pattern play

For the upcoming Wanaka Arts Society Autumn Exhibition, members are can submit up to 8 pieces - 4 pieces need to be framed and/or ready to hang, and 4 pieces can be unframed works on paper. Works on paper? I haven't really done any of these this summer, so it was a good push for me to leave the canvas and wood behind and have some fun.

I decided to first make a number of colourful collage papers.

These are great fun to make and I use a similar approach to how I paint many of the backgrounds when I'm working on canvas or wood - that is, anything goes! But I do try to tie in all the pieces with either a repeating pattern element or a colour theme. I already knew what I was going to do with the papers, so the process was not as random as might think.

It's very messy ... this what my hands looked like afterwards.

Then I cut out shapes, glued them to some lovely thick watercolour paper and doodled more pattern elements on the individual pieces.

Here is a close-up...

And some of the finished pieces...

A super fun way to spend the day. These 4 works will be available at the Wanaka Arts Society Exhibition this Easter.