Susan Krieg's Collage Art
Susan Krieg describes how she creates her richly textured collage surfaces:
In 1990, I discovered the wealth of exotic papers available on the market
for artistic uses and began using imported papers to create the abstracted
atmospheric backgrounds for my figures. This opened up a new world of
communication for me, in that the ready-made papers already have a tone
and a mood that I respond to. Mixing mediums is the most thrilling and
adventuresome type of art, because you get many unexpected surprises of
color and texture. Every time you add something new to a collage it reassembles
itself and responds back. It’s a conversation between artist and
art.
Starting with a line drawing on canvas or sturdy printmaking paper, I
address only the negative space to build an atmosphere using papers, texturing
compound, found materials, fabric, plastic, etc. I treat my collage materials
like a palette, in that I store similarly colored things together. With
collage it’s easy to overdo it – by attempting to stay monochromatic,
one can set the stage for the figure. After the main materials are adhered,
using acid-free glue or acrylic gel medium, it is important to seal the
work with thinned acrylic gel. This helps to minimize the deterioration
of materials that may not be totally acid-free, allows the paint to flow
onto the materials and not be absorbed, and also protects the texture
of those delicate collage papers.
The second layer begins the integration of paint and collage material
by working lightly over the entire surface with translucent and iridescent
acrylic paints. At this time, I also paint in the shadows and dark areas
of the figure. A second layer of collage materials is incorporated at
this point, using more of the delicate and translucent papers and covering
some parts of the figure. Again the entire surface is protected with acrylic
gel medium and allowed to dry.
Finally, I concentrate on bringing the figure to life, using traditional
painting methods and techniques. I use many products to embellish and
integrate the final look, including Caran D’Ache, Prismacolors,
metallic pens, leafing and embossing, and two finish coats of acrylic
varnish. I had a teacher in college who said, “It takes two people
to paint a painting, one to do the work and the other to hit him over
the head when it’s done.” That can truly be the case with
collage as it’s tempting to throw everything into one painting.
One has to know when to hit oneself over the head and stop.
For more information on Susan Krieg’s collage technique read the featured artist article in
Mixed Media Collage by Susan Krieg
ARCHETYPES OF
THE FEMININE
Susan Krieg’s theory and psychology
of painting the female figure