As I was saving After the Tree of Life to my computer, I noticed that I had created it on the back of an orange collage, and I also ran across Connie's orange collage at the same time. So here are both of them, Connie's first, then mine.

After the Tree of Life

As in life, this evolution is not where I thought I was going, but this is what I got. After the episode with A&E, the tree was still there but no longer accessible-as it isn't here. G's presence is still felt however. I tore the original picture into pieces and collaged in it onto an old watercolor. After several compositional experiments (none I liked), I negatively painted in black to form another tree, and used watercolor crayons to outline the tree and the space around the tree.

This didn't start out to be a story illustration, but there is no telling where art will take you.

Since I am just having fun with this project, here is my evolved version of the Tree of Life. I used acrylic to highlight the fanciful swirls and made the "apple" much less prominent.

After 5 months of not creating art, I have plunged back in (and I am expecting you to too :). I started with no plan, just started putting paint on an already rejected collage project. I block printed on the two ends, then turned it upside down. I painted the middle with phtalo turquoise and it looked like a tree, so I put in a trunk. I wanted more color and texture, so I added gestures with my watercolor crayons. Then I put it in Illustrator and added the title and the "apple." I didn't intend to create another tree, but I guess I seem to be into trees. And since I am reading through the Bible in 90 days, this tree came to my mind. It is sort of like a tree with every color in it - very desirable. God is the sun rays in the background, present and providing the things needed.

Today I attended an Image Transfer Techniques workshop taught by Jo Fitsell at the Art Student League of Denver. Check her out at jofitsell.com. I knew I had much to learn on this subject, but oh my . . . Jo is an accomplished and talented artist and shared many valuable insights from her experience. Transferring images in collage is a multi-stepped process that requires patience and finess in execution to produce a successful result.


Below I am posting some of my most recent collage tree projects - continuing my tree theme.

Summer Tree #1
Mixed Media Collage



















Summer Tree #2
Mixed Media Collage

Summer Trees Blue
Mixed Media Collage