Growing up, my family used to drive to vacation destinations rather than take airplanes. We had to pull off the highway many times, pull out and unfold the large paper roadmaps to find our route.

Should we take the route through the mountains or should we go by the water?

As wonderful as GPS is now, thinking about looking at those old maps was really kind of cool.

It gave you so many alternatives that you could see directly, so you had lots of choices as to which way you wanted to go.

In my abstract painting I often use collage papers as a guide to help me visualize where I want my painting to go.

When I’m not sure what my next move is, I put out several of my restaurant trays that hold my collage papers on my studio table and then scan them for either a shape that interests me, a pattern that seems like it might work, or a color that would be the perfect fit.

I’ll hold one of the papers in front of the painting and move it all around and pay attention to where my intuition is leading me.

Do I want to make a certain area stand out with contrast, or do I want to create subtlety?

For the time being, while I’m trying to decide where to put the collage paper, I’ll put a piece of tape on the back of the paper and stick it to the canvas in the place I think might work best.

Once I’ve added several pieces, I like to stand back and assess if I’m ready to glue them down.

This process of trying different routes to get to a pleasing place with my painting reduces any fear I might have of making a mistake.

I can see the painting design exactly and say either “yes” or “no” to the collage paper placement.

If you’d like to watch me demonstrate this technique on one of my abstract paintings, then take a look at my new YouTube video HERE.

I love this technique of trying things out before committing to something in particular.

So...I invite you to decide your path in this way in your next creative project and see if it’s as helpful to you as it is to me.

Sending you a world of love,

Adele

* Click HERE to learn about the Art with Adele Academy.

* Click HERE to get my FREE minicourse, “Kickstart Your Abstract Painting.”

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