Abstract Paper Collage

birch panel, acrylic paint, bristol paper

Lesley’s piece, Paper Collage, was the first of such done. In a class, she learned the technique, beginning with her inspiration she created to work from—a still life with fruit and foliage—and asked the artist to paint abstract designs on Bristol paper. These designs were then copied onto good quality copy paper, then torn into the shapes of her still life to be collaged.

With careful attention to color and value arrangements in her abstracted, ripped fragments, the mood across the piece changes, as if zoned with the fruit or foliage for which it stands. The fruit to the far left looks ethereal and illuminated, while the foliage on the far right is disorienting and visually manipulating. The foliage in the upper center, with its earth tones, has a muted familiarity that feels natural. The fruit below, while not as blinding as that on the far left, is jarringly artificial.

Lesley has created disparate patterns, tones and colors. Yet, while segregated, Lesley leans into the chaos, filling each space with a collaged fragment of abstract design that, in over-saturating the surface, gives a normalcy to an utterly abnormal still life.

Lesley’s experimentation with a new medium fits within her eclectic and exploratory oeuvre. She is able to create a stasis through chaos—a seeming contradiction, but achieved through a skillful balance of eye-catching elements across space.