"MATISSE" MOTIF

Here is an exercise I hadn't tried before. Not that it is a new idea. Cut paper images were perfected by Matisse and so have been around for awhile. Years ago we were at Disneyworld with the kids and had their silhouettes made from cut paper. The artist never drew a line. He just looked at his subject and started cutting and turning the paper all the while producing remarkable likenesses. Lately, I kept running into the idea but thought portraiture a little too challenging. When ideas keep reappearing and jumping out at you, it's time to pay attention. So, in preparation for my new book, I wanted to include the idea of using cut paper as a design technique. I needed to have a sample to include for reference. Here is my "Frenchman a la Matisse" . Cutting shapes without a pattern is more difficult than I had anticipated. There were a few false starts, frustration, temptation to quit but then....I started to really get into it! After awhile I started cutting back into the shapes for negative spaces. After a time, I couldn't stop. I kept adding little shapes and lines to the face. When I have more time, I think I want to practice and get much better. I see real potential for some interesting paintings based on these cut paper patterns. There are some fun examples in the back of the book "Body Parts" by Northlight. Give this a try. Share your results with me and I'll make a slide show.