StayHomeRetreat

Lesson 6

Fragmented Self

This is one of my lessons from last year from PYHAS 2019.

If you missed it there, here is a chance to see and do it here.

I hope you love doing this kind of creative play as much as I did.

I have done this project in two steps.

This is step one…

We will be drawing and using our own work as the starting point of this collage / mixed media piece. It’s a creative way to play in our art journals.

Select your journal/drawing substrates of choice.
Using your blocks/charcoal start to draw up your mini faces. Try work quickly not focusing on working to a complete finished portrait but rather unattached to the outcome. You are only going to be using elements of these faces.
Do server also drawings quickly one after the next.
The more you do, the more expressive they become.
As a practice, I was doing around 3 a day to keep pushing my expressiveness.
I later used all these mini drawings in other artworks.
Chose your favorite mini portrait and cut out the portions you want to use in your collage. I usually start my collage pieces with the eyes. It’s always the first zone I start with and it’s always the first place I’m drawn to.
Glue down on your choice of substrate - I am working in my journal.
Let the fun begin.

Mini Graphite Block Drawings

Supply List

Olive Green Graphite Block
Black Charcoal
White conte / Chalk pastel
Drawing paper - not too thick because you will use this as a kind of collage.

I got a lot of my collage elements from KristaMcCurdyArt's Etsy shop but I’ve been collecting my own ephemera for years. It’s a practice I highly recommend. I’ve also started making my own ephemera, using thin sandwich wrap/wax paper and stamping them with letters and patterns. Using old paintings and tearing them up. There are so many things you can use to add interesting elements to your work.

Once your eyes are glued down. Now you can start by continuing the drawing of your face. You may ask why don’t I just use the whole of your mini portrait. Which, of course you can do but I’ve found by cutting up various of my mini portraits and rearranging them, I am getting a very unique and different outcome to one of my normal portraits. I’m loving the free play of that, I love breaking the rules and I love that it’s creating a new interest to each piece.
I place my ephemera close to me and I start looking to add elements as I go. I am working intuitively and allowing each new area to lead me onto the next. I don’t have a plan or any idea of the direction I’m going to go. All I have are the eyes as my starting point and perhaps the color of that to lead the way.
Have fun and let go. Don’t be afraid to do something a little bit weird because you never know where it’s going to lead you.
Keep adding your layers of paint, graphite blocks and ephemera.
For my mark making, I use charcoal and an ink pen.

Supply List

Derwent Olive Green Graphite
Block Derwent Blue Graphite Block
Black Charcoal of your choice
White conte / Chalk pastel
Black water resistant ink pen
Substrate of your Choice, I used my Moleskin Journal

Paint

Titan Buff and White paint
Small bush - Flat Square / Filbert
Ephemera / Collage

I use my black charcoal and black ink pen to help me with my mark making.
I use my buff paint to help consolidate my piece to completion.

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