Batch painting on brown paper bags.
Sketchbooks aren’t the only place to try new ideas. A much cheaper alternative is available at many grocery stores: brown paper bags.
In No Stress Batch Painting Florals (Aug.5), I wrote about the importance and satisfaction of working in sketchbooks.
There are times when a sketchbook is too small for my purposes. Paper bags allow me to stretch my imagination just a little further by giving me more space to play.
From plain to pretty with collage and paint.
It’s very satisfying to see a plain paper grocery bag transformed into a pretty gift giving bag with a bit of paint and collage.
Amanda Evanston, an American artist whose work I admire, says that “painting on paper bags was a pivotal exercise in my growth as an artist”.
Although I had painted a few paper bags for my pet portrait clients, I had never spent enough time painting a whole bunch of them with florals.
This exercise can definitely make me grow as an artist - I feel like I am discovering my inner child once again while playing with the collage material and paint.
Since I am challenging myself to focus more on florals, paper bags are really perfect because just like sketchbooks, the end result isn’t important.
A paper bag can easily and without any guilt be tossed in the trash can if I get frustrated with it (that never happened). The fun is in experimenting and in discovering a playfulness that I periodically seem to lose as I paint my commissions.
Florals that are intuitive and loose are the perfect antidote to precise portrait work.
Collage experiments on paper bags.
Black and white Floral bouquet (#6)
For this self-challenge, I decided to try limiting myself to black and white only.
Collage materials include gift wrapping paper for the vase, sheet music, and magazine photos chopped up and reworked, as well as cutout leaves from mulberry paper with added stencil work.
Vintage can floral. (#7)
A vintage can is perfect receptacle for wild, colourful blooms. I added collage elements in the floral including striped pieces from a magazine and green gelli printed papers to which I added a few strokes with green markers. I scraped the paint on the "table" to allow the peach layer underneath to show through. The scraping into wet paint is another technique I like.
Striped vase floral (#8)
I have always admired striped vases in other artists' paintings. The stripes are a contrast with bold, loose florals. On this bag, I experimented with leftover acrylic skins peeled off freezer paper for the purple centre of these whimsical daisies. Here and there you might see some music notes as added collage in the bouquet. At times, I get a little too enthusiastic and I do cover up the collage pieces. I am working on allowing more of the collage to show through.
Bowers Mincemeat Vintage floral. (#9)
The "table" is stenciled with asemic writing, a stencil that I am sure to use again in other florals. The flowers have a hydrangea look to them. Again, the purpose is to have fun with paint, not to reproduce flowers with precision and detail.
Fall floral with gold elements. (#10)
In this experiment, the brown cardboard for the vase was painted with gold circles. The collage centre is from a scrapbooking pad. I added lots of white marker lines and I like the effect of the Xs on the dotted collage material. (X and O)
Inspiration is everywhere.
As I walk around the local area in my little town, I make new discoveries. For example, the other day I photographed this gorgeous tree near the bike path where I regularly walk with Rosie. You can let me know if I am correct in thinking this might be a Rose of Sharon tree?
The flowers seem to be reaching for the cloudless sky.
Isn't that a lovely background colour for these flowers?
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. - Zig Ziglar.
I particularly like the black and white bouquet bag, Louise. The tonal contrast of the foliage gives it real presence, particularly against the vase.
It’s a favourite of mine also. Thanks Graham.
What beautiful gifts these colourful bags would make.
One bag used as gift bag and the friend who received it loved it! So that makes me happy. Thanks for stopping by Vivienne
I just love what you have done with these bags Louise, and I’m sure the recipients will appreciate them also.
They are so much fun to paint. For some odd reasons, it is much easier to loosen up on an old bag than it is to do so even in my sketchbook! Thanks Sally.
Dear Louise I like your idea to use these brown paper bags to decorate them with wonderful flower pictures. Congratulations!!!! Have a wonderful day dear friend.
Thank you Birgit. They are very enjoyable to paint especially when I have just a few moments. I can collage a piece here and there and then come back later and work on the florals again. Its too nice this summer to be in the house painting.