Studio Snippet 21: Black and White Painted Paper Collage

In this week’s Studio Snippet, I’m working on a painted paper collage and talking you through the process. 

Watch the video for more:

Takeaways:

• Contrast makes a collage easier to read. Mix lighter papers with areas of dense darkness. Papers can be made in different ways and still feel too similar. Look at their overall value and visual weight, not just their patterns.
• A small amount of black or another very dark color can make softer papers feel more interesting.
• “Don’t think, just glue.” Working quickly can prevent overthinking and keep a small exercise playful. Leftover scraps are useful because their unexpected shapes can lead you toward choices you would not normally make. A paper that does not work in one spot may work against a different background.
• Look for contrast in more than value. Vary shape, line weight, density, color, and scale.
• Continue an existing line or pattern across several collage pieces to help connect them.
• Ask yourself: Does this addition make the collage more interesting, or simply more complicated?
• Hold drawing tools in unfamiliar ways to create less controlled, more expressive marks.
• A tiny bit of unexpected color can become an important focal point. A strong composition often needs a surprise — something that breaks the sameness without overwhelming the whole.

Final Thought

In the video, you’ll notice how much I talk about value.  Value is one of the Design Principles and has been a major focus of mine over the last year.  Understanding and concentrating on value has been the thing that has transformed my artwork the most radically in the past year.  It’s well worth a deep dive for any artist.  If you want assistance in understanding value, I hope you can find a video all about it HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S.You may have noticed that  I changed the name of this blog series from “Studio Visits” to  “Studio Snippets.” When I came up with the idea for this video series — a short peek into what’s happening here in my studio — I didn’t really know what it was  going to be.  Now that we are 21 weeks/21 videos (about 5 months) into it, I have a better sense of what the series is all about. So “Studio Snippets” — tiny little bits from the studio — feels like a more accurate title for the series.  If you want more than a snippet, I share a Studio Vlog every cycle for members over at My Art Practice.  It tends to be a deeper dive into various projects and studio happenings.