Collage is a great way to loosen up and experiment. It's also a great way to reuse unhappy paintings , photos, found bits and pieces and lovely treasures such as Japanese ricepapers. I'm painting on the works with watercolour , acrylic and ink.
Sometimes I start with a subject in mind , sometimes the subject begins to appear when I've been playing for a while.
Collage is a great tool when you've lost your artistic mojo , are tired , or just can't think where to begin ("white canvas paralysis syndrome").
So get out your scissors and paper , rip up some stuff and have fun!
PS. If you're going to be selling your collage work you need to ensure that your painting is made from archival materials- a great book to get you started is Nita Leland's "Creative Collage Techniques" .
PPS. This little guy will be singing on the wall at my exhibition "Painting with Words" in Marlborough in December (if he doesn't fly away before then ).