I was out with Urban Sketchers Canberra at the Kambah Woolshed, this past weekend, attempting to make a collage in a very stiff wind. 

Every collage brings new learnings – particularly when working in a representational style – compared to the more common free-form approach.

Working from the background to the foreground is the most practical way to start. Of course, I still trip myself up and have to re-glue or correct sections.

Having a clear picture of the tonal values is critical. Particularly when deciding on the background to the subject.

Sometimes, the tonal values don’t get completely nailed down until late in the process. The thin diagonal line on the roof on the right side was close to the last piece I added. This made so much difference to the roofline.

After looking at this piece when I got home my partner pointed out that one of the columns didn’t appear to be in correct perspective. He was right. I’d carried it through to the roofline when there was a section of planking that ran in front of it.

Here’s the final version.

I continue to be surprised that this process takes pretty much the same amount of time as my regular watercolour sketches do. I’m happy with the result.