CC: Nifty Neutrals

If you've already read my posting to the forum about the "A Bit of..." color series, you can jump right ahead to where it says "So!" in boldface. If you feel like you've got the concept nailed, jump right ahead to "Some examples" in boldface. =smile=

I've been consulting with Angie about a series of color swaps I have in mind, prompted by some of the books on collage I've been looking at (titles & editors available if you're interested). I've been impressed, in such books, by what collage artists can do with just a little bit of color. The rest of the palette these artists use is what I'm going to call "neutral." By "neutral" I mean not just white, the infinite greys, and black, but also all the various shades of brown. So I'm going to start a series of color swaps called "A Bit of Red," "A Bit of Orange," and so on. But this very first swap in the series will be "Nifty Neutrals"—an all-neutrals swap, to make sure people understand what I mean by neutrals.

The "A Bit of..." series will always have the signups due by the 25th of the month, and swaps due in the mail by the following 15th of the month (with minor adjustments, as needed, for holidays).

So! Your challenge, this month, is to make one collage postcard of any size or shape (don't forget that in the U.S., square counts as non-rectangular, which is a weird shape, needing 21-cent surcharge) with only neutrals as the allowed colors. This series will be "sender's choice," which is another way of saying, "don't look at your partner's profile." In fact, this whole series is about developing your own imagination as a collage artist, not about pleasing your partner. Think of it as a chance to expand your repertoire! You may, of course, add other media of all ilk to the PC, but collage should be the main medium. Mail it naked unless there are flimsy bits. Mail it by the 15th of October.

Mini-FAQ:

• Do you mean I'm not allowed to use any color at all? Right. No color unless it's a shade of brown. But if you can stay away from the very orange- or yellow-toned browns, and very blue- or green-toned greys, please do so. In other words, lean toward undersaturated.
• May I do it all in black-&-white? Yes, you may. You may even do it all in black-&-white with no shades of grey. You get to pick which neutrals you use, and how much of them to use.
• Will I get a bad rating if there's a teensy little bit of color on one piece of the collage? That depends on how you define "teensy little bit." Try your darndest to avoid any color except the ones described as neutral. But if there's a teensy little corner of one element that's slightly colored, where the overall impression is of an all-neutrals palette, I, for one, would not give you a low rating. Something obvious like a whole rubber stamp impression in a color, though, would not be in the spirit of this swap.

Some examples of nifty use of neutrals:

• "Elephant" by João Colagem —> close-up view of the one featured above, which came out oversaturated with my cheap scanner
• "Hate Machine" by Askan Honarnar
• "What's the Matter?" by Eduardo Recife
• "Shadow IV, VIII, IX, XI by John Stezaker —> actually 4 separate collages, part of a series

I hope the examples will inspire you to try new and different things! Have fun! =smile=