CPE Matisse Cutouts

Henri Matisse was in his last decade of life when he began "drawing with scissors" -- cutting free-form shapes from brightly colored painted papers and arranging them on small boards and eventually walls, attaching the pieces with pins.

For this swap, we'll be using Matisse's cutouts as inspiration for our own cutouts. Create 10 hand-cut shapes for your partner from brightly colored paper. You can re-create Matisse's shapes or imagine your own forms.

Matisse used papers painted with gouache, but you are free to use gel prints, scrapbook paper, ink dyed paper or any other colorful papers you have. Please do not use construction paper.

Sizing of your cutouts should be between 4"x6" and 6"x9". They need to easily mail flat without being folded.

More Inspiration

Henri Matisse: The Cutouts at MOMA

"Henri Matisse collage" on Pinterest

Swap image is a collage I created for an artbook collab.