Moody Blue

I thought I'd show you a few things I've done in between working on my latest torn-paper collage portrait. These are all digital pieces and I've been experimenting with different techniques.

These first two pieces, "Moody Blue" and "Threshold" were made using some of my CitraSolv backgrounds. I started to wonder what would happen if I took two or three of the backgrounds and merged them together. I used different blending modes, opacity levels and other techniques to make these new backgrounds. I don't know why I didn't think of it before! There are one or two favorite backgrounds that I've made that I just can't bring myself to use. I scanned them into Photoshop but I still don't want to glue or paint or tear on them until I have the perfect project. Here is "Threshold" :

I used my friend Kimmie's background, merged with two of my own for "Threshold". The flowers that you barely see were from her gorgeous Citrasolv background. I found that merging certain pages gives this misty look, almost like a misty watercolor. I really like that effect.

I've also been practicing my "painting" in Photoshop. I'm slowly making progress on shading, brush types and sizes, etc. in Photoshop. This is a big learning curve for me but it's fun. Here is a sketch I drew using a fashion magazine model as my inspiration. I call this one, "Cherish" :

Still working on finding the right combination for flesh tones. I find that if I don't use some of these Photoshop effects every day that I quickly forget how to do some things. I love this program and there's just so much it can do. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface.

I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with my next torn-paper collage portrait. It's on a 12" x 12" canvas panel that is 1 1/2" deep. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out. I wanted to add more color to this one than I did with the Warhol piece. I'm finding I have a lot of different colors in my CitraSolv background stash to work with. Once again, this portrait will be made entirely from the CitraSolv papers that I have torn into strips and different shapes. I hope to have it finished within the next couple of days but I am taking my time with it. Stay tuned...