Embroidered Collage

So on Friday I tried a larger composition again.  I had purchased the Dover book with multiple photomicrographs of snowflakes, so I decided to play with that.  I was not happy with the result, again.  It look so amateurish, and not in a good folk art sort of way.  But the print - ah, that went wonderfully.  This was Copperplate paper, unsized and a mix of cotton and sulphite.  It soaked up the water and stayed damp.  It soaked up the water beautifully and had a nice feel when dry.

I thought about it awhile and wondered why I was really trying to draw solid shapes like this.  Part of what I like about the technique is that it captures a stage in the evolution of the image.  I don't really WANT the print to look exactly like the finished painting.  Well, likely I'll collage and stitch, too, but even if I don't there should be some alteration.  I also thought about Jacey's comment about my expression.  As much as  I want to draw realistically for my own sake, I don't really want to create realistic art.  So on Saturday I tried something else.

I rather like this one.  It's still a little awkward, but I'm getting closer to something worthwhile.  I used the Johannot Art Paper for the print this time and it was also successful.  It didn't soak up the water as much as the Copperplate, I had to run it under the water multiple times for it to soften up, but it took the print nicely.