Painted Paper Collage

I've been fascinated with the idea of collage since 2004 when I bought the picture to the right at an art gallery in Nairobi, Kenya. That artist (whose name I don't know) used bits of torn magazine to create this gorgeous picture of of African women picking coffee berries. Since making this purchase I've tried my hand multiple times at torn-magazine collage, but just wasn't happy with the results.

In early 2015, I saw the work of Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson for the first time. She's a collage artist who paints the papers for her amazing creations. Her work has the color and whimsy I love, and she's willing to share the process and the tools she uses to create her Paper Paintings. 

unknown Kenyan artist

12"x24" Mt. Rainier

The picture above is my first completed painted paper collage. It's been a learning experience, but I'm thrilled with the final product. The ephemera used includes a map of the Tacoma area from 1956, a three cent stamp, music, portions of a hand-written letter, a page from a dictionary, and much more. 

12"x12" Cup of Coffee

12"x12" Bright Flowers

After reading about Elizabeth's process, I realized that painting my own papers was the missing piece. Relying on what I could find in magazines was far less satisfying than getting messy with paints and seeing all of the papers I'd gathered come to life with potential. 

24"x12" Bird in Tree

The cup was my second attempt at this type of collage and the flowers were my third. I learned a lot on both, especially as I wasn't thrilled with either at first and had to keep layering colorful goodness until they were exactly what I was hoping for. All of the collages are done on birch panels with the pictures painted first in acrylics.

12"x12" Watermelon

The bird in the tree (his name is Elmer) was the first picture that I didn't collage completely and let part of the under-painting form part of the picture. The whimsy in this picture makes it my favorite so far.

The watermelon was completed on the first day of summer, which seemed appropriate somehow. I love the rich jewel-tones and the textured background, especially since it's so different from the others.

This little hummingbird is the smallest piece I've done to date, and smaller is definitely not easier. Those are some little feathers! The funny thing (at least to me) is that I tore so many more feathers than I needed that I'll have to make at least one more hummer to use them all!

6"x6" Hummingbird

12"x18" This Little Light

12"x24" Molly with Umbrella

The little girl making the big splash has taken longer to complete than any of my picture so far. From starting the underpainting to finished picture was exactly a year. Granted, the underpainting was tucked away and I didn't work on her for much of that year. She was every bit the challenge I imagined she'd be, and since the only way to make adjustments in a painted paper collage is to layer, this picture has some serious topography! In the end, she was worth the effort and I'm pretty much in love with her colorful personality. 

The candle also took about a year from beginning to end, mostly because I just wasn't sure how to do it. It turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected to show light overcoming darkness. To make this particular collage even more personal, the darkness incorporates some of my journal pages from a season of struggle and the candle was created from the sheet music for the song, "This Little Light of Mine" (detailed pic to the right).

Now the big question -- what will be next?