Flickers and Sorting Paper

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All winter we were visited by a shy and charming flicker. He didn't like me trying to get a close look and I'd only get a glimpse of his plumage. Greys and browns and then those startling flashes of red! Nothing to do but head for my bins of collage paper.

A few months back I had finally taken on the daunting task of corralling my tons of paper -- old prints, hand-stained tissue, clean-up sheets that were too enticing to toss, purchased Asian papers, brown wrapping and packaging, junk mail, envelopes -- into some kind of order. Up to then, I sorted everything (in an off-hand way) by material. Acrylic prints here, Akua prints there, a file for tissue, packaging in this tub, envelopes in this box. But there was simply too much and it took ages to find anything.

Rather than sort by material I came up with the idea of sorting by colour!

And that has worked amazingly well. I took three large bins that were already stuffed with paper and emptied them. Then I did a heartless weed. Stuff went into the recycle bin and out to the curb before I could change my mind. With what remained, I began to sort by colour -- warm, cool and neutral. Besides those three bins there is a bin for commercial stuff like coloured cardstock or origami paper and another bin for blank fine art paper. There are also three or four small tubs for paper bits too good to toss. But the bulk of the "system" is the three bins. Now when I come across something I want to save in it goes to the appropriate bin  and we're done. So far, it's working!

For the flickers I went through the neutral bin for browns and greys and had a quick dig through the warms for a bit of red.

With the help of some online photos and our trusty Roger Tory Peterson bird guide I roughed out a flicker shape and made this jaunty fellow:

This one I counted as my daily sketch. Then I made these:

I went back and forth between making the flicker realistic or more whimsical. Spoiler alert -- whimsy won! I'm not really a bird person and know nothing about their anatomy. Always surprised how far back the legs are attached on a bird's body. Usually my birds look like this:

But it was good practice for my eye and my brain to aim for correct proportion and to pick out one or two telling details that would make my interpretation of a flicker read as a flicker. I'll keep making more of these dapper birds as I come across paper printed with just the right graphic pattern. And, after watching a fascinating Nature of Things documentary, I'm stacking up potential collage papers for owls who, news to me, can have rich russet red feathers! (And those papers will be in the warm bin!)

Trust the Process

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Last spring I signed up for British abstract artist Louise Fletcher's Find Your Joy. This free course is full of generous, practical advice for any artist in any medium. In essence, Louise advises us to do more of what we like -- that which brings us joy -- and less of what we don't like! Sounds simple, but it can be easy to get side-tracked and/or overwhelmed with all the fabulous art and options just a click away on social media. 

Pay attention to the colours that speak to you, she says. The shapes, the marks you make that interest you. What you're drawn to in art you like. This one can be tricky, though, because while you love what certain artists do, it doesn't necessarily mean you will love it in your own work. This happens to me. I marvel at artists who build up rich, dense, multiple layers in their work. But in my own work, I'm most happy with a quality of spareness.

But I want that spareness to have interest. And depth. And mystery.

I've always suspected that but it's taken me a full year of thinking and playing around to really know it.

Here's a small collage I made earlier this month:

I made several like this, following an on-line tutorial (sorry, I can't recall which one it was) but the more I worked on them, the worse they got. This one started out with the central strip with the text. By the time I called it quits, I'd obscured the only bit that spoke to me. By "the worse they got" I mean the less the image excited me and the less it resonated with me.

But by no means am I saying the process was a waste of time. I worked on composition and value, line and shape -- and all of that was of interest. And it reinforced my attraction to spareness. At least, my interpretation of spareness.

I think this is what Louise is getting at in Find Your Joy. Our best art reflects our preferences -- our unique take on the world. She says not everyone will like what we like, and that's okay. Because our best work -- the work that satisfies -- is the work that speaks to us.

A fun exercise has been to look over past work and note what I like.

This is the type of collage that most speaks to me. My challenge is to work in enough "texture" and detail to keep the image lively.

This forest is a really old print but I'm still happy with it. Again, there's a certain spareness.

Another oldie. But I like the simple, and loose, structure. Plus the high contrast.

This landscape could use a little something. Might be a bit too spare! But I find the image calming and relaxing.

I love this one! My first time experimenting with a high horizon.

Just fooling around here. I did a number of landscapes like this -- drawing over a random background. And I've come to realize "line" is important to me. Last year I went to a live model drawing class to keep a friend company -- the human figure doesn't call to me -- and yet I enjoyed the challenge of tackling a subject I wouldn't normally choose. And when the instructor said I had good line, I was thrilled!

This one (a monotype with hand-stained tissue collage) is one of my favourites. I think it's the subdued colours and the bit of white around the pot. Love the slightly off-register look. 

The Find Your Joy course came at just the right time. I was ready to narrow the focus of my work and to discover what it is I most want to make. Since taking the course, I'm more open to just following my instincts, to not having a plan or being overly swayed by all the gorgeous imagery I see on social media.

The free 8-day course is running again, starting May 20. On the last day, Louise does give a plug for her full paid course but it's low-key. I'm signing up again, and if it's something that appeals, here is link.

Here's to finding joy!