Paper quilling has been around for centuries, with some historians linking its origins to the invention of paper in ancient China. Today, artist Yulia Brodskaya is bringing the craft into the modern era with her stunning illustrations, made from intricately rolled, folded, and shaped colored paper.
From detailed portraits to nature-inspired scenes, each piece is composed of hundreds of meticulously placed paper strips. Brodskaya describes her technique as “drawing” or “painting” with paper. She layers folded strips of paper in a range of tones, assembling them into cohesive packs that mimic the texture and flow of three-dimensional brushstrokes. Together, the subtle tone variations create the impression of natural skin tones, flower petal hues, textured bird feathers, and more.
Brodskaya explains in an Instagram post, “The blended color is just an optical illusion, not a real blend, because from a distance our eyes can no longer distinguish the colors of individual strips, so we perceive a blend as one patch of color.”
Each piece takes careful planning and consideration. Before gluing the paper strips down, Brodskaya plays around with the arrangement to make sure the paper bundles create the desired effect. “Ultimately every single strip of paper matters for me, that’s why I go through this process of re-doing every time I see something is not working as well as possible,” she says. “I believe this level of care can definitely be perceived by the viewers who get to experience your art, especially in real life.”
In one of her recent works, Brodskaya reimagines Vincent van Gogh’s famous Irises, using bundles of blue paper in varying shades to form the delicate petals. Even the vase appears three-dimensional, brought to life by Brodskaya’s clever placement of paper strips.
Check out this brilliant artist’s most recent paper quilling artworks below and find more from her incredible portfolio by following Yulia Brodskaya on Instagram.
Artist Yulia Brodskaya keeps the ancient art of paper quilling alive with her stunning illustrations made of paper.
Each piece is composed of hundreds of meticulously placed paper strips that have been rolled, folded, and shaped.
Brodskaya layers folded paper strips in different tones, creating “packs” that resemble 3D brushstrokes.
The beautiful blends of color come together to create mesmerizing, nature-inspired scenes.
