Day 229 - 365/2014

Day Two Hundred Twenty-Nine

I feel like I accomplished something today by working a little on several things I have been avoiding. 

First, I went back in to look at the rabbit-like guy's legs situation.  I got as far as cramming some of the Scott rags I pulled off of his legs/butt into the plastic drinking cups that I cut and attached to his legs.  They don't "give" as much now and I think I should be able to put a first layer of plaster cloth over this arrangement.  I will probably just build the parts out of mostly plaster cloth as I go along.

Second, I put another cover up layer of paper on the big blue creature collage.  I used a much darker blue and I like it a lot already.  I may need to go back and add a bit more paper near his shorter ear, but other than that, I am falling back in love with him again.  I really like how the raggedy torn edges of the paper look like fur (a little bit)...rather than me having to try to paint or draw that sort of edge in.  The collage is very wet in these photos...I hope it dries as good as it looks now.

Even with just this small amount of the darker paper added, I'm already falling back in love with this guy again.

Third, I covered up the guy in the background of the giraffe-ish guy's collage.  I did not like how the face was turning out.  I thought I would just try to add more of the same paper but I couldn't tell for sure what paper it is.  I liked the colors coming through but I really disliked the eyes and nose that I inked in.  I came across a bag of torn pieces of a marbleized paper that was down to mostly the darker pieces -- lots of black and gold -- and it was not what I had in mind, but I think I may like it (for now at least).  It has potential...plus I can already see a face in that very wet paper that I like.  It will probably look a lot different when it dries, though.

"Before" -- I am really not happy with this face

I wasn't planning on using this paper, but this particular piece fit the ear so well...

...I had to use it.

I redid his face and arm.

This is still very wet, but I can see a face in it...I hope it stays mostly like this when the matte medium dries.

Wider view.

A little drier already.

When I was adding the paper pieces to the background guy I noticed a bit of whitish material that is a part of one of the lower pieces of paper in the collage.  It almost looks like a twig.  I couldn't remove it so I think I made it less noticeable with a couple of pieces of the light teal paper.

Gah -- I did not even see that twig-like inclusion before!

I think it will be hidden under this teal paper.

And last...I felt like I needed/wanted to do something to the collage with the three friends in it.  I struggled with this for several hours and then decided to try to beef up but at the same time tone down some of the colors.  The colors are much brighter than I am used to using in these collages and it is throwing me a bit...but I really needed to differentiate the three guys and I figured color would be the way to go.  I am SO not a painter...man!  Anyway...I managed to alter the color of the first guy (on the right) but I need to stop for tonight.  I am pulling off color almost as quickly as I am adding it.  I want to keep the texture and inclusions of the underlying papers without making the colors too saturated.  I have no idea what I am doing...I am just making it up as I go along.  I don't know...we'll see what happens later.

The view from my desk today.

These guys.

I added some neutral gray acrylic paint over the mustardy color...I like it better but it isn't on there very evenly...needs lots of work.

All of the other colors need to be punched a bit, too.