Make an Abstract Collage

Gerard Dillon was an artist who loved to paint the landscape in the West of Ireland. The colours and shapes were his favourite part of the landscape. Using these shapes and colours he made Abstract artworks.

Abstract Art is a style of art that uses colours, shapes and lines to represent objects, living things or even feelings.

Gerard Dillon, Collage on Moving Space, 1963

Gerard Dillon, Collage on Moving Space, 1963

He used many materials to make art, including sand, photographs and things that he found.

What kind of materials and objects do you think he used in this artwork?

You are going to make your very own abstract collage using as many creative objects that you can find.
Collage comes from the French word meaning ‘glue’, the word is used to describe an artwork where different types of materials are glued to a flat surface.

What you will need

Paper / card

PVA or other paste glue

Scissors

A collection of found objects around your house, flat enough to stick to your paper. Experiment and try different things but here are a few examples that might help you get started - scraps of paper, magazines, fabric, ribbon, pipe-cleaners, lollipop sticks, buttons and even natural objects like leaves, twigs, feathers, flower petals and sand.

Method

Look around your house and collect lots of interesting objects that you can use in your collage, try and get creative with the found objects that you use.

Set out your paper on a table and choose your favourite objects. Before using any glue try and move the objects around on the paper and experiment arranging them in different ways until you find a composition that looks best.

Remember: This is an abstract collage so it doesn’t have to look like what you see with your eyes. Choose a theme for your collage that you think shows what you think or feel.

When you have chosen where you would like to place all of your found objects start gluing them down onto your paper.

Gerard Dillon used sand in his paintings to add texture. You can do this too by painting areas of your collage with glue and then sprinkling the sand onto the glue while it is still wet. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

 

Ask a parent or guardian to take a picture of your work and share it with us.
Don’t forget to sign it with your name and age.

We will post your artwork on our website and Instagram account

@modelsligo / #themodelinsideout

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