Steampunk Circus Digital Remix - Working with a Net

This collage is made from 1890's era newspaper images.I built up background layers, and then added the newspaper images on top. Some are gel-medium transfers, and some are applied face-up straight from a laser print, and tinted with colored tissue and watercolor pencils.

It wasn't finished, but I wasn't sure what it needed. There were several ideas that I wanted to explore, and I wasn't feeling particularly patient. So, I decided to go to my computer and work it out in PhotoShop.

Here is the digital image. I added the top hat first, and then put in the rest of the images from there. The words went in last. I love working with type and typefaces in my job as a graphic designer, but tend to shy away from it in my altered art work, mainly because I don't love my own handwriting the way I love typefaces.

To me, a typeface can instantly set the tone for a piece whether its used in graphic design or fine art. (I used Algerian here.) I think I'll need to take a break from this image for a few days, and then come back to it and see if I still like it. If I don't, I can rework it - a major advantage of going digital. That can also be a pitfall - sometimes it's good to work without a net, so to speak, in order to make a commitment. Right now it looks a little to busy to me.

I'm still pondering what to do with the piece in the previous post. Terry Pitzel and Elizabeth Woodford have both given me some great suggestions, so I'm hoping to finish that piece this week. Stay tuned!

Virginia Wine Experience Show -- Leslie Brier, Guest Artist

Rick Klingbeil is a talented local painter, who is the artist-in-residence at the gallery space above The Virginia Wine Experience on Caroline Street. He has generously offered to share his wall space with Barry Sisson and me for the month of January. The opening is this Friday night.

Here are some of the pieces that will be there:

I've been wanting to do some circus-themed pieces for a while. This is Circus I. It is a collage on canvas.

Detail of Circus I.

Another detail. I've been working with layers and transparency. The majority of these images are gel medium transfers.

This is my Unicycle Rider. Another in the Circus Series.

This is Mermaid. This started out as a collage of magazine images. I then layered stamped tissue and acrylic paint over the collage.

Garden began with a layer of magazine transfers in purple and gray tones. I built up layers of color on top of the transfers, and then added torn paper collage on top of that. The final layer of color was put in with watercolor pencils. Accents were added with black ink and white gel pen.

The opening is this Friday night, January 8,  from 6:30 - 9:00 pm.

The address is 826 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401.

Stop by and sample some of the amazing wines that The Virginia Wine Experience has to offer, and say hello to Rick, Barry and me!