Having worked digitally for many years I felt a longing to work more directly with my hands again. It began with paper collage (the joy of playing with composition and butting shapes up to one another until I found the perfect aesthetic resolution) and lead to abstract mixed media painting.

 

I always begin with play, making marks and shapes using paint, crayon and pencil, then I become much more structured and analytical, looking at the space and differences in tone and colour. I add papers to create structure and build the space. I’m drawn to soft palettes and slight tonal differences, white on white, delicate pencil. But I also love a flash of strong colour.

 

I usually work in a series, so the works play off on each other, influencing my direction.

​

For series 5, I wanted to explore the juxtaposition between solidity and translucency, delicacy and strength, using papers as glaze to alter the opacity. It gives the work a certain depth and lots to explore.

​

To view more paper collages please visit my Saatchi store here.