I love experimenting by combining watercolor with different mediums and collage is a perfect fit. On 300# watercolor paper I lightly sketched the cactus shapes and where I wanted the flower blooms. Then I wet the paper and painted in some of the colors to give me a starting point for my collage. I then used regular white tissue paper and painted several pieces using the colors I wanted in my composition. When the tissue dries it makes a wonderful and inexpensive collage paper.
Using regular white tissue paper I painted several pieces using the colors I wanted in my composition. When the tissue dries it makes a wonderful and inexpensive collage paper.
I started collaging papers on to the painting, using matte medium for glue. I focused on the cactus flowers using some of the tissue paper that I had painted along with some I found at the store that had fun designs on them papers for the flowers. I wasn't sure I was happy with the design of the cactus and you can see below that I ended up changing it a little bit by making the casts on the bottom left more dominant and in front of the other side.
I glued a dark green tissue paper that was a little heavier and had gold flecks (the mettalic doesn't photograph very well) for the shadow areas. i added more collage papers to the flowers and came in with more watercolor paint around the cactus and blooms for definition.
I continued adding papers, gradually building up texture and using some heavier rice papers. I painted more in the background and on the flowers. Added more collage... and so on until I felt like it was done. Sometimes the hardest part is knowing when to stop! Another cactus and flower watercolor collage using a different color scheme.
Another cactus and flower watercolor collage using a different color scheme. Have you ever tried combining watercolor and other mediums? Feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.
