10 easy ways to play with paper & images

I'm so glad you found your way to my creative space! This page is an invitation to play. You don't need a plan or a massive collection of sophisticated supplies to create something interesting. Start with an image that captures your attention, gather a few more items, and respond to what you have with paint, pastels, or even crayons. Here are 10 easy ways to begin playing with paper and found materials.

• Start with something you love. Choose a paper, a texture, a colour, a word, or anything else you feel drawn to. Build a temporary collage around it. Take a photo of it. Then take the collage apart. Playing does not have to be permanent.

• Make a mini collage. One of my favourite art journals was made from a perfume sample folder (below). How small can you go?

• Combine eras. What happens when you pair a vintage image with modern text? Colour with black and white?

• Work with a limited palette. What's your favourite colour today? Mine changes with the seasons and moods and...?! Use only your favourite and don't feel you have to push yourself outside your comfort zone.

• Cover up something you really like in one of your journal pages or collages. So, this one is outside most people's comfort zones. But, collage is not permanent. We use ephemera, right? Try changing something you like and see what happens when you let go of something you feel attached to.

• Borrow something from someone else's art. Not the whole thing ~ just use one of Monet's skies or Maude Lewis' cats. Rough it up with sandpaper or add marks on it to make it your own.

• Take a large image and cover most of it with white or black paint. Leave only one interesting piece. Sometimes a glimpse of something is more intriguing than using the entire image.

• Same idea but play with transparency ~ cover an image with glue/medium and then layer on tissue paper or the back of a napkin to give a foggy effect.

• Repeat an element. This can be pencil circles you trace from a lid or simple stamps or dots or a word...I like to work in threes. There's all kinds of information about why threes appeal to people, but if you prefer fours or tens, then go for it.

• Stop when you're not sure if it's finished. Leave it for a while. Take a photo. Come back to it. Sometimes leaving something undone creates a bit of space to breathe.

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You can also find out more information about upcoming workshops here.

Looking for collage bundles or textiles? You can find those here.

I've created a few booklets of creative prompts ~ there's a few sample pages above. You don't have to share your email or subscribe or commit to anything at all ~ just visit my blog!

Most of all, I'd love to see what you create ~ send me an email or tag me on Instagram @artbyroanne