A N O V E R V I E W T O T H E C R E AT I V E P R O C E S S

Elizabeth
St. Hilaire Nelson
Collage with Hand-Painted Paper

Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson earned a Bachelors

Degree in Fine Art and graduated with honors
from Syracuse University in New York.
She currently lives outside Orlando, FL with her
husband Doug, her two teenage children and
very small dogs.

What sets the collage work of Elizabeth

St. Hilaire Nelson apart is her use of unique,
one-of-a-kind, papers. Her signature collage
style utilizes papers colored by hand,
in every hue and texture needed for a
complete paper palette.
Only professional artists colors are used for
the under-painting and paper painting,
Golden brand fluid acrylics are fade resistant
and archival. Finished collages are coated with
ultra violet light stabilizing varnish for a final
protective layer that eliminates the need for glass.

View a full portfolio of the artists work at

PaperPaintings.com
Contact the artist via email at
Elizabeth@PaperPaintings.com
For workshop information and
work in progress, view the blog at
ElizabethStHilaireNelson.blogspot.com
Follow her Facebook studio page at
FaceBook.com/PaperPaintingsCollageArtwork
Finally, follow her musing as an Elite Blogger at
http://paperpaintings.growingbolder.com

2014 Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-304-80272-9
All photos 2014 Doug Nelson Photography

Thank You
I must extend heartfelt thanks to my
biggest fan and supporter, my husband
Doug. He spent hours filming and editing
my DVD only to be followed by hours of
taking most of the photographs for this book.
He professionally photographs all of my
artwork, cuts wood for me, watches the kids
when I attend art openings, solves storage
problems in my studio, and wakes up most
mornings to my side of the bed empty, as Ive
already headed out to my studio and started
my day making Paper Paintings.
I love you, Elizabeth

Left: 7 Koi (detail)

20x20 / collage on panel
St. Hilaire Nelson

Doug Nelson Photography

My technique has evolved and changed as a

result of experimentation with hand-painted,
Doug Nelson Photography

hand-made, and textured/ patterned papers.

Layering and weaving, pushing and pulling
the colors, patterns, and values makes the
collage process like a dance. Undulating,
alternating, and overlapping, until the rhythm
creates something I love.
In my work I highlight the extraordinary
within the ordinary, focusing on intense and
vibrant colors combined with a sensibility of
design. My collages invite the viewer to look,
and having looked, to linger.

St. Hilaire Nelson earned

a Bachelors Degree in Fine
Art and graduated with honors
from Syracuse University in
New York.
She currently lives outside
Orlando, FL with her husband
Doug, her children Emilie and
Connor, and two small dogs
Sam and Bella.

Backyard studio as featured in Cloth Paper Scissors

Magazine STUDIOS Spring Issue, 2010
Doug Nelson Photography

 St. Hilaire Nelson

THE SKETCH ON BIRCH PANEL

THE UNDER-PAINTING

What is a
Paper Painting?
A figurative, painterly collage is created by adhering
hand-painted, hand-made, and found papers over an
acrylic under painting on wood panel.
The overall impressionistic feeling of the work is
achieved by treating every bit of torn (not cut) paper
like an brush stroke, keeping details loose, and using
a variety of texture and shades of paper in every
color field.
Creating your own papers for collage offers a custom
paper palette with every shade of every color that
appeals to you, offering variety and inspiration.
Utilizing the same techniques that apply to painting
with acrylic or oil, the success of the work depends
on a firm understanding of shadinglight, dark, and
medium values coupled with brush strokes that
follow the form.
Often times, the viewer will be totally surprised that
this artwork is not a painting, but rather a mixed
media collage. Even up close, people will still ask,
You mean its not a painting?

Left: Un Petit Coq #1

24x20 / collage on panel
St. Hilaire Nelson

THE FINISHED COLLAGE

Doug Nelson Photography

Doug Nelson Photography

Doug Nelson Photography

Some samples of my natural toned art

store papers that I like to paint for
collage, fibers and lace cut patterns.

Fluid Acrylic paints are lightfast and permanent, an excellent choice for painting
your own collage papers. You can water them down extensively and they keep
the same level of vibrancy, making them excellent for dripping and splattering.

Why Paint Your Own

Collage Papers?
In the beginning, I used art store purchased papers in my
collage work. I found the most richly colored, textured,
patterned papers in the art store and I collected and
coveted them on every trip I took. On a trip to New York
City I must have spent over $100 on sheets of luxuriously
colored papers at the store Kates Paper.

To combat this dilemma, I started painting my own

papers. I use Golden Artist Colors Fluid Acrylic paints,
they are lightfast (resistant to fading) professional paints.
Painting my own papers offered me a whole new world of
possibilities of color, a perfect paper palette.

Blick Art Materials

What happened next was sad, but true. Most art store
papers fade! These papers are possibly colored with dye and
not pure pigment (the color that is the base of all fine art
paints and pastels). Dye fades over time, depending on its
exposure to sunlight. It will break your heart to see a collage
fading right in front of you, little by little, as the years go by.
At first you might not even notice it, until you look back at
a photo of the work on a note card or on your website, and
all of a sudden you realize that your original just does not
look as vibrant as it used to.

Rice paper comes on a roll in

Hosho, Kozo and Unryu

Papers for Painting

Blick Art Materials

Hosho Hosho is a traditional kozo

(mulberry fiber) paper that doesnt shrink or
tear easily, making it ideal for woodblock or
line printing. Hosho paper is sized.
Kozo Kozo rice paper is highly absorbent,
making it ideal for calligraphy and watercolor
painting. Kozo paper is not sized.
Unryu Unryu rice paper has been used for
centuries in Japan for creating Shoji screens
and is extremely strong, thanks to molded-in
fibers. Its excellent for calligraphy, sumi-e,
watercolors. Unryu paper is not sized.

Blick Art Materials

These acid-free Oriental papers are strong

and absorbent. They are made in the
centuries-old Japanese tradition. They
are white and natural tones which make
an excellent base for creating your own
brilliantly colored collage papers. All are
available at DickBlick.com

Yasutomo Ricer Paper Sheets

10-sheet assortment of fine
Japanese papers

Ricer Paper Sheets Hanshi Japanese

rice paper for brush writing or calligraphy
is mouldmade in the centuries-old Japanese
tradition makes excellent base for fluid
acrylics, available in sheets if you prefer,
versus a roll.

Thai Unryu offers

wonderful fibers which
tear very fluffy
edges
Blick Art Materials

Thai Unryu Long, swirling strands of

kozo provide contrast and texture in these
traditional style unryu papers. Lightweight
and translucent, choose from a range of
natural tones, perfect for painting your own
colors, textures, and patterns.

Blick Art Materials

Assorted Japanese Sheets You may

purchase a 10-sheet assortment of fine
Japanese papers from DickBlick.com. This
assortment includes two full sheets of Chiri
(sized), Okawara (sized), Unryu (not sized),
Kitakata (sized), and Mulberry (not sized).
A nice way to experiment and find which
papers work best for you.

Blick Art Materials

Fluid Acrylics available in 16, 8, and

4 oz. sizes. I suggest you test colors in
the 4 oz. size and buy your favorites in
the 8 or 16 oz. size for better value.

For glue application as well as

under painting, I prefer synthetic
filbert brushes, my favorite
is the #8.

Preferred Products
As I have mentioned, I prefer to use Golden
Fluid Acrylic colors to paint my collage papers.
These paints are lightfast, durable, and flexible.
They are wonderfully versatile, professional
quality acrylic colors with the consistency of
heavy cream.
Highly pigmented, their excellent tinting
strength produces strong color even when
mixed with acrylic medium or when thinned
with water for staining effects on book pages,
and memorabilia where you want to tint but not
obscure the type or pattern.
Golden Polymer Varnish with UVLS (Ultra
Violet Light Stabilizers) is a waterborne acrylic
polymer varnish that dries to a protective,
flexible, dust-resistant surface. I use this
product as my final sealant over collage.
NOTE: Polymer Varnishes must be thinned
before use. They have been formulated thicker
than traditional varnishes, to maintain an even
suspension of matting agents. This ensures more
consistency in surface reflectance.
Varnishes are available in a highly reflective
Gloss, and an exceptionally flat Matte. The
matte varnish will lighten dark value colors.

Blick Art Materials

Blick Art Materials

I prefer Golden
UVLS varnish in
a satin sheen, you
may like gloss or
matte, its a personal
preference. This is
the final protection
coating of the
collage which allows
it to be framed
without glass.

I use Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium

as my collage glue, its thick
and stays in place while I work
upright at the easel.

Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium is a high viscosity

medium, it dries to a crystal clear gloss finish
and makes an excellent collage glue. Translucent
when wet, it is transparent to translucent
when dry depending on the thickness of the
application.

Clear Primers for Wood Panels:

GAC 100 Universal Acrylic Polymer is the
product I use to seal my wood panels and
prevent support induced discoloration. It
offers a slick surface for the under painting,
preventing the paint from being absorbed into
the wood. I prefer a clear surface preparation
because it gives me the opportunity to leave
some of the wood striation and grain of the
panel showing through.
Liquitex Clear Gesso makes an excellent hightooth, stable surface for your under painting.
It dries clear to translucent, depending on
thickness. Flexible and non-yellowing when dry.

Doug Nelson Photography

In the Florida climate, I am lucky to

be able to paint my papers and bring
them outside the studio to dry in the
sun. I rest them on the grass and
later pick them up and sort them
according to color family.

Techniques for
Painting Papers

There is a table in my studio covered with a

large sheet of plexiglass for monoprinting. I
learned the hard way that if you let the paper
dry directly on the plexi, it sticks. Transfering
the painted papers to trash bags allows them
to be easily peeled off when dry. This process
can also create some interesting effects from the
crinkle pattern of the bag.
Beyond just tinting collage papers with fluid
acrylics, I have developed some interesting
techniques. To achieve texture and variety of
colors, I spatter, dry brush, and monoprint.
I start with Japanese Washi paper (white rice
paper, very absorbent) and natural tone art
store papers. The art store paper offers textures
and a variety of thickness. I also often buy
art papers with some printing on them (and
or glitter in them) that will show through the

Doug Nelson Photography

You can dilute fluid acrylics, spatter, splash,

blot into them, and they stay very intense in
their color. Its usually quite warm in Florida,
with a mild breeze, this is perfect weather for
letting the papers dry on the grass outside
the studio, if need be you can also let the
papers dry indoors on plastic trash bags.

Doug Nelson Photography

Every couple of months I pull out the paints,

a large sheet of plexiglass, paint brushes, and I
make myself a batch of custom colored collage
papers. My friend and fellow collage artist Jo
suggested that I try fluid acrylics, since they
retain their intensity when watered down. I said
to her, Jo, are they REALLY better? Because
they are REALLY expensive. Well she said
YES and I took her advice, guess what?
They are REALLY GREAT!

fluid acrylic applicationthis offers nice effect.

I also paint my kids old workbook pages, as
well as old book pages from used book stores,
maps, old check registers, addressed envelopes,
anything I can imagine would make good
collage material.
The sheets of paper above are an example of the
blotting technique. This is white Washi paper
purchased on a roll. I tear off a sheet and keep
it on hand to blot the excess drips and globs
of paint from the plexiglass between painting
other sheets! Let nothing go to waste. I can
also enhance the blotting feeling of this paper
by spattering some paint directly on to the
plexiglass and then blotting the Washi into it.
Not only does this technique clean your work
surface by absorbing all the leftover paint, it
also makes for some wonderful collage paper
when you get the color combinations right!

Painting directly onto the plexiglass

and pressing the paper into the paint
once, is very successful for thin
papers that cannot take overworking
with the paint brush

For a monoprint, I create a pattern with the

brush and fluid or full-body acrylics, painted
directly onto the plexiglass surface. Then,
I press the paper into the paint and pull a
print. This process is very good for showing
brush texture and interesting patterns.

Doug Nelson Photography

Monoprinting

You can monoprint first on white paper, let

that dry, and paint over it with watered down
fluid acrylic so that the monoprint shows
through.

Doug Nelson Photography

Experimentation is the name of the game.

Using colors that sit next to each other
on the color wheel, or analogous colors,
look pleasing together because they are
closely related. Orange, yellow-orange,
and yellow are an example of analogous
colors. Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh is an
example of a painting that utilizes this type
of color palette.

Doug Nelson Photography

Alternately, you can paint the paper a solid

shade first, let it dry, and then monoprint a
complimentary color in heavy body or fluid
acrylic.

Doug Nelson Photography

Dry Brushing
Above is a nice example of the dry brush
technique. First, I took this sheet of art
paper and dry brushed dark green onto it
with a dry brush dipped very lightly in fluid
acrylics, I zipped the brush lightly across the
sheet without much pressure. The nature of
this paper is very absorbent, so the ink sinks
right in and does not spread much.
Next, after letting the paper dry in the sun
for about 10 minutes, I took the paper
back into the studio and mixed up some
lime green (an analogous color on the color
wheel) with much water so that it was
very translucent. I quickly and completely
brushed this color over the top of the dark
green dry brushing, to cover all of this heavy
art paper.
The effect is a nice green toned paper with
much texture that would be very good for
grass or tree leaves.

Spattering
Take this outside, I learned the hard way
what a mess it is if you dont! You may use
a toothbrush and run your thumb across
it for a more fine spatter, or shake a large
brush full of diluted fluid acrylics for a bold
spatter. If you work wet in wet (spray down
your paper first with a water mist bottle)
spatter droplets of diluted paint onto wet
paper, they will bleed and spread nicely. If
you work dry, you will get a totally different
effect, spots with defined edges.

Doug Nelson Photography

Dry Brushing and Spattering offer unpredictable results,

experimenting is the only way to determine what will give you
results you can be happy with. Remember, you can always
tear out your favorite parts of the paper for your collage!

Doug Nelson Photography

Doug Nelson Photography

Doug Nelson Photography

Making the Most of

Art Store Papers
I gave up using colored art store papers due to
lightfast or fading issues. Now I only buy white or
natural papers and paint them with artists fluid or
full-bodied acrylics.

Top: White paper with silver swirls printed on it serves

as a great start to create custom colored versions.
Bottom: White patterning on white paper takes paint in
different ways.
Hint: Take your oversized art store sheet and divide it
into 4, or even 8 pieces, paint each one a different color.
Collage utilizes a variety of bits and pieces of paper, one
sheet goes a long way.

Doug Nelson Photography

Below: Art store papers come with some wonderful

printed patterns that you can take advantage of by
painting over with diluted fluid acrylics which will allow
the patterning to show through. Be sure to paint dark
colors over dark papers.

I do like to utilize the printed patterns that often

come on art store papers. The papers shown with
gold printing and iridescent patterning on them were
purchased on a trip to Binders Art Supply in Atlanta.
Whats fun about painting these types of papers is
that the pattern resists the fluid acrylic (not so much
the full-bodied unless its very diluted) paint, and
you still have the printed pattern PLUS the benefit of
your own custom painted color palette.
The gold patterned paper (opposite page) started out
brown, I painted some brown, some red, some blue
and some purple. I stayed with dark colors because
the paper started out dark. The iridescent paper
started out white, so it was a wonderful starting
point for any color I wanted! This paper was thin, so
I used sheet music underneath it to catch the extra
paint, and the end result was a bonus!
I purchased these art store papers in person, you
can also buy similar types of papers, if not the same
ones, from DickBlick.com, I like Blick because they
take PayPal.

Judith Segall

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Freckles (detail) hand made paper really captures the texture

of the cows nose.

Hand Made Paper

I use many of Judys papers in my collage work.

Over the years weve become good friends and
collaborating artists. Judy and I shared a show
together at Steinway Piano Galleries in Orlando, our
work goes hand in hand and shows well together.

Judith Segall

Often times people ask me if I make my own paper

for collage. With all the WORK involved, I cant even
imagine! I have an artist friend in a neighborning
town who makes 100% cotton hand made paper in
every color of the rainbow (photo left).
Pressing out excess liquid from a sheet of hand made
paper on top of a screen.

Interested in purchasing some of these wonderful papers,

or learning how to make your own in a workshop?
Contact Judy via email: JudyOrlando@CFL.rr.com

Judith Segall

Hand made paper is an artistic process all of its own!

When I use these papers in my collages, I know
they are extra special and luxurious. I make sure
these papers are in a prominent place in my work,
knowing what care and labor went into making
them!

Pulling the sheet from the vat of slurry

Doug Nelson Photography

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Work Space
My studio was built on an existing slab in our
backyard where a long-gone shed once stood. The
slab sat there looking lonely and without purpose
for many years.
My studio is just outside the back door from my
kitchen and down a cobblestone path. I can run
out there and put a coat of varnish on a collage
between loads of laundry, designing a magazine
layout, and making dinner. I would never be able
to be as productive without my studio space; I can
make a mess and leave it, closing the door behind
me. Its the most efficient use of time and space.
Oftentimes I am out there very late at night and
very early in the morning, working on my art with
my dogs at my feet and my family fast asleep in
the house. I can play my music and turn on all the
lights without waking anyonethis quiet time is
my inspiration.

In addition to the easel, I use my table top for painting

paper, varnishing pieces and framing, here are some sheets
of Judys hand made paper on my cutting mat.

St. Hilaire Nelson

My favorite studio organization piece is a kitchen

cart on wheels. I have three sets of clear plastic
drawers stacked on top of the cart so that they are
easily accessible while I work at my easel.
(I prefer to stand and do my collages rather than
sit at a table) I divide my hand painted papers by
color family and the clear plastic allows me to see
which colors of paper I have in each drawer. When
I know I will be spending some significant time on
an area of one color, I take that drawer out and put
it right next to me.

I organize my painted papers in clear drawers according to color, I have them on top of
a rolling cart in my studio so that when I work at the easel, they are easily accessible.

Doug Nelson Photography

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Making a Mess
If you can afford some space to call your own, it
makes all the difference in the world. I am very
fortunate to be able to create a mess of torn paper
and be able to close the door and walk away when
I am done for the day.

Doug Nelson Photography

In the past, I have worked in an extra bedroom,

and in a corner of the garage. Being creative means
having your work accessible at all times so that when
inspiration strikes, you can jump right in. You dont
need an ultra fancy space, I have an artist friend who
works in a storage unit!

 St. Hilaire Nelson

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Step One:
Surface and Sketch
When framing my work in traditional molding,
I work on 1/4-inch sanded hardwood panels for
available at The Home Depot near me in pre-cut
pieces (24x24 or 24x48). These pre-cut pieces can
then be cut down to smaller sizes by HD (no smaller
than 1ft.) or by you with elbow grease and a utility
knife with a new blade.
This is THINwood, not standard plywood. As an
alternative to having to cut wood, a product I really
like is American Easel Wood Painting Panels. These
pre sanded panels are available at DickBlick.com.
These gallery wrapped wood panels can be hung
without frame molding, or they sit very nicely in a
floater frame.
The reason I work on wood versus canvas is simple,
you can push the glue into and against the wood
without experiencing give. Stretched canvas does
not offer enough resistance for some of the thicker,
more highly textured papers which require more
pressure and more glue. In addition, wood resists
warping, especially the boxed panels. Since I do not
frame under glass, warping can be an issue with any
matt board or foam core type of substrate.

Some basic cross hatch style shading can be helpful

when determining the darks.

HINT: I use Faber-Castells 9000 series pencils for

sketching, they are a mixture of graphite and varnish
and this helps to prevent the sketch from smearing
when you apply the clear primer over it.

Blick Art Materials

I seal the wood with Golden GAC-100 or Liquitex

Clear Gesso. The gesso has more of a tooth, which
is good for sketching but bad for erasing. The GAC100 is pretty slick, which is bad for sketching, but
good for erasing. My solution: sketch on the raw
wood, then prime with either clear primer over the
pencil sketch.

American Easel Wood Painting Panels are a

wonderful pre sanded gallery wrapped surface.
I like to seal them with a clear product and leave
some of the wood grain showing through the collage.

 St. Hilaire Nelson

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Step Two
The Under Painting

I use fluid and full-bodied acrylics for the under

painting. When I do drippy, splattered backgrounds,
I use strictly fluid acrylics thinned with water or
acrylic medium or both. I like leaving the wood
striation and grain showing through these drippy
areas. When letting the wood show through, Ill
either leave it natural, or stain it with a diluted
yellow/gold/ochre fluid acrylic.
Dont spend tons of time laboring over your under
painting Do use it as an exercise to help you
determine where your values are and what colors
you will use in your collage. Sometimes Ill paint the
under painting the color wheel opposite color of the
collage paper I intend to use on top, letting some of
that color show through between the pieces, this can
be an interesting effect.

St. Hilaire Nelson

Under painting for one of a Bird Series,

keeping it simple is the key.

Under painting for Finish Your Veggies

leaving some pencil line and some raw
wood showing through.
St. Hilaire Nelson

After the sketch comes the under painting, this

painting should not be ultra detailed. I use the under
painting process for two reasons: 1) I like to block in
all my colors so that when I apply the paper over the
top, if any spaces are left between bits of paper, the
color of the painting is there, rather than the color of
the wood. 2) It is in the under painting process that I
work out my values, what is light, dark, and medium
tone. I also work out my colors. Its much easier and
quicker to work out these challenges with paint than
to have to work and rework the collage. Once I get
the values and colors to my liking, I let the painting
dry completely over night.

I tell my students, Dont fall in love with your under

painting! Do not take this to a level of finish detail
that you love so much, you will not want to apply
collage over the top.
Left: I will leave the drippy background
on this under painting in the final piece.
Sealing with GAC-100 or Clear Gesso
allows the fluid acrylic to roll right down
the wood and not absorb into the surface

Under painting for Paradise Found

block in basic colors, determine shadows
and highlights, dont go into fine detail,
save that for collage.

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Step Three
The Collage Application

Demonstrating the collage application, pressing

the glue with my favorite #8 filbert synthetic
brush, the wood does not have any give, and
provides a firm surface for pushing the glue into
stubborn, or thick handmade papers.
Left: Finish Your Veggies (detail, in progress)
Doug Nelson Photography

Working in small areas, apply Liquitex Gloss Gel

Medium to the wood panel and then lay your torn
piece of paper into this thin layer of glue (thicker for
more textured and handmade paper) then brush a
second layer of glue overtop of that piece of paper.
Apply glue and paper in this under, over technique
as you add more papers. The over layer provides you
with a sticky surface for your overlapping pieces and
helps the paper to adhere without bubbles to the
wood panel. Pressing the papers firmly with the glue
brush will help to eliminate buckling.

Sandra Baker-Hinton

The photo at the left shows the beginning of collage

paper being applied over an pencil sketch with the
under painting. You can see that all pieces of papers
are torn, I never cut with scissors. I treat each piece
of paper as a brush stroke, therefore I do not want any
hard edges. Even when I do small birds, I create the
pupil with a teeny piece of torn black paper, I even
tear the highlight!

Natures Gold / 12x12 / collage on panel

St. Hilaire Nelson

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Directional Ripping
and Shading
Directional ripping is basically following the
form of an object with pieces of collage paper
that have been torn into shapes that also
mirror that form. Practice this technique by
creating round objects like an apple, focus on
shading and creating a feeling of roundness.
You can see the apple at the left has a feeling
of roundness for two reasons: 1) Shading 2)
The collage papers are torn in a semi-circular
shape, and they wrap around the form of the
apple. Larger, rounded pieces are layered in
the center area of the apple which is closest
to the viewer. Smaller, thinner crescent
shaped pieces are around the edges and in
the areas that are further from the viewer.
The apple exercise is the first thing I teach
in my workshops. Once you get a feeling
for following the form of the apple with
directional ripping and shading you will
realize that this form of collage is much like
painting.

Coffee Break (detail) Round items offer excellent

practice for defining form and volume in collage. Tearing
papers in semi-circular shapes and wrapping them around
the form helps the student to understand directional
ripping.

 St. Hilaire Nelson

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Du Coq a lAne (detail) White shading should be

approached with different colors of white paper and text,
smaller text is more dense and appears darker, larger text
can appear lighter.

Whites
Here you can see that directional ripping plays
a major part in defining the form of the cows
face, which does not offer much shading in the
pure white areas. The semi circular pieces follow
up and around the eyes and brow bone area,
the straight pieces come down the center of the
nose, the short spiky pieces form the tuft at the
top of the head, and rounded pieces help to
make the cheek and jowls feel full.
White values are tough to shade, I like to use
text and variety of paper color for this purpose.
Not all whites are the same, different book
pages are different shades of white, old books
offer a nice yellow white, whereas new books
offer brighter white. White can also be shaded
with text. Small body copy that is close together
appears darker than large headlines where the
text is more spread apart. Utilize both paper
color and text density to help you shade your
white on white areas. Utilize your directional
ripping to help define the form in your white on
white areas that do not offer a lot of shading.
Left: Sheepish
20x24 / collage on panel

Once paper is coated back and front with the

Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium, it becomes archival
as each piece is sealed off from the one above
it and below it, as well as sealed off from air
oxidation. A final coating of Golden UVLS
acrylic varnish will seal and protect the collage.

Poised Peacock / 20x24 / collage on panel

St. Hilaire Nelson

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Blue (detail) was created with some collage papers that a friend had made in a class, and never used. I bought her lunch and
she handed over this wonderful stained paper with the word blue all over it.

Related Materials
It can be a lot of fun to try to find printed material
related to your subject, and use it in your collages. I
have found a book of nursery rhymes to be a wonderful
resource for all of my barnyard animals.
Purchasing books especially for the occasion can
be worth while as well. For my peacock series I did
purchase a book of stories about birds, it offered me
pages of text with words like nest and birds and even
peacockand feathers.

Trading papers with other collage artists also opens up

a world of opportunity. Often times others will create
papers in colors and with techniques that you would
not have considered or have not yet attempted, this
brings new papers into your palette and opens up your
creativity.

Report Card Rooster (detail) I created

this piece for our kitchen, utilzing childhood
ephemera from my husband and I.

St. Hilaire Nelson

Flea markets, yard sales, and eBay offer all kinds of

materials that can be wonderful for collage: sheet music,
postage stamps, old letters, cancelled checks, vintage
childrens books, foreign language books, and on and
on. To be a good collage artist, you must be a good pack
rat! The key is organizing these materials so that you can
find them when you need them.

St. Hilaire Nelson

Nothing is off limits when it comes to materials you can

include in your collages, remember to stain and tint
them with fluid acrylics to offer a variety of colors.

Here Boy! (detail) Postage stamps can be

related to your subject matter as well

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Compositional
Considerations
Collage is a busy medium, there are lots of
competing elements, between the viewer trying
to read the related materials, to the multiple
textures and colors and variety of sizes of torn
pieces. Because of this, the most successful
compositions are simple. Consider one large
point of focus with a simple background.
Choose a large vase of flowers, the head of a
cow, one bird on a branch... Make your point of
focus the thing with the most detail and let the
rest be simple.
When creating an area of color, be sure to use a
variety of different shades of that color as well as
different papers. Do not create an area of brown
entirely of one brown paper, this is nowhere
near as exciting as a variety of textures and
shades of brown as in the Contented Cattle II
on the left.

Un Petit Coq (detail) Here you can see that

the fields of green and red are made up of many
different shades and textures of red paper.
The shapes are simple, the barn and the green
horizon let the rooster become the main point
of focus. HINT: I always use orange as my
highlight for red.
Left: Contented Cattle II
24x20 / collage on panel
St. Hilaire Nelson

St. Hilaire Nelson

St. Hilaire Nelson

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Chanticlear framed without glass

in reclaimed barn wood, handmade
by Owen Tomlin in Kentucky.
24x20 / collage on panel

Final Varnish Coat

I frame my collages without glass and without
matting. I do this because I want them to be
considered paintings, hence the name Paper
Paintings. After applying two coats of Golden
UVLS acrylic varnish, you can put your wood
panel directly into frame molding. This glass
free framing allows the viewer to experience
all the texture of the various papers you have
usedthick and thin paper, book pages and
handmade paper. Without glass, the varying
thickness of the papers is more apparent since
the light reflects off the collage and not the
smooth surface of the glass.
When applying UVLS varnish, work in a well
ventilated space and be very careful not to over
brush. Over working the varnish will cause it
to get cloudy and it will dry that way. You want
to brush the varnish while it is wet (not when it
is half way dry) working quickly but steadily. If
you brush too fast, youll create air bubbles that
will dry into the varnish. Brushing varnish over
highly textured papers often cause air bubbles
to form and the best way to get rid of them is
to inspect for them, find them, and blow on
them while the varnish is wet. This will pop the
bubbles and will not involve over working the
varnish coat with the brush.

UVLS varnish has UV light protection and is

something you need to make sure you use, there
are varnishes which do not have UVLS and these
should be avoided. Allow varnish to dry totally
and completely before applying the second coat.
Collage is very forgiving, if you find that your
varnish has clouded in an area due to over
brushing or even if you decide there is a part of
the art that you do not like after it is varnished,
you can always go back in with your Gloss Gel
Medium and put another collage layer over
the problem area, let it dry, and re varnish the
whole piece. I do not recommend varnishing
small areas, Id rather see you put a full coating
over the whole piece for an even surface. This
re-working is successful because the varnish and
the gel medium are both acrylic based products,
they work hand in hand with each other.
I have changed the color of the entire
background of a piece after it was varnished
because I decided that it just wasnt working!
And I HAVE overworked my varnish and
clouded it! The best thing about collage is that
you can always add another layer.
Right: Here Boy!
24x20 / collage on panel

 St. Hilaire Nelson

Doug Nelson Photography

Collage Supplies, A Helpful List:

Variety of hand painted papers, maps, wallpaper, newspaper, personal
memorabilia, multi pack of handmade papers from scrap book or art supply store
variety of thickness and textures. Washi or Unyuri (rice) white papers with and
without fibers/texture. DickBlick.com, PaperStudio.com or local art supply store.
1/4-inch sanded plywood panels for support, available at Home Depot pre-cut
in 24x24 or 24x48, can also be cut down to smaller sizes by HD (no smaller
than 1ft.) or by you with elbow grease and a utility knife with a new blade. This
is THINwood, not standard ply. OR AMERICAN EASEL WOOD PAINTING
PANELS, DickBlick.com.
Golden GAC-100 Acrylic Polymer or Liquitex Clear Gesso, pre-seal your wood
panels before doing your under-painting
Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium, this is the collage glue
Filbert style paint brushes in a variety of small to medium sizes for under
painting and applying glue, I use cheap synthetic ones, abuse them and then throw
them away! HINT: I use The Masters Brush Cleaner to keep my brushes soft and
clean as well as to extend the life.
Vessel for water, keep the glue brush in the water if you step away from your
work, the glue dries fast.
Paper towels for cleanup, I like VIVA brand
Golden Polymer Varnish UVLS (ultra violet light stabilization)

Elizabeth St
. Hilaire Nelso
n /

ntings

roach to
-pr inting,
ng. Youll
pers with

paration,

Watch a stop-action sequence of a blue bird collage

with over 450 steps, building the image up from step
one to a finished piece.

wo rks in col
lag e

The DVD may be purchased online:

Elizabethsthilairenelson.Blogspot.com
or: PaperPaintings.com

Elizabeth St
. Hilaire Nelso

Collage with

Hand-Painted

Paper

Workshops
I teach collage workshops all over the country
and would love to have the opportunity to meet
fellow collage artists! I offer a variety of time lines
including half-day through three-day sessions.
Visit my blog for a listing of upcoming workshops:
Elizabethsthilairenelson.Blogspot.com
Students in Amelia Island, FL enjoy
painting their own collage papers and
pose for a photo at the end of a threeday collage workshop.

gs

intin
er Pa

- OCTOBER

Pap

COLLAGE PROCES
OVERVIEW
Books and DVDs

the book
NEW-ish! now both
vailable as a
and the DVD are a
my website store.
DOWNLOAD from

click>website store
EW
AN OVERVI

ESS
AT I V E P R O C
TO THE CRE

Elizabeth St. Hilaire

Nelson

Paper Paintings
collage
works in

Solo Exhibition in
k
Key West, New Wor

on White to
January brings Walk
y on White
the Stone Soup Galler
I am one of their
Street in Key West.
round, but this is
stable artists year
solo exhibition.
the month of my
g on
I am feverishly workin
of new work
producing 17 pieces
have a couple of
for the show. I do
on if I do not
pieces I can fall back
first week of
make the 17 by the
is to send the
January, but my goal
themed work
gallery all Key West
I can do it.
if
work,
and all new
dodging roosters
If you find yourself
your way to the
in Key West, make
my collages.
gallery to check out
Oh! roosters.....

click>gallery of new

work

hop
works
PS:

Sedona, AZ Bell

12x24
Butterfly Lighthouse,

y
lasNelsonPhotograph
Rock Pathway, Doug

HO
upcoming WORKS

LICENSING
r
2014 Lang Calenda le

now availab
Wall calendars are
along with gift
online at Lang.com
artwork such as
items sporting my
cards, they
travel mugs and note
ideas!
gift
make great

Join me in my

mber 1/2/3
Sedona, AZ Nove
you have never
planet, Sedona. If

favorite place on the

Sedona offers
the heart and soul.
been, its a treat for
center, as well as
and a fabulous art
Theres
many art galleries
ING views of red rocks.
great food and AMAZ
vortexes to
and
,
hiking
,
also mountain biking
Tour to take in
miss the Pink Jeep
a has to
be experienced! Dont
about what Sedon
more
Learn
views.
the best
offer on my blog.

click> my stuff on

click>my blog
ation
click>workshop inform

Lark Art Opening

you can
Did you know that
any image
purchase just about
on canvas, over
of mine as a print
er bars? Visit my
extra deep stretch
images or
recent
for
online gallery
st of a specific
email me with a reque some ideas.
you
subject and Ill send

click>email me
click>my website

with
art
HEART

book and
Get a copy of the
help support Cherie:

Sedona

mber 1 While in be hosted

Sedona, AZ Nove
again
Center, I will once

with the Sedona Art

the HOZHO
as and Catherine in
by my friends Dougl
way to check out
Artwalk is a great
Center. First Friday
Stop by and say
and shops in town.
ever created,
other local galleries
largest colages I have
the
of
one
see
Series.
hello,
from the Noahs Ark
along with many pieces

ry
click>Lark Art Galle

Lang.com

GICLEE PRINTS
Wrapped Canvas

EFFORT
A FUNDRAISING
designed by Elizabeth
St. Hilaire Nelson

RAISE FUNDS
coffe table art
Preview this great
funds for a
book that helps raise
friend in need.

Francesca Tabor-Miolla

d
mage

Learn about hand painting your own collage papers,

surface preparation, products, tips and collage
application techniques.

Paper Paintin
gs

ketch

This instructional DVD demonstrates St. Hilaire

Nelsons collage process from sketch to completion
and includes a portfolio of work at the end.

Collage with
Hand-Painted
Paper

a result
dring and
terns,
ack and
hythm
he viewer

Collage Overview DVD

321-277-4553
ejnelson@mac.com
PaperPaintings.com

Social Media
Please visit my facebook page for work in
progress, tips and tricks, exhibition updates,
workshops, and news. Facebook.com/
PaperPaintingsCollageArtwork

Newsletter
Email me: ejnelson@me.com with Newsletter in the
subject line, Id be glad to add you to my mailing list
for the monthly Paper Paintings newsletter. Or sign
up via automated form on my website or blog.

ISBN 978-1-304-80272-9

90000

Elizabeth
St. Hilaire Nelson

Collage with Hand-Painted Paper

elizabeth@PaperPaintings.com | PaperPaintings.com

9 781304 802729