Guest Designer: Elizabeth St. Hilaire

Hi, everyone! Elizabeth St. Hilaire here!

I have been creating hand-painted paper for my collage artwork for several years. I began painting my own paper when I realized that the decorative papers I had been purchasing at the art supply store were fading. At the time I began this process, I used simple techniques such as dry brushing, splattering, scumbling and mono-printing on Plexiglas. Over the years, my painting paper process has evolved and changed, grown and bloomed.

I often start by making solid prints on a large sheets of found papers with printing on them. For these, I am using an aeronautical altitude chart. I love this paper because it’s thin and sturdy, making it perfect for pressing between the fine laser cut decorative spaces of StencilGirl’s intricate products.

After I have successfully covered the majority of the paper with light colored, slightly overlapping solid squares, I begin layering stencils and found objects (such as leaves) onto the Gelli Plate. My second layers is only slightly darker paint than the first. Since the fluid acrylics are translucent I work from light to dark in my layers.

Utilizing more than one stencil (combined with a variety of found objects) helps to create a more interesting surface pattern. Oftentimes I layer one stencil over another for a unique effect. I move around the paper, shifting directions, not trying to line up any one layer with the next. This technique results in an interesting partial overlapping of layers, giving a more painterly effect to the final product.

As with everything in art, experimentation is key!

After all, the fun is in the experimenting!

Thank you for being a part of my art journey,

Elizabeth

http://paperpaintings.com/