I just wanted to let you know about the Paper Collage Workshops I have been hosting in my local area, Walthamstow, East London.

It was so nice to get a lovely small group of people together for this creative workshop. Over the past few years I’ve been increasingly drawn to starting my illustrations as paper collage elements. I begin by taping watercolour paper to my table, and mixing up gouache paint. I gather lots of brushes, sponges - or anything I think will make an interesting mark. Some of my kids art supplies are great for this!! I also use Windsor and newton inks. I usually start with wet paper - layering up the colour and letting the paints blend together.

Once the papers are dry, I will flatten them under some heavy books.

I’m now getting into the habit of scanning in the papers before I start cutting. These might come in useful when working on other artworks - you can never have enough textures.

In the workshop, I bring lots of my hand painted paper textures along - divided up into groups of cool and warm.

I find working with paper collage is such a good way of avoiding the fear of the blank page. It’s also an excellent way of playing without judging drawing ability. It’s about finding new combinations of colours and shapes - which I’ve found really liberating to not be trying to replicate something precisely. I think the results from this are much more fun.

Please get in touch if you would like to host your own workshop group, or to find out when my next workshop will be.

Siobhan x