new collage: green, continental

"green, continental"

mixed media collage on previously painted wood panel (acrylic paint, found papers, vintage papers, glue)

gregory a. milinovich

february, 2012

i thought i'd share with you a new collage i made.  it is fairly large (about 48 inches by 36 inches), and made on top of an 70's-style painting i purchased at an auction for $1. 

i took an old map of the continental united states and carefully cut out each state with as much precision as possible.  then, i traced those states on top of all kinds of different papers, trying to get a variety of patterns and text, etc.  then i cut each of those out again.  then i glued each of them, like a puzzle, on to some art paper.  then, i did a wash over the whole thing with a green acrylic paint wash.  in the meantime, i had pasted old maps all over the old painting, and then muted it with a white gesso wash.  then i covered that with a blue wash, and added all sorts of blue and black detail over that for shading and texture.   then, i cut the united states out (one more time!) from the art paper and affixed it to the old painting, and did a final coat.  i also painted the frame, which had been a cream color, with a glossy black.  so, it was a ton of work.  but i'm really happy with the final product.