Composition and Collage

This is a fun, fast paced, hands-on workshop with lots of individual attention.

Working with collage papers, I will demonstrate procedures and/or techniques very briefly. This will allow you to spend the maximum amount of time applying the process yourself.

After coloring your own selection of rice papers in a full range of values, you will be using them as we review basic design formats and discover the importance of having a full range of dark and light values in your painting. In addition, we will review ways to not only find a focal point in your subject matter, but how to make it stand out and direct the viewer’s eye to it. Exploring different collage techniques you will combine color and texture to create a dramatic finished piece.

You will leave this workshop with:

1. An appreciation of how the multiple layers of rice paper and watercolor can excite the imagination.
2. Collage techniques that will help you create depth and sparkle to your work.
3. An understanding of the importance of a full range of values in your painting and how to use these values to direct the viewer into your work.

You can use this understanding in the future whether you continue with collage or not.

About the instructor

I received my BFA in Design from the University of Southern California. My graduate work in Graphic Design was done at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. For over 20 years, I owned the Alyson Design Group, a graphic design company specializing in corporate advertising, magazine and marketing design as well as direct mail advertising. In addition, I served as a volunteer teacher of drawing and design both privately and in the elementary schools in Alameda County.

In 1990, I concluded my advertising career and started to paint. At first I painted in straight watercolor. After a few years I discovered the rice paper/collage technique. I have been doing some form of this technique ever since.

My work can be regularly seen at Gallery 10 in Sutter Creek, CA.

One person shows:

• Gallery 10, Sutter Creek, CA 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014
• Studio 7 Gallery, Pleasanton, CA 2003, 2005, 2008
• Fine Eye Gallery, Sutter Creek, CA 2002, 2007, 2009
• Ohlone Arts Gallery, Fremont, CA 2004
• Two-person shows
• The Gallery at 48 Natoma, Folsom, CA 2011
• Three person show
• Olive Hyde Art Gallery, Fremont, CA 2002
• Group Shows
• The Hanford Gallery, Sutter Creek, CA 2012, 2013

My watercolor collages are also included in private collections both nationally and internationally. Most recently, my painting “Foe Gold” won 1st Place in the Lodi Community Art Centers’ National Spring Show. “Perched” was accepted into San Diego Watercolor Society 32nd International Exhibition. In 2010, I received 2nd place in Watercolor Magazine’s International Watermedia Showcase Competition. My painting “Bale Patterns” can be seen in the Feb., 2010 issue of the magazine. “Bale Patterns” was also selected for Splash 12: Celebrating Artistic Vision.

My paintings have received awards in:

• Lodi Community Art Centers’ National Spring Show, Lodi, CA 2013, 2014
• Ironstone Vineyard Spring Obsession National Juried Show, Murphys, CA 2011, 2012
• The Stockton Art League Bi-Annual Juried Exhibition at the Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA 2010, 2012
• The Motherlode National Art Exhibition, Placerville, CA 2007
• The Amador County Fair, Plymouth, CA 2005 through 2012
• The Lodi Harvest Fair, Lodi, CA 2005

Additionally, my work has been included in:

• San Diego Watercolor Society, 32nd International Exhibition, 2012
• The Motherlode National Art Exhibition, Placerville, CA 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011
• The Sacramento Art Center Bold Expressions Exhibition, Carmichael, CA 2006
• The Lodi Harvest Fair, Lodi, CA 2005
• The Amador County Fair, Plymouth, CA 2005 through 2012
• The Olive Hyde Art Gallery, Fremont, CA 2002 through 2012
• Ohlone Arts Gallery, Fremont, CA 2004

Quarterly, I give workshops at my studio in Pioneer, CA. In addition, I am routinely invited to give demonstrations and workshops by local Northern California art associations. The classes introduce the student to my painting technique. They include the review of design concepts and focus on composition and the importance of a full range of values. The classes are for beginners through advanced painters. I am available for demonstrations, critique sessions, workshops and show judging. I also accept commission work.