Pink Is My Favorite Color, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Leada Wood, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Collage

Gelli is my new obsession without a question! This is some of my collage paper I am making from my Gelli prints. It is so much fun it could be illegal. I am trying to build a stash, scan it into my computer so I can use them over and over again for cards, backgrounds for art journals or collage. Hopefully I will come up with some more uses along the way as well. Would love to hear what you do with your Gelli prints.

Gelli printing is only the beginning...after slathering layers of paint I stamp it up, stencil, scribble, splatter and color to my hearts content.  I then break them down and reassemble them into something new...kind of like puzzle solving.

This is actually an accumulation of several days work or play...so relaxing and completely takes me away to my happy place. It gives an unique look to my art that is all my own. Immersed in the process I give myself the freedom to create and enjoy the process.

Another Gelli print. You can use them whole or find a small section that floats your boat. The possibilities are endless. It looks pretty busy but as you can see from the one below a small section is nice.

A close up of a happy accident. I impressed my stamp on top of a towel and it picked up the weave in the towel as well...SWEET!

This is my new stamp and you can really see the texture from the towel here. I think they call this magic foam...just heat with a heat gun and impress the design into the foam. MAGIC!

I used my new Derwent Art Bars on this one and love the intense color and creamy texture of them. I have had them for a while but decided it was time to try them out. Do you save your art supplies for special or try them out right away?

Working on a new series is always fun! I started five today...can't wait to get back into the studio and get going on them. I am so grateful for an artist's life and the opportunity to create. 

Have a great weekend!

Making Paper For College by Leada Wood, Contemporay Artist Of Texas

These young ladies are painting deli papers. This is the first step in creating your personal collage papers. you can also use, art tissue, gift tissue or any number speciality papers. You must have color harmony so we choose 3 primary colors, red, yellow and blue. Added water to the paint, just a little, and painted papers.

To change the colors up a bit the girls added a little black to create a different tone. As you can see you need lots of space when you are creating your papers.

The whole studio was covered in painted papers! This is only the first step. The girls have started making their stamps to decorate their collage paper. People sometimes have a misconception about college...that it is just gluing papers to a substrate.  But noooo....a true collage artists starts from scratch and makes their own original papers. A lot of work but the results are worth it!