Creating a collage abstract is yet another excellent way to begin expressing yourself. In previous articles I have talked about how and why to be creative with drag paintings. Drag paintings can be expressive and fun without getting hung up on representing some known form or trying to duplicate on nature. Collage has that similar characteristic.
Again, my preference is for board panels which have been primed and sanded so that the surface is fairly smooth and flat. This works much better than canvas. My own preference in working with collage is with tissue paper. I use colored tissue paper which comes in a remarkable array of colors. The other key ingredient is water based varnish and a good wide brush. I also have on hand several small plastic spatulas. I typically tear the tissue paper into shapes. This is an abstract so precise cuts and tears are not necessary. I approximate where the piece will go and then lay on a coat of varnish. I then apply the tissue paper and brush it out thoroughly with the varnish brush. If it appears too mottled or wrinkled then use the plastic spatulas to even the paper out.
That is the basic method. Overlaying one tissue paper color over another creates of course an entirely different color and this kind of translucence is exciting. Often surprising effects are created. Tissue paper collage, by nature is vibrant and exciting. It is not necessary to cover the entire surface area. I will often add painting effects to the collage. After the quick drying varnish dries and after the paint dries I suggest studying the piece. Inevitably you will see the areas that are weak and those that are holding their own. The beauty of collage is that you can now add layers to the previous work. Every layer adds seems to add more interest. This kind of tearing up of tissue paper and pasting it over with clear varnish creates some astonishing effects – sometimes resembling stained glass.
Ultimately as artists, these several methods of creating abstract art can be tremendously liberating. Abstract art, after all, affords us an opportunity to create without worrying about or waiting for some grand theme. We can just begin and let the piece evolve as it will. We are realizing that there is more, much more inside us than we give credit. There seems to be an inexhaustible voice within and abstract work such as collage and drag painting provides the means for our expression.