Paintings with Collage

Most of the collage elements in my paintings are salvaged scraps from discarded paintings, recycled to work in a new composition. At times, I have painted black and white shapes to become elements in a painting. My visual poems are also used as collage, as well as fortune cookie fortunes. When using existing papers, it is sometimes origami papers, gift wrap paper, newspaper clippings, pages from an Asian calendar, or night sky charts. Whatever the collage element, it becomes an integral part of the painting and could be painted over and over, glazed with translucent color, or become a ground for sgraffito. The collage element loses most of its individual identity and becomes a part of the painting.