old collage(s)

I haven't done much new art lately. Here are some collages from collage class, about a year ago:

I mostly had fun in that class, letting the material I found guide me, just juxtaposing things with some connection or opposition. That's not really an original strategy. I found that the simpler I made things, the better. I believe the main impression from my collage work comes from the 'cool' factor of old magazines I used. There wasn't much intervention coming from me.

The course outline mentioned "collage thinking", and I interpreted this as suggesting possibilities for non-glue-and-scissors collage. I think the drawings I've made recently are what I mean. They are pen and ink drawings, but I used source material from photos (I usually don't) and embellished them with elements from my imagination, or other photos. I used a variety of resources, but because the whole thing is drawn with the same ink, there is a cohesiveness.

Another lesson I might have learned from this collage idea is that taking away something can be as neat as adding it. But I never have that kind of restraint - to leave a figure unfinished, without a face, for example. Or to draw a background with an empty spot where the figure should be.