World of Watercolor - Collage Technique by Denise Enslen

WATERMEDIA COLLAGE

by Denise Enslen

After having painted with watercolor for a few years I needed to try different techniques to become looser and add another dimension to my creation. An article with a demonstration of collage in the Artist's magazine got me started in this different direction, still using watermedia such as watercolor, watercolor pencils and gouache. Acrylics would also be fine but I haven't done much with it yet.

In "Mysterious Forest" I used the masa paper sparingly, mostly in the foreground. The rest of the painting was done like a monoprint applying paint to a heavy sheet of plastic and then to the watercolor paper moving the paint around. Some other examples of this technique and the use of some other papers can be seen at my web site. Collage seems to work real well for rocks giving the rough textures they need.

forest4
"Mysterious Forest"
Watercolor collage
framed: 16x20

Email Denise Enslen

Denise's Website

Brief history of the term "collage"

The term "collage" comes from the French "colle" meaning glue, and being the action of gluing scraps of paper or other flat material on a support. The term being used since the beginning of the 20th Century is rather new in Art history, but the technique is not. For example, to name just a couple, tenth Century poets illustrated their work with glued images and some sixteenth century artists decorated their illuminated texts in this manner. Panels of gold leaves are found today in Gothic cathedrals applied to a painted surface.
To recall the history of "collage" one must go back to the origin of the term forged by a viewer at an art show where Picasso and Braque had exhibited some of their new and original works. Around 1912 both artists, in close cooperation, decided that they needed some new techniques to be incorporated in their geometrical compositions: Picasso, in "Still Life with Chair Caning", introduced pieces of oil cloth, scraps of newspaper and a piece of rope in his painting and Braque in "Fruit Dish and Glass" glued pieces of wallpaper and newspaper on his canvas. Braque and Gris would continue to use collage in this interplay of reality and illusion which will be imitated by many well known artists in the twentieth century.

Technique

This technique I use is only one of many. I found out that masa paper ( an opaque Japanese paper) responded very well to my purpose. For the support I chose watercolor paper either new or discarded paintings. I prefer the second choice whereas some of the colors and shapes fades through the wet masa paper. Torn pieces of crumbled masa are dipped in a mixture of water and white glue, then the squeezed paper is applied to the support. A brayer helps flatten the paper and make it adhere better to the surface, avoiding air bubbles. This process can be done on the entire paper or if you have a preconceived idea of the composition only partially. The whole surface should be covered by wax paper, placed under some heavy weight and left to dry for a day or two. Then the composition can be drawn lightly with pencil and painted with watermedia. This surface responds well to an abstract design.

Once the painting is completed one or several coats of acrylic matte or gloss finish should be applied all over the painted surface to seal the scraps of paper.

References

Very good books have been written on the subject and here are some examples of titles that I have enjoyed reading and studying:

Creative Collage Techniques by Nita Leland and Lee Williams
Watercolor & Collage Workshop by Gerald Brommer
Introduction to Mixed Media by Michael Wright
and if you happen to read French: Art du Collage by Martin Monestier

I shall leave you with this quote from Leonardo Da Vinci that I found quite à propos for artists who would like to test themselves in this new adventure:

"Test knowledge through experience, be prepared to make mistakes, and be persistent about it."

All artwork and articles on WoW are solely owned by the writers and artists. Please respect this ownership and do not use any story, painting, artwork, or detail from one without asking the artist and receiving written consent. Thank you!