Matisse exclaimed, “It is the imagination that gives depth and space to a picture.”   For example in the student’s work to the left, they placed their symbols for the main design first.   Next came the free flowing imagination when they experimented with watercolors and water.  The student did not have a plan but put down the watercolors letting them flow together at will.   This ends up being the most striking thing in the composition and the least structured!   So if you are new to art or experienced try to add something free form.  You could just take a paper and paint it your favorite colors, then see what it inspires you to draw on top of it.   The sky is the limit, maybe try Matisse’s free form paper cut outs’ style of working.  You just need paper and scissors.

Matisse used scissors to create his paper cut collages.  I like to tell my students that he was creating shapes no one had seem before.   Matisse called it, “Painting with scissors”.  Matisse did this kind of art late in his life when it was hard for him to stand and paint.

Here is a link to him doing his cut outs :   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN0okOq8Hyc  

And another great video link of his cut out works and how he composed them, fascinating!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLgSd8ka0Gs