Here is another process photo of the collage I've been working on.Happily, it's now finished and in the varnishing stage, bound for the Spark Gallery Members' Show opening in January.This photo was snapped in my new workspace, just now coming together. More on that in the New Year -- here's to a spectacularly creative 2012!
I've been working on a large canvas that has some acrylic roughly brushed on it to respond to with my collage additions.
The back of the canvas (above) has been interesting to me. Typically I work on wood panels so seeing how the papers are adhering to the canvas has been fun. The dotted texture is created when corrugated is applied to the front of the canvas. I'm thinking if I decide to work further on canvas, it'd be intriguing to approach the composition from both sides, applying some pieces to the back side in order to have a textural effect appear on the viewing surface.
This piece is nearly complete now and will be shown in January at Spark Gallery's Members' Show. Thought I'd post a few of the steps along the way. You'll see that I've turned the canvas to evaluate which way the composition is strongest as it evolves. I'll post the finished collage here soon.
Another of my little collage studies. All collage elements are from incoming mail on December 2nd, 2011. This one started because I liked the way the half-round closure-type sticker, at upper right, had diffused the beautiful blue color of the paper below. Then one thing led to another! There certainly is a wealth of potential collage materials arriving daily right now -- catalogs and holiday messages galore.
"Junk Mail Journal 12.2.11," contemporary paper collage, in sketchbook, 9 x 6."
© 2011, Janice McDonald.
"Brilliant" and "Verdant giclees. © 2011, Janice McDonald.
I'm beginning to experiment with enlarging selected collages for reproduction as giclee prints. Here is a photo of the first two giclees that have sold, now residing in a Houston living room. I was delighted to see how well they translated from the original collages, "Brilliant" and "Verdant," and how strong the composition remains at this larger scale.
The possibilities are exciting, people who have seen them have been quite receptive, and I hope that it may allow my work to be enjoyed more widely. The collage imagery can be printed onto heavyweight watercolor paper at numerous sizes -- or onto canvas. The above giclees are 30 x 30" with deckled edges and an image area of 26 x 26," mounted in a slightly larger frame.
Tremendous thanks to uber-generous artist Ken Elliott for the encouragement to give this a try -- and to the client for purchasing the giclees and sending along the photos!