"Horse Whisperer" Collage: Finished!

It's finished! I changed the ghostlike, light papyrus to a warmer, rust paper. I altered the top of the hat, using the Mexican bark paper and I threaded black and gold throughout the composition to unify it.

Much has been written about the issue of when a work of art is "finished". Is it ever really finished? There are stories of great masters going into museums with brush and paint, because something about the painting bothered them; they wanted to change the painting after they had looked at it or thought about it over time! Some say there is no finish, only interesting stopping points.

"Horse Whisperer" Collage In Progress: Part 5

I've got the background laid down and I'm weaving black through the picture. I'm not sure about the man's face, though. The papyrus is a bit light, making him look rather ghostlike. I like how the threads of the papyrus come out at the mouth (an accident...or was it? Carl Jung might call this synchronicity or a calling from the deep unconscious or "imago ignota" (unknown image: all the antecendets we are born with that are not/cannot be articulated verbally). Anyway, it happened spontaneously, and made me think of a "horse whisperer".

"Horse Whisperer" Collage in Progress: Part 4

Well, I decided to remove the burlap and use the marbled Mexican bark paper instead, which I feel is more interesting in terms of visual variety, a sort of counterpoint to the darker face. I've also laid down background papers. We'll see where this goes.

"Horse Whisperer" Collage In Progress: Part 3

I've added the cowboy hat and I'm looking at potential papers for the background. I'm not sure I'll stay with the burlap for the horses' neck; perhaps I'll use a lighter value, Mexican bark paper I have on hand to differentiate it more from the horses' face (for greater variety)? These are the kinds of questions I ask myself as the collage progresses.

Horse Whisperer, Part 2

I'm adding darks to the collage now. I'll be threading the black through the compostion, for unity and connection. I haven't adhered any papers to the support canvas yet. I'm still playing with ideas of how I want the collage to look. This part of the process is quite subjective and intuitive, yet there is an underlying awareness of design principles upon which I am playing.

Beginnings of New "Horse Whisperer" Collage

I started a new collage for my "Relationship" collage series. The concept is that of a horse whisperer connecting with a horse. I've observed a few amazingly sensitive individuals who have this gift. The horse senses she can trust this human with her life, and thus a deep bond is formed. Much like children, horses know which humans are compassionate and which ones they can rely upon.

I began with an image in my mind of a horse and a man eye to eye. I roughly sketched this image onto the canvas, using a graphite pencil. I used a 24" x 30" canvas support, adhering handmade and machine-made papers (Egyptian papyrus, Mexican bark papers, mulberry paper, silk tissue, etc) with artist's tape, to explore the image and the dark/light pattern using various papers. I'm experimenting with burlap for the neck, though I don't know if I'll keep it for the final collage. When I'm sure about using a particular paper in a particular shape, I will adhere the paper with acrylic matte medium. It will be interesting to see how this collage takes shape.

Final Touches on Figurative Painting: Video Demo

Twelfth Video Demo of Figurative Oil Painting

Eleventh Video Demonstration of Figurative Oil Painting

Tenth Video Demonstration of Figurative Painting

Ninth Video Demonstration of Figurative Oil Painting

Eighth Video Demo of Figurative Painting

Seventh Video Demo of Figurative Oil Painting

Sixth Demo Video of Figurative Oil Abstraction

Fifth Video Demo of Figurative Painting Process

Fourth Demo Video of Figurative Oil Abstraction

Third Demonstration of Painting Process

Second Demo Video of Figurative Oil Abstraction

First Demo Video of Figurative Oil Abstraction