These photos show a sequence of progress on one of my 24"x24" panels. They begin with loads of collage, carefully applied so that everything lies flat. Then they get painted, sanded, painted, collaged again, etc. in no particular order. In the video I'm doing a little hand-sanding.
This is a few layers of collage.
then paint
After a good sanding with the power sander
More paint...
more of everything...
some linework
lots of veiling and more line work...
And then some "reverse collage": I collage painted papers with the paint side down. When it's dry, I sand away some of the paper, and the paint shows through. Such surprises! This definitely takes you out of your "planning" mode. You can't possibly know what happens next.
More sanding
More painting. Here it begins to take on a clear direction. I consider this a "possibility", not a mandate. So I will go down this road a ways and see if it sticks, but I end up in the weeds, another possibility will be evident, I'm sure.
This is where the piece is at this point. I'll futz with it a bit and look again.
Hand sanding gives you more control over how much material you remove, so it's good for getting into smaller areas. Here is a video of me working on two different pieces:
My friend and fellow artist, Lucie Duclos, is offering an online class on Skillshare, coming later this month. I had never heard of Skillshare, but it is a great site for learning.
That is me playing the ukulele in the background!
Lucie is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Victoria, British Columbia.
A few more pix from my Big Fat Art workshop at Port Townsend School of the Arts. Check out their other offerings. It was fabulous to be on such a vibrant, creative campus. After my workshop I participated in the Port Townsend Ukulele Festival, right there at Fort Worden, presented by Centrum.
I'll post some student work soon, but for now, here are a couple of pix of me teaching Big Fat Art in Sechelt, British Columbia. Check it out on the map. I got here via sea plane... It is GORGEOUS!!
Serenading the class (or irritating them) on a borrowed ukulele
