A Basic Lesson: On Paper

Who Says You Need a Pencil to Draw…?

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Today I’m going to show you a couple of simple things you can do with paper, because not all art is pencils and brushes and clay. There are, of course, more than a few mediums where paper is item one, like Paper Mache, but there is also the art of the paper cut-out, which, in advanced form, is known as Papier collé. Artists such as Georges Brache and Pablo Picasso explored the art form in the 20th Century, and the renowned artist Henri Matisse devoted a good portion of his final years to the art of paper cut-out, owing to his physical limitations and declining health. And if you know anything about early animation, you might also know that the director Terry Gilliam, of Monty Python fame, used paper cut-outs to form clever cartoons which linked the various Flying Circus sketches in any given episode of the show.

In modern application, scrap-booking enthusiasts employ this collage (some call it Decoupage) technique all the time. There are whole stores and sections of stores, like Michael’s, devoted to the craft. It’s a good, simple medium to play with if your previous attempts with drawing or painting haven’t gone as well as you would like. And, often, we creative types find we have to step away from our preferred medium and focus on something else for a time, so that we might reinvigorate our minds in favor of our…