For about a year, I’ve been working quite a bit on making animal art out of paper. The first animal collages, I made seven years ago when I lived in my apartment in Austin, TX.
This is a bird collage I made in the fall of 2015:
After working on and off with paper for about seven years or so, I’ve enjoyed getting handmade paper at Two Hands Paperie in Boulder and coloring the paper with iridescent watercolors in order to make these animals. The paper is a good deal because it is made of recycled t-shirts. The watercolors are all handmade - I utilize Coliro watercolors, iulie watercolors, and Emily Grace Palettes to make these.
The effect is very shiny! I love how these look when I walk past them, or when the light falls across each one and the iridescent watercolors light up. It’s iridescent watercolor on black or dark paper, and yet it’s so bright!
It’s been great to make bookmarks of both birds and cats lately. Here is what the cats look like before they go into sleeves.
And finally, what menagerie would be complete without dragons? I love making these ‘Mountain Dragons’ surrounded by colorful planets.
I’ve been having fun making my classic striped cats on canvas too!
Collage is always an act of decisions, and making these paper animal collages is one of my favorite things to do.
