Layered Paper Cuttings - Louise Jenkins

Admiration of the British countryside and farm animals is evident in the color washed paper cuttings of illustrator/designer Louise Jenkins . She creates layered nature scenes in her home studio located in Worcestershire. The use of watercolor and gouache results in a contemporary folk art style.

Deciding which pieces to post was quite the challenge... as I clicked through Louise's deeply serene images I liked each and every one. The paper cuttings are composed of at least four layers to give the sense of a foreground and background. Often she creates a raised, textural effect by building up the line work with gouache.

It was only a year ago that Louise began paper cutting, which led to the discovery that it is what she loves doing most. Previously she was mainly illustrating and earlier, after graduating in 1997 from Staffordshire University with a degree in Ceramic Design for Industry and a Masters in Industrial Design, was the creator of many commercially successful patterns for porcelain companies.

While employed as Senior Designer for Royal Worcester, Louise produced the popular Jamie Oliver line of cook, table, and giftware. She has also designed for Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, and Spode.

Each cut paper work is individually created and original. Even if they are of the same subject, such as her whimsical hares, no two are identical. Find Louise's art in shops and galleries throughout the UK. By the way, the tiny piercings you'll notice in some of the pieces are done with a single manual hole punch and a big hammer. The embossed dots are gouache. Tedious work, but perfectly placed by an experienced ceramics artist!

Louise Jenkins also has a blog. [edit: Website and blog are no longer available, but she is on Twitter.]

And lastly a reminder to U.S. and Canada residents, the 5-copy GoodReads giveaway of the All Things Paper book ends this coming Monday, March 3.