Sometimes the most wonderful things happen by accident. Take the intricate, layered mixed media collages by Toronto based artist from Christine Kim for instance: they all evolved from one little mistake. One day Christine was creating a drawing and found herself with a figure that she planned poorly. She couldn’t use it anymore and wondered what she could do with it. In an attempt to save it she cut the figure from the drawing and carried it around in her studio. By placing the figure onto different surfaces she realized she was trying out a completely new style, and pursued the layered collage technique.
Christine mixes her realistic drawing style with elements she is fascinated by. If you look closely you’ll see a lot of her favorite objects pop up in her work: cathedral ruins, sacred geometry, decorative iron fences, peonies and lace. The intricate patterns of the architectural elements and lace look fantastic when they’re cut from paper; they bring a majestic element to the pieces. To add a touch of color to the picture Christine uses watercolor washes, all in her favorite muted tones. By her well considered placement and smart use of white space the collages never feel too overwhelming or swamped, even though she uses quite a lot of elements.
You can find more of Christine’s work on her website. Make sure to check out her paper orbs as well, they are amazing.
