Saturday, March 27, 2010

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.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

What a fabulous idea! Making a patchwork quilt of your self-portrait is like revealing all the different sides of one's personality. Nice.

Meera Rao said...

Abolutely 'cool'! Love how you boldly go on experimenting!

jgr said...

This is wonderful! I really enjoy your artwork and all of the information you share. Thank you for the inspiration.

Unknown said...

Hi, love the concept, who don't you copy the calendar pieces, then there will be no ink to smear. Collage than on and do more experimenting. Then the originals will be intact for later.

Suzy Pal Powell said...

Myrna, I know it would take some work but could you make copies of all your calendar pages and experiment with them, and save back the original until you were sure what you wanted to do? OR save the originals anyway, and use the copies?
hope it works out for you.
Suzy Powell

fheathermoore said...

These are amazing Myrna! Aren't you glad you're misapprehensions were pretty much unfounded? They turned out amazingly.

Sandy Maudlin said...

You are simply amazing. Your creativity continues to flourish and I love the way you follow your muse. Thanks so much for sharing such an awesome post.

teri said...

Inspiring as usual ... thanks for sharing.

teri said...

Inspiring as usual ... thank you for sharing.

BrendaJean said...

Neat-O! Is what I have to say. And, I have to thank you Myrna, because your "experimenting" and posts have been encouraging me to experiment more with what I do. Thanks!!!

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Genius. And I love the drawings!

Jo said...

Looks very cool. Like the self portrait idea on the patchwork. Never seen that before and the style is a definite plus.

jane Ferguson said...

I love the small calendar drawings all put together.The other idea is cool but you loose some of the wonderful work underneath ,I think you should work over a copy not the original.You are such an inspiration to us all.

Elisha said...

Your blog always inspires me to experiment! I love seeing what you are going to come up with next. BTW congrats on the Art Calendar profile competition!

EireKitten said...

Love it...Very vibrant

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