Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth St. Hilaire.
Elizabeth, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Meticulously torn bits of hand-painted papers, delicately put together, form the exceptionally vibrant collages created by Artist Elizabeth St. Hilaire. Richard Colvin, executive director of the Lake Eustis Museum of Art says, “Elizabeth St. Hilaire’s artworks have a fresh quality that belies the way they are constructed.”
St. Hilaire published her book Painted Paper Art Workshop internationally with North Light Books in August (2016). Elizabeth’s work has also been published in Acrylic Works 3: Celebrating Texture (2015) and Incite 2; Color Passions (2014), both by North Light. A feature article on her work appeared in the April, 2014 issue of The Artists Magazine, she was also a finalist in The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition (2014 and 2015) and took first place in the category of Collage/Mixed Media for The Artist’s Magazine All Media Competition (2010). St. Hilaire was an award winner in the National Collage Society’s Signature Members Exhibition at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, in Mesa AZ (2013). Online, Elizabeth was a Finalist in The Richeson 75 Annual Art Contest (2013).
Born and raised in New England, Elizabeth has lived in Central Florida for the past 20+ years. She holds a B.F.A. in Advertising Design from Syracuse University, which prepared her for a dual identity as both communication designer and a painter–these days she’s a full-time fine artist whose only graphic design client is herself. St. Hilaire has earned Signature Member status with the National Collage Society and crisscrosses the country several times a year to take her painted paper tidbits on the road. Teaching and sharing her collage technique through an intense three-day Paper Paintings workshop has become a passion.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My love of collage started with a scrap box of mementos from my childhood. These small sentimental pieces of my past came from my father, who rescued them from the attic. Stuffing these tidbits into a box beneath my bed seemed anticlimactic. I remember standing there, after my father left, looking at the hospital bill from my birth, my Mom’s nursing school graduation cards from 1967, and thinking what should I do with this?
I decided to find a way to incorporate these memorable papers, notes and snippets of my family’s past into something both memorable and beautiful. Thus, was born a representational collage “painting.” This piece, looking in on Jane (a portrait of my mother), won Best of Show for the first time at Orlando Visual Artists League in 2005, and for a second time at the Women’s Caucus for Arts’ Matriarchs and Madonna’s exhibit in 2007. The success of this piece plunged me head-first into my love affair with collage.
My technique has evolved through the years, as a result of experimentation with hand-painted, hand-made, and a wide variety of textured and patterned papers. Layering and weaving, pushing and pulling the colors, patterns, and values makes collage liken to a dance. I go back and forth, alternating and overlapping until the rhythm creates something I love. In my work I highlight the extraordinary within the ordinary, focusing on intense and vibrant colors combined with a sensibility of design. My collages invite the viewer to look, and having looked, to linger.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I think the broad reach of the internet has made it easier for artists today to sell and build an audience online. If you master social media as an artist, you can establish an online presence that takes the place of gallery representation of years past. As an established artist, I have built a Facebook following of 16K people and have a milling list of 2800. I manage to sell originals, fill workshops, and engage people in online classes.
I believe that cities should strive to have space for public art displays, so that more people can be exposed to original artwork. Not everyone makes it into an art gallery or museum, but love and appreciate for art can be fostered by placing artwork in spaces like libraries, City Halls, and other public spaces.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
PaperPaintings.com
My Art Journey:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bj-gallagher/elizabeth-st-hilaires-tor_b_9065824.html
My Creative Writing: Paper Paintings Blog
http://www.paperpaintings.com
Learn from Me: Workshops
https://www.facebook.com/pg/PaperPaintingsCollageArtwork/events/
My Art in Action:
https://www.youtube.com/user/NelsonCollage
See What’s on my Easel: Studio Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paper-Paintings-Collage-Artwork/136467439711754?ref=mf
Buy My Book: Painted Paper Art Workshop
http://www.paperpaintings.com/shop/
Contact Info:
- Address: 301 Nebraska Ave
Longwood, FL 32750 - Website: www.PaperPaintings.com
- Phone: 321-277-4553
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: 2StHilaire
- Facebook: Paper Paintings Collage Artwork
Image Credit:
©Elizabeth St. Hilaire
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