collage clean up

Perhaps some background on my process w/ collage and then some examples.

First of all I print way too many pictures.  After all the digital work I want to hold something real in my hands, check how certain edits look in real life. Some I sell or gift away while the rest sit in drifts of white envelopes on my living room floor. 100's and 100's of photos.

Occasionally I pull them ALL out and start matching backgrounds to faces.   Backgrounds are 11 x 14, the portrait is hand cut from an 8 x 10.  For my last batch I used a forced choice method.... half because I don't think that far ahead, half because I want the random aha chance factor in the work.  Glue them together .... then re-scan them back to digital.  Then re edit to clean up finger prints, dust, etc.  As a part of the re editing I can make alternate (and often I think better) versions of the original collaged work.

A quick note on editing: I may have worked on the same image or a version of that image 10 times over the course of 4-5 years.  Many of my base photos have 20+ different versions.

One of my favorite backgrounds...old photo of train graffiti with the colors inverted... back to white, etc.  The flaming torso is a vastly blown up pic of a boy jumping.

thunder storm

Storm alternate

The alternate version.  A little less florid and also more distinct, more menace?