PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!

I realized I had enough of these daily drawings (see "Drawn to the Mirror" blog) to make a background for my next collage self portrait series.  I cut off the calendar information and laid them out, trying to keep the stronger patterns to the outside edges.  I used double stick removable tape to hold them in place.  It makes an interesting image just this way.

 I started to get nervous about proceeding with my idea.  How would it look?  I would hate to ruin all these drawings if my concept turned out "not so much"!  I am usually impatient and rush ahead, but today I decided to try a smaller version (15 x 15) to see the visual effect before I tackled the large (30" x 30") version.  Glad I did!  First off, I realized I needed to spray the papers with acrylic to keep some of the ink from smearing.  Not all of the drawings were done with permanent ink.  I had forgotten that little detail!

I added tissue paper over the top after collaging the drawings down.  I purposely added a some gesso stamped tissue in a few places to see what the effect would be.  It obscures the drawing too much.  I will leave that out of the large version.

 After the collage paper was dry, I drew an image in ink with a stick.  I didn't think the line was strong enough against the background, so I went over it with the wide Copic marker.

 I finished the painting with acrylic used in a transparent way.  I added some white gesso to recapture some lighter values.  These areas become more opaque but you can still see some of the background influences.

  Final evaluation:  Like the overall idea. I need to be a little more careful in my drawing so it doesn't get so "cartoon" like.  I find the heavy dark line a bit too strong.  I think I can tackle the larger painting with confidence now that I have worked out my strategy.