Art Supplies for Collage Artists

Today is the last day of the 4-part series on some of my favorite art supplies, divided by discipline:

1. Art Supplies for Painters
2. Art Supplies for Printmakers
3. Art Supplies for Art Journalers
4. Art Supplies for Collage Artists

So let's wrap this series up with art supplies for collage artists!

There are two main things to talk about with collage: paper and glue.  So let's start with paper.  The main papers I use are:

• Deli Paper & Wet Strength Tissue Paper - Both of these papers are thin, translucent when glued, and take a beating. Deli paper is cheap and not absorbent.  Wet Strength Tissue Paper is expensive and absorbent.
• Watercolor Paper (as a substrate) - I like to use 140lb watercolor paper. I usually buy a box of 9x12 paper.
• Sulphite Paper - It's thick enough to use for a substrate, but thin enough to collage well.  A real workhorse paper.
• Printer Paper (also called Bond Paper) - It's always around.  I don't love that it curls at the slightest provocation or that it's wrinkly when it collages, but I always have plenty and so I use it!

I paint/print most of my papers and most often reach for my gelatin plate and stencils to do so. 

Here's a video where I share the very basics of how to use a stencil on a gelatin plate:

The two main glues I use are:

• Matte Medium
• Soft Gel Medium Matte

The only other thing I'll throw out there is that I have a big plastic bin that I loooooove to use for holding my collage papers while I work.

Since I integrated it into my practice, it has made things much easier because my desk is so much less of a mess and all of my little scraps have a place to live. When it gets too full, I either put everything away where it actually goes or I make scrap packs!

I hope you enjoyed this series and found something new to try out and integrate into your artistic practice.

Thanks for stopping by!