Creating backgrounds using poems
There are probably an infinite number of ways to create backgrounds or pieces for use in your art, especially if you’re into mixed media.
One of my favorite ways to create a background combines my love of poetry and art. I love finding a use for my favorite poems, incorporating them into my art, and writing them down. For some reason, I could write and re-write my favorite poems on paper over and over, probably for hours. This way I can write them down, use them and then have an actual excuse to do it all over.
I first start with a piece of paper, usually a colored one. Construction paper is fine or any lightweight paper.
Tan paper with Raw Sienna matte acrylic paint brushed on.
I might make marks on it with acrylic ink, maybe thinned with water. Any kind of mark making is good - using a brush, letting the stain spread naturally, drips, spritz the paper, etc.
Once dry, I completely cover the page in matte acrylic paint, thinned down with just a tiny bit of water. (I use DecoArt Americana from Michaels.) The goal is to spread a light layer that dries quickly and will show your brush marks and any original marks underneath. I find earth tones work particularly well with this technique - raw sienna, ochre, etc.
Finally, I use a dip pen and ink to write out a poem (you can also use a favorite book quote, song lyrics, etc.) Any permanent ink will work. I like to use a low contrast ink (e.g., earth colors on earth colors, dark blue on blue paint) which seem more flexible to me when it comes to actually using it in your mixed media piece. Acrylic, sumi, and manga ink or permanent / alcohol markers will all work.
TANGENT ALERT: Lately my favorite poem to use is “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti. It’s a great story with fantastic imagery. This poem is even more enjoyable after reading the novel Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers. In it, he imagines the entire Rossetti family is haunted by a vampire, with Goblin Market written as a warning to others of the dangers of accepting a vampire into your life. Some other poems I like to use are The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, and just about anything by ee cummings. For me, I love feeling the images and phrases roll around in my head as I physically write the poems down. And because I use a dip pen and ink, I can take my time, use old style cursive and really think about the phrases and images.
I know, you’re thinking we started with a mixed media technique and we wound up talking about vampires. That’s just the way my brain works. You just see how I write my personal book reviews.
Vampires aside…. sometimes instead of writing a poem, I’ve filled the page with freehand images, usually with acrylic ink.
Once everything is dry, you now have a piece of paper that already contains 2-4 layers of marks, media and textures. You can tear the pages up to use in pieces, cover a postcard with it as a background, glue is to a canvas or anything else you can imagine. Because they will be torn and covered up, you don’t have to be too precise or “precious” in creating them. In fact, imperfections make them shine all the more.
Below you can see the different stages of this process and the way I used it to alter a playing card for my 365 Challenge. I also like how the edges of the torn paper show up as a contrast against the paint color.
