This collage done on a canvas panel, is one that I actually finished working on a few weeks ago, but did not make time to upload it here, until now! I started working on the background of this piece for a demo during one of my collage classes held earlier this fall. Below you will see how the collage began, far left:

After applying a wash of paints and rubbing alcohol, I was showing my student Joyce how to add things like paper napkins peeled down to the thinest layer and tissue paper for texture. I also showed her how she could rubber stamp with permanent ink on to white tissue paper and then adhere it to her canvas so that the tissue paper would not be visible.

My next step was to add some figures . . . and on the top right I added a wonderful image from ARTchix Studio's Loveliness collage sheet, which has been in the collection for many years, but is still one of my favorites.

In the bottom left corner, I added a favorite image from Alpha Stamps' British Queens 3 collage sheet. I like how both heroines are gazing outward.

From there I added a Victorian Scrap paper butterfly and words from an ARTchix collage sheet, Tell me a Story. I also cut out wings from another ARTchix Studio sheet: Wonderful Wings. I think this was perfect with the way she is looking at the butterfly and the words from the collage sheet! The gold "fence" at the bottom of the panel is a gold German scrap paper from ARTchix called Gold paper Mesh.

I ripped pieces of shiny gold paper and adhered them with gel medium, added some scrapbook and other paper bits, did more rubber stamping -- this time directly on the canvas. It was curious for me to reach for a postage related rubber stamp and find one addressed to Trieste, Italy. This is where my son Dallas is living now while doing an internship at the International School of Trieste. Pretty amazing!

I added tiny gold beads as well with glue -- click on any photo for more detail.

A real canceled postage stamp from an envelope I had received and saved because it was so cool, was also added . . . see below for a close up.

. . . . I added oval lines with a permanent marker around the word I stamped (See) to accentuate it. Finally, I framed it with a simple black frame because I plan to sell it!

Thanks for visiting my blog! : ^ ) lenna