Mixed Media Collage Process Video Start-to-Finish

Tomorrow night I'm teaching a live online mixed media collage class (just 2 seats left - grab one).  As I was prepping for class last night, I decided to turn on the video camera and capture the process.  Take a peek:

Some notes about the process:

• If you're wondering what to do with your gelatin prints, you can see that I use lots of them in my mixed media collage artwork! 
• The glue I'm using is Matte Medium, which I decant into a Fineline Bottle.  It's AWESOME for collage.
• I used watercolor in this piece.  Watercolor can be tricky in a collage.  You have to be careful not to reactivate it as you layer up and add collage glue.  But I love the look, so I'm willing to risk it.
• I ripped a lot of my papers. When collaging, ripped edges tend to blend.  Cut edges tend to stand out.
• I knew the basic design of my piece before I started.  This made it super easy (and quick) to put together. The real-time version of this is just about 20 minutes.  Speaking of which, Monthly members can watch the real-time version of this video (and get lots of other great art content) in the online classroom.
• I prefer to use pencils and crayons when working on a mixed media collage because they can't be damaged by wet media.  This allows me to work quickly and not wait for layers to dry.

Here's the collage I made in the video:

And here's a collage that uses the same basic design, but with a very different result:

And that is precisely what tomorrow night's class is all about.  How can you take a simple design and personalize it so that (a) you like it, and (b) it doesn't look like the same design over and over again?  It's very easy to feel like you have to reinvent the wheel every single time you sit down to create.  Why?  Once you have a few basic designs memorized, and know how to alter them, then you can spend your art time having fun instead of worrying whether or not the design is going to work.  It's one of the many "tricks" I use to pump out lots and lots of artwork every week!

Thanks for stoping by!