I developed this way of working during the long dark Maine winters. Drawing inspiration from the late paper cut outs of Henri Matisse, I got out my acrylic paints and used water to thin the paint I filled sheet after sheet of drawing paper with painted color. These colored papers were the raw materials for my collages, and this is why I describe them as painted paper collages as compared withcollages made from magazines or other “found” papers.

Using my scissors as a drawing tool, I create shapes of color which can be arranged, re-arranged and fitted together. At times the paper is layered and at other times I carefully fit form against form. In this way, constructing a collage is more physical and concrete than pure painting. Sometimes I worked from a photograph or sketch of the landscape motif. On the other hand, some of my landscape collages are done from memory.