A guest post by Maria Greene.
In this tutorial, I share with you a process you can use to create a cozy neighborhood collage. I enjoy mixing various styles and techniques together to explore an unexpected outcome. I love the texture achieved from adding paper and other additions to the canvas. Mixed media adds so much interest to a piece and it’s my preferred art medium. There are no boundaries to that kind of art and I’m always looking for ephemera to add to my stash.
Materials
canvas or sturdy mixed-media paper
acrylic paints
newsprint or other papers such as book text or music sheets
Mod Podge or acrylic medium
permanent black marker
white Signo Uniball pen
soft charcoal and blending stump
ballpoint pen
pencil
StazOn permanent inkpad, dark color
letter stamp set
workable fixative
Gather your materials. If you don’t have all the things I listed, use what you have. Get rid of the blank page by spreading some paints across the canvas with a paper towel or baby wipe. Since it’s an outdoor scene, make part of the canvas a sky. Don’t think about it too hard, just spread some paint around quickly and let dry.
Cut out some rectangles for houses of different sizes and lay them out on the canvas.
Choose a different paper to lay down for the landscape in the foreground. I used an old music sheet, but it can be anything. Glue everything down with Mod Podge or acrylic medium. (You can use regular craft glue, but thin it down with water in a separate cup until it flows.) Let the piece dry.
Draw rooftops with a ballpoint pen.
Paint the landscape foreground by dabbing different green, brown, and yellow acrylic paints. I used a baby wipe to get the soft diffuse look. Let dry.
Paint the house shapes with assorted acrylic paints. Let dry.
Paint the rooftops with different acrylic colors.
Paint windows with a black permanent marker. I used a Permapague.
Outline the windows with a white marker. I used a Uniball Signo pen.
Draw some flags in the top right hand corner with a pencil.
Paint the flags white with acrylic paint and let dry.
Cut out a bird shape from newsprint and glue on the sky with medium. Let dry.
Paint the bird white. Use a permanent inkpad like StazOn and a set of letter stamps and stamp HOME on the flags. You can also cut letters from magazines and glue down.
Use a very soft charcoal pencil to draw and outline around the houses and the flags. It gives a slightly rustic look. You can also use a ballpoint pen. I used a ballpoint pen around the bird. I also used some dark acrylic brown to make a thin line around the edge of the canvas for an aged look.
Advice to readers: Don’t strive for perfection. There are many happy accidents.
MARIA GREENE is mostly a self-taught artist who specializes in acrylic painting, polymer clay mosaic art, and mixed media collage. Her interests also include art journaling, gardening, and reading. She has tried every kind of art technique under the sun, but always comes back to mixed media and art journaling. She has created many art instruction videos on YouTube.
See more of her work on her art blog: http://greeneearthoriginals.blogspot.com and her website: http://mariagreene.org
For more great collage ideas, check out these great North Light titles:
