AUTUMN COLLAGE

This simple paper-cutting make results in an eye-catching seasonal artwork.

You will need

Pencil Scissors 5 sheets of A3 cartridge paper Old plate

(for mixing paint) System 3 Acrylic Paint: Crimson, Lemon Yellow, Cobalt Blue and White Acrylic retarder gel (available from Cass Art; cassart.co.uk) Newspaper

Flat, medium, wide-area hog hair paintbrush Small paintbrush

Kebab stick Scalpel/craft knife and cutting mat PVA glue or glue stick Large sheet of card

To make

Draw and cut out a bird shape from cartridge paper.

Mix red, yellow and a small amount of blue acrylic paint to create a red/brown, then add a blob of gel

retarder. Over a newspaper-covered surface, load a wide-area paintbrush with colour and paint the top half of the bird. Using light brush strokes, apply colour to the bird’s feet.

Add more blue to the mixed paint so it becomes a dark brown/blue-black. With the small paintbrush, paint the thrush’s breast using diagonal broken brush strokes. Paint a dot for the bird’s eye and fill in the beak.

To make the painted papers for the leaves and acorns, create a selection of autumn colours by mixing varying proportions of yellow and blue to make different shades of green; red and yellow to create oranges and bright reds; red and blue for dark reds and purples; red, yellow and a little blue and a little white to make various browns.

Add some gel retarder to each colour.

Paint horizontally or vertically in a chosen colour on to a sheet of cartridge paper with the wide-area paintbrush so that the brush strokes show. While the paint is wet, scratch oak leaf designs into the paint with the end of the kebab stick. For the acorn texture, make crosshatch marks on a light brown painted piece of cartridge paper.

Once dry, cut out the leaves and acorn shapes. Cut small semi-circles (cups) from the crosshatched piece of paper and stick in place on top of the acorns.

Arrange all the components in place and secure on a piece of card with glue when you are happy with the design, then frame.