Definitions elude me: collage or mixed medai? I have no idea when to say collage and when to say mixed media! And really does it matter? Not in my book…

So I am working mostly with paper at the moment, using parts of my original artwork. Some are digital prints, some are hand pulled prints, some are acrylic and/or watercolor paint. I cut, mix and match, add more paint, and draw a bit with art markers and colored pencil to blend and touch up after messy gluing or matte medium application. Is this collage?

I never do the most ambitious traditional collage. By this I mean the style of collage using small colored and shaded scraps to build an image. I tend to start with images I like, or an abstract background that I like, then add pieces for a mostly abstract finished work. Perhaps this is better described as mixed media, but is accepted in some collage art groups as collage. And that is fine with me.

So here are two mixed media / collage works, plus the digital foil of the one at the left. The first piece is based on a local fountain statue (the Haller Fountain, Port Townsend), and here she looks out to a puzzling sky with multiple moons. I participated in a small local history & art book about this fountain many years ago.

The center image is a collage featuring an older linocut print, a scan of a found owl feather, and three cutouts of paintings, over a painted backer board. The dragon-like linocut is based on an interesting driftwood log.