Animal Collages

Goldfish Pond by collage artist Megan Coyle
Megan Coyle. Goldfish Pond.

Collages are often made by assembling different pieces of fabric or paper to create a finished work of art. Often times when we think of collage, we think of art that includes several complete objects or images that were pulled from photographs or magazines. Take a look at an example of this.

Megan Coyle is a collage artist who makes collages entirely from magazine strips. She takes a stack of magazines, some glue sticks, and a pair of scissors, and cuts out pieces of color and texture as opposed to complete, recognizable images. She cuts the paper into different shapes of color to match the shapes of shadows and highlights she sees when looking at different animals and settings. Take a look at the different shapes of highlights and shadows in this image.

When you make a collage, you can layer paper with different colors and textures from images in magazines. Take a look at a detailed image of this. This means you don’t just have to search for solid colors when working on a collage – you can include patterns too. By using a mix of solid colors and textured colors, you can create an interesting surface.

Take a look at some of the animal collages Megan Coyle has made:

What do the collages above have in common? What did you notice about Coyle’s portrayal of each animal?

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