyways, keep up the great work!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Thanks, Corinna. I love seeing and hearing about process from others, so I often share my own process for those who might be similarly curious. I also like being reminded—by myself!—that I DO tune into process, and not just product!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Thanks, Laurie, for support and encouragement with process!

Fun to have you reference the magazine values exercises. I bump into mine periodically and wonder when I'll get back to them. I have never thought of myself as overly distractible but I sure do seem to be a crow seeking shiny things the way I'm playing with my art of late!

Simone said...

Hi Dotty,
So nice to see you working with all those exercises! I'm curious what the next steps will be!
It is indeed so nice to show steps in the process. So interesting for us (the readers!).

with love,
Simone

dotty seiter: now playing said...

I am grateful for and encouraged by my readers—you happily among them—who are eager to see process. I am also glad for your enthusiasm for my trying my hand at exercises and ideas that are new and challenging.

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