Eileen Downes

So to mix it up a little, my next artist, Eileen Downes, does "torn-paper paintings." This technique gives the pieces a mosaic feel, and seems very similar to the tissue paper pieces of the artists I have looked at previously on this blog (which I highly recommend looking at if you have not already). 

On her website Downes says that she works with the colors and words that are already on the torn pieces of paper. That is really cool. Not only can she express a message through the actual images that are created, but she notes how she can reinforce the message through the visible words, too.

Plum-Colored Pumps

I like the look of the pieces, not just the fact that they look like mosaics, but that they do not look perfectly "clean." As seen particularly in pieces like "Water Lilies" and the butterfly piece above, the edges of the actual picture are not clean cut. The petals and leaves go off the "edge" and the same with the butterfly's wing.

Water Lilies

I wanted these to be extra large so you (and I) could get a better look at them. I wish I could have seen them in real life. There would have been so much texture that this photo of the piece doesn't do justice to showing. In regards to specifically where she gets the paper that she uses for the collages, on her site she says, "Often I use unusual collage materials such as band-aids, gum and candy wrapers, hierloom family photos and sentimental letters from which to create my layered images."That's cool. :)

-Maria

http://www.eileendownes.com/home.html  <-- check out her sight! I found her info and pictures on it