Big Leap Painting

I'm working on a new piece using newspaper, canvas, a magazine image and acrylic. Ive always liked the idea of seeing newspaper through paint and I saw a painting in a pop art book of an American flag painted over newspaper and it looked really cool, so I was inspired to make one myself. I love looking through magazines and used to cut out pictures I liked in them. Like beautiful girls or lovers, fashion I Liked (as reference when I was designing clothes) sometimes even strips of just colours or textures like wood, water, the sky. I wanted to make a picture instinctively. I didn't want to plan it, or take time, just stick things together and see how it turned out. I used to be very precise about what I was doing and I wanted to step away from that, to free myself of the perfectionist within. So I dug out one of my old folders and looked through the pictures I'd cut out. I found a lovely one of a girls face and was like "thats the one". I got out the canvas, positioned it at the top and proceeded to cover the rest with newspaper. It was so much fun! Picking out the parts of the newspaper that looked interesting, ripping them out and pasting them on :) When it dried I started painting it. I've been painting it a little bit at a time when I get a chance. Here's what I did so far..

The reason I called this a big leap painting is because I used to see Art people would make with pictures stuck on and think they were cop outs. That they must be shit at drawing so they stick pictures on to make their art look good. It used to piss me off if they looked really good because I'd have spent hrs, days, weeks painting a picture and they could just stick on a picture and it could look just as good!! Man that really pissed me off! And most people wouldn't even know the difference.

Anyway a few years down the line and here I am, making cop out art! ha ha. Ah I'm just experimenting. I'm not planning on selling it. I just want to experiment with different things and see what I like doing. I'm having fun with Art, not taking it so serious.

I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with it, I'm just taking my time and we'll see what happens :)...