Painting with paper

I was so lucky to attend a fabulous and fun Utah Watercolor Society mini-workshop with Nancy Maxfield Lund at the end of March! I learned about staining paper, reviewed composition and design, and how to create watercolor collage with the papers I had stained and/or other paper. Painting with paper! AWESOME!

My work table

Hand-stained papers

Stained papers drying

Stained papers drying and partially used

I have long admired Nancy's work in the 12 years that I have known her, and have been wondering how she creates her wonderful collage work. Now, after a decade, the question has been answered! (At least on a basic level). :)

Nancy demonstrating

Nancy is a great instructor with helpful hints to share and she gives you straight-up feedback. I'll be honest...my brain was hurting by the end of this workshop! I only managed to get three paintings completed during my time there - and only one that I felt was truly good design (thanks to helpful input). But, I had so much fun in the process!

My first collage in process...

Collage #1 completed. This one needs to be reworked.
There is not enough value contrast in most of the painting.

Collage #2. This is the one that "worked."
I got my value contrast and design worked out...
but I still got some helpful suggestions and extra bits
of "special" papers to work into it. :)

Collage #3. I tried the same design principle as #1.
This worked better, but still not ideal.

Since I am not typically a purely abstract artist, but I had so much fun learning collage in this workshop, I decided to try my hand out again at home a few days later by making some collaged ACEOs for the April eBay ACEO Theme Week. This month's challenge theme was "Umbrellas" - which worked so well for me to design my semi abstract vignette style of painting but also use up some collaged papers and employ some of the new techniques I had learned.  (ACEO stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. These are small works of art that are approximately the size of a baseball trading card. 2.5" x 3.5")

Here are my two Umbrella collage paintings that were listed for the ACEO Theme Week and cross-listed also for Paintings 4 Parkinson's for the month of April. :)

April Showers Blue ©Jennifer Love (SOLD)
Paper collage using scrapbook paper
and hand-stained papers. Mounted on
300lb cold press Arches watercolor paper.

April Showers Red  ©Jennifer Love 

Paper collage using scrapbook paper 
and hand-stained papers. Mounted on 
300lb cold press Arches watercolor paper.

(This will be listed for the ACEO Spring Fling 2015

 event starting on April 15th on eBay. 

You can find it by searching 

Jennifer Love Artwork SPRING2015 

on eBay after 6pm (PDT) on April 15th.

I hope each of you is enjoying this month of April! As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!

Please check out my website, my Xanadu Studios gallery page, Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest, or follow my #365daysNOmcmuffin challenge on Instagram (mostly you'll see pics of my McDonald's breakfast McMuffing being replaced with oatmeal or cream of wheat - 38 days and $151.80 saved so far!).

Have a great weekend!