Collage Paint Draw - Explore Mixed Media Techniques and Materials
by Sue Pelletier
North Light Books
ISBN 978-1-4403-3702-4
Published 2015 - Softcover - 128 pages - $24.99

Elementary school art teacher Sue Pelletier, has put together a delightful book filled with colorful photos of her lively artwork.  She likes to paint things she knows, so you'll notice a sense of familiarity running through her work.  She says she likes to paint things she holds near and dear to her, like Mary Jane shoes, birds, doors, hearts, dresses, chairs, and numbers.  She uses an astonishing variety of collage items and supplies an extensive list of materials you may be interested in trying out.  Her loose style alleviates a lot of the pressure to be perfect that so many of us struggle with.  Her work is bright and colorful and sometimes whimsical without being fey.  She takes you through the process of creating a piece of work, explains what she's using, and how best it worked for her.  I do love her birdcage drawing and painting on pages 10/11, the Yellow Dress on page 37, and the flowers on page 89.  You may find stuff in and around your home that you could use, so do keep an open mind when clearing things out.  There are many styles you could try without feeling tied down to one or two ways of creating.  She uses impasto, resists, stencils, packing tape, crinoline, art paste, buttons, dress patterns, dryer sheets, foam core, string, old photos, burlap, fabric paint, bleach pen, beeswax, fabric stiffener, and more.  I love how she draws using ink and a pipette.  Very loose yet very effective.