Sculpted Paper

My technique is very different to Collage and I will explain why. When I decide upon a subject I always draw it first. The next stage is to decide upon the colours needed and the paper type I will use. I tend to keep the same paper type for the whole subject I'm working on, as this gives uniformity and flow to the overall image. With my scalpel, I will carve out very fine slivers of paper until I have enough to start a section of the work. I usually pick these up with tweezers as they are tiny and delicate. I apply a coating of glue to an area and begin laying the pieces down, one by one, so gradually building up a 3D image. When the image is finally completed, the work is coated with Artists varnish to protect it. After allowing the work to dry, the entire image is cut from its drawn paper base, transferred and glued to its permanent mount, sometimes card, heavy paper, whatever is appropriate for it.