I was so excited for this week’s Monday Prompt Project for Mixed Media Art School! The theme is my favorite: collage! I use collage in almost all of my mixed media art projects—everything from art journals to canvases! I collect a lot of different art paper to use as collage material as well as make my own papers. Almost anything can be used as collage paper! My favorites are:

vintage ledger paper
grid paper
lotka paper
scrapbook paper
recycled paper (I use a lot of my kids’ schoolwork and other papers that fill their backpacks!)
business envelopes or junk mail
wrapping and tissue paper

Here are a few of my favorite ways to use collage in my artwork:

Create a Collage Background

You can start with a blank canvas or page in your art journal and then cover it completely with your favorite collage papers! I like to use this as a creative exercise to get out of my critical brain and into my artist brain.

There can be no rhyme or reason to your collage OR you can also be mindful of playing with balancing out colors, textures, patterns, etc. to create a harmonious composition. Try the rule of 3 which you try to spread out a color or pattern in at least three different spots on your page. Also try the 5-second rule, in which you count to 5 as you move the piece around the page and then stop and commit and glue it down on the spot! You can also limit your color palette so that it doesn’t feel so overwhelming (I, personally, find it hard to limit my colors and end up having a rainbow party every time!)

Use Collage as an Accent

Here, you can put down layers of paint, ink, paint pen, etc., and then add a few pieces of collage paper sparingly, just to tie the piece altogether.

You can also cut out a focal image or words that you’d like to be the main element of your artwork. Sometimes just the simplest splash of paint color with a little bit of collage on top is all you need!

abstract mixed media collage art journal

Use Collage as a Focal Point

Here, I’ve started with a watercolor and paint pen background, and added some scribbles with Stabilo marks-all pencils and water-soluble crayons.

Then, I’ve added my favorite collage papers on top as the final layer. You can blend your collage pieces in by scribbling over the top or edges with paint pens and pencils, or concealing some edges with paint or stamp ink. This piece isn’t quite finished, but I wanted to show an example of something that was in-progress.

Layer Collage Elements

You can also do a little of both—alternating between mixed media (paint, ink, etc) and collage paper layers. This can help create depth in your artwork. You can start with a collage or mixed media layer and then alternate between the two as you achieve harmony in your composition.

However you decide how to add collage paper to your mixed media artwork, I hope you have fun! Exploration is a great way to start. Don’t be afraid to go back to older works or journal pages and create something completely new. Try a few of these techniques to see which is your favorite way to layer collage paper!

You can join us in this week’s challenge! Just use the hashtags #collage and #mondaypromptproject in your social media post. You can also check out Mixed Media Art School for online classes and more!