Welcome Spring Collage

Welcome Spring Collage

It is currently Spring in Sydney, Australia. Flowers are blooming, butterflies are flying around, bees are buzzing and new life is starting to appear on bare lawns and trees. I was inspired by the beautiful flowers blooming in my garden, particularly the purple azaleas and the blue berry buds, so I decided to create a collage of them.

● Watercolour paper - 300gsm, cold or hot press
● Masking tape
● Palette
● Pencil
● Eraser
● Paper towel
● Paint brushes - flats and round brushes
● Acrylic paints - Alizarin crimson, Phthalo blue, white and yellow
● Board - for taping the watercolour paper to the board
● Gesso
● Old books
● Scissors
● Waterproof black pens
● Floral wrapping paper
● Real flowers and leaves
● Artificial or silk flowers
● Sketch book
● Floral stencil

I roughly sketched out my idea for the collage in a sketch book.

In my composition, I placed the flowers and leaves on the left side of the page and will use a floral stencil for the bottom right.

I visualized butterflies fluttering amongst the floral elements. The words ‘Welcome Spring’ is positioned on the top right of the page.

Tape the edges of your paper using masking tape to the board. This will allow you to work on a firm surface and move your artwork to different angles as required when painting or glueing things down.

We create depth in this collage by adding layers. Firstly, tear off strips of printed pages from an old book.

Cut out any floral elements from wrapping paper or magazines.

Glue the strips of old print and floral elements onto the paper. Use some white gesso to lightly paint out the printed words on the paper. The reason for this is to make the printed words less obvious.

Use yellow acrylic paint to paint the top part of the paper. For the lower part, use green (mix yellow and blue together) and blue acrylic paints. Paint in a loose, sweeping manner to create the impression of grass and bushes. You can add some of the blues and greens to the yellow at the top of the page so that the colours harmonise and unify with one another. Also, this is to avoid a distinct separation between the colours at the top and bottom of the page. Add paint splatters by loading the brush with paint and pulling back the bristles to make a fine mist or gently tapping the handle of the brush over the page. Allow the paint to dry before moving onto the next stage.

Tip #1: You can use a hairdryer to dry the page in order to speed up the art making process.

In this stage, use a floral stencil or pattern for the lower right side of the page. Take the Alizarin crimson paint or mix a dark pink and make a stamping movement with the brush on the stencil. I realised later that I needed to make the pink colour on my artwork a lot darker so that it stands out from the blues and greens in the background. Allow the page to dry. A hairdryer can be used to dry the paint as mentioned in the above.

Tip #2: Do not make a watery paint mixture when stamping onto the stencil as bleeds and blotches will occur underneath the stencil.

Arrange the flowers and leaves you have selected onto the left side of the page. Before placing them on the page, you can mix a purple colour (Alizarin crimson and blue together) and paint the underside of the flowers and leaves. Then, firmly press the items onto the page.

At this point, lay sheets of blank paper or paper towels on top of the artwork. Place a stack of heavy books on top of the blank papers or paper towels. Leave the artwork with the books on top of it for 24 hours.

Tip #3: Do not move the books prior to the 24 hours. This is to ensure that the flowers and leaves are firmly pressed down and most of the moisture is squeezed out of them.

In this stage, create an abstract page using any colour you want. Be loose and spontaneous. You can use other tools besides paint brushes such as credit cards, kitchen utensils, sticks etc to make abstract marks. Allow the artwork to dry. When the artwork has fully dried, draw the shapes of butterflies in pencil. Next paint colourful patterns on the wings of the butterflies. Paint the body and antennas in black paint. When the artwork is dry, cut out the butterflies using small sharp scissors.

Tip #4: Cut out the front wings of the butterflies. Then, glue them in front of the back wings. This will create a three dimensional effect on the butterflies.

Lift the books and sheets of paper off the artwork when it is ready to do so. Some areas of the flowers and leaves may not have printed well on the page. If this is the case, use the appropriate paint colour to add details to the flowers, leaves and stems. Allow the paint to dry.

Work out where you would like to place the butterflies on the page and then glue them down. Sketch in the words ‘Welcome Spring’. Use a fine waterproof black pen to outline and colour in the title.

Tip #5: When glueing the butterflies onto the page, place the glue on the body and not on the wings so that the wings are not stuck down. This will create the impression that the butterflies are flying.

To give your collage, a ‘WOW’ factor, you can add artificial or silk flowers to the artwork. Arrange and glue the flowers in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and which helps to unify the artwork.

Step back and check that the artwork works as a whole. Squint and ask yourself the following questions:
● Is the composition balanced?
● Is the focal point clear?
● Are the colours harmonious and unified?
● Are there contrasts in the colours and shapes?
● Are there enough details without overworking the artwork?

Finally, after going through the list of refinements, you’re done! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and learnt some new tips and tricks.

Tip #6: Gently pull off the masking tape from the paper at a 45 degree angle. You can also soften the tape by warming it with a hairdryer on a low setting to stop the paper from ripping.