Exploring with painted collage papers

The muse took me in an unexpected direction with a recent commission, and it’s opened up a whole new world of exploration for me!

While I have worked with collage quite a bit in the past, I used to use magazine papers in my collage work. This time, instead of magazine papers, I used brown packing paper that I painted with acrylic paint.

I’m finding collage to be an interesting and enjoyable way to let myself play and explore for compositions I enjoy without thinking too much about my subject, or getting diverted into creating colours or textures. I only get to choose from the colours and textures already available amongst my papers, so it’s easier to let composition, shape, and pattern lead.

Another interesting difference is that my landscape paintings are usually inspired by specific natural landscapes – places I’ve visited. With these collages I’ve worked intuitively, making up the landscapes from my imagination. Since this shift has coincided with some strong feelings of grief – I’m really missing the beautiful, rugged South African landscapes and seascapes that i love so much – I’m wondering if there’s a connection. Perhaps this grief is the reason why I’m feeling drawn to explore imaginary landscapes at the moment?

This one is quite big… 1m x 1m. An impactful piece with a warm glow in the colour scheme.

This playful abstract landscape is 50 x 50cm. If you’ve been following my work you’ll know how much I love blues. The reds and peaches and pinks are a new palette for me, and I’m loving them!

And this one feels like a walk in our local park on a misty Winter’s day when the trees are bare and the air is icy. I love it’s softness. It’s 40 x 40cm.