Lily | Collage art (@lilyonpaper)

This eight-piece mini art collection was inspired by a habit of mine: whenever something brings me comfort or inspiration or joy, I like to carry it with me. All of my journals have art cards, tiny letters, photographs, and ephemera tucked inside their covers. I think there’s something talismanic about this for me, and I wanted to make something that really leaned into that quality so I could share it with you. I realise for myself I can sometimes feel obliged to keep things “nice” and not use them. So each collage art card comes with a protective sleeve and FULL permission (encouragement, even!) to carry it with you and enjoy it. There are eight art cards in this collection. Each is unique and handcrafted, and signed with its edition number and details on the back. I’m shipping to the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Available on my website (linked in bio) while they last. This is a limited drop though so when they’re gone they’re gone! #ACEOs #ACEO

Surreal collage art for anyone who’s been known to beat a dead horse #surrealcollage #surrealcollageart #collage #collageart

“Inside, only light” - a colour-led creative exercise, and a mini mixed media collage for Halloween 🎃 I use this Dictionary of Colour Combinations to give me very light creative constraints. I usually don’t like creative constraints of any kind, but the exception is when I’m working on small, light pieces like these tiny collages. These are where I do a lot of low-stakes experimentation, often in a way that transfers to my more “serious” work. And when it doesn’t, it still gives my brain a creative refresh between projects. Working in this format is so important to my broader creative process. Art pieces of this size are known as ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions, and Originals) if sold or ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) if swapped with other artists, and they’re collectible pieces the size of a standard playing card. Follow for more collage and creativity inspiration 🍁 #creativeideas #aceo #collageart #artideas

Everyone has a story “Answer the call” - Vintage analogue collage art #analogcollage #collageart

Collage is a transformative process that allows us to challenge and defy the original meaning of an image. Let me talk you through one of my favourite ways of doing that: by transforming object into subject, and providing agency to a figure that previously had none. If you like this kind of thing, you’ll probably love my upcoming workshop: Divine Feminine, Monstrous Feminine on October 24th. We’ll be looking at feminine archetypes in media and history, and how we can use our work to channel or challenge them, and bring our own perspective to our work. More information and tickets in bio! #collageart #collageartist #analogcollage

Made a limited series of 5 original collage ACEOs featuring sweet lil ghosts and they are live now in my shop! I’m throwing a free ghost sticker with every order between now and Halloween #ACEOs

Fisholith | Giclée print, original also available

Going purely on vibes but am I wrong? Whenever someone orders this print this is how I imagine them

Collage art bookmarks available now 🧡

To ward off the seasonal depression I’ve been working on a few pieces lately to celebrate the beauty and joy of the colder months. They’re reminders that winter can be magical and playful and full of colour. This piece is called Close Your Eyes, and prints are available in my store now 🧡

The most symbolic thing I did when I quit my tech job in May was move my desk from wall-facing (optimised for minimal screen glare and eye strain) to window-facing (optimised for natural light) and I have not looked back Prints available in my store. Follow if you’re considering making a similar career/life move and want to see what that can look like!

In my head this is exactly how a walk feels on New Year’s Day Winter Walk - greetings cards available on my shop now :)

The thought of an all-or-nothing lock-in period can be like catnip to an ADHD brain, but I really think we are the last people who should be attempting this! Arguably aggressive self-improvement challenges aren’t particularly healthy for anyone, but I think they’re especially dangerous for ADHD folks. We do not need more discipline, we need to manage our ADHD, which happens when we meet ourselves where we’re at, not force a strict program on ourselves for the coldest and darkest months of the year. Instead of a winter arc I’m taking the start of autumn to set some gentle intentions that lay the best foundations for the months ahead: - Get my sleep back on track because it’s been bad lately - Lower the bar for what I consider physical activity, so it’s not “walk to the gym and lift heavy or don’t bother” - Get my screen time down - Go outside more This might not be as exciting but it’s what will move the needle for me. I’m deliberately not quantifying anything on this list because that creates a fail state. But I will check in during my journaling sessions as the season progresses. If we’ve not met, I’m Lily, and I recently quit my tech job to build a creative, ADHD-friendly life - so follow to see what that can look like!

When I journal by hand (especially morning pages when my dopamine is low) I can sometimes end up ruminating and spiralling and feeling worse after. I'm not processing anything I'm just working myself up about things on my mind. Typing my journal entries has changed that and I think so much of it is the somatic stuff: you have to type with some force, it's loud, you feel the feedback in your fingers. It's rhythmic and grounding. You can get a typewriter super cheap on marketplace as well. I recently quit my tech job to build a creative, ADHD friendly life that works for my brain and nervous system, so follow to see what that can look like!

Collage confessions 01: and that’s on low morning dopamine Mixed media collage, vintage magazines and acrylic on canvas. And depending on how you look at it, the words are part of it too

Mixed media: vintage paper and acrylic, 10cm x 10cm As an artist with ADHD, novelty and variety are so important to the health of my creative practice. It keeps me motivated and engaged and I find I’m much more creatively energised when I’m experimenting more. Today that meant getting the acrylic paint out and working on some mixed media compositions 🐊 Follow for collage and general creativity chat as I build a creative, ADHD-friendly life after quitting my tech job!

One of my most popular (and most whimsical) art pieces 🎈 DM to rehome the original or check my bio if you’d like a print on your wall ❤️ Shipping UK, US, Aus, and Canada from the UK 💌 #whimsicalart

Like 85% of my followers over on IG are in the states or Europe, but with duties and tariffs, international shipping is rarely feasible these days… I'm Lily, an analogue collage artist who makes story-driven art inspired by big feelings and mythology! If this reached you, let me know where you are, and follow if you want to see more collage art. Prints and originals available in my bio 🫶

Here’s the full tutorial for making collage NFC tags! This was very highly requested last week so I hope you enjoy! Sorry the audio is weird, I had to denoise it because my mic didn’t work and the sound was so echoey 🤦‍♀️ You will need: - NFC tags (buy online) - Connected devices (e.g. Sonos, smart lights) OR a app-based automation you’d like to run - iPhone Shortcuts app or Tasker/NFC Tools on Android - Collage supplies - A non-metal surface to stick your tag on (metal interferes with the signal) You can also set up automations like this without using NFC tags, and have something else as the trigger (e.g. create a custom Focus mode). But I find them way more fun to use when they’re tactile and handmade, so I’m way more likely to use them. Sorry for the echo, I’m using my mic so I have no idea why the acoustics are so bad! Let me know how you’re using yours, and follow to learn with me what a creative, ADHD-friendly life can look like! #nfctags #adhdtips #collageart

Making collage NFC tags to manage my ADHD and automate things that make my life better! I was journaling earlier this week about journaling feels like a chore, even though I enjoy it - especially if I have music on and cozy lighting. Environment is so important to me. But going to my desk and setting the Hue lights and choosing a playlist all just feels like Too Much and so I don’t end up creating the conducive environment and I don’t end up journaling as much as I’d like. So I decided to make it easy! I’ve set up automations that allow me to create a supportive environment for whatever I’m trying to do, while completely removing the cognitive load that usually stops me from doing it. I got some NFC tags online and collaged each one with something related to its use. Ritualising stuff and bringing in novelty really helps me and I think a lot of other people with ADHD. One of these NFC tags lives on a kitchen cabinet, and when I tap my phone to it, it plays a shuffled Khruangbin radio on Spotify via the kitchen Sonos. The other lives on my bedside table, and runs me through useful info for the day (how hot it’s going to be, and what’s on my agenda) before starting an ambient playlist on the bedroom speaker. I sometimes wake up dysregulated and I know that music helps me, and I’m also way more likely to start the day by reading (vs scrolling) if there’s gentle music on. I buffed the plastic first and sealed the collages with Mod Podge. All the automations are built using the Apple Shortcuts app on my iPhone. It takes a few seconds. I have a bunch of others planned so let me know if you want to see more!
 If we’ve not met, I’m Lily, and 2 months ago I quit my tech job to build a creative, ADHD friendly life. Follow to discover what that can look like (and for more collage tips!) #nfctags #adhdtips #collageart

Why I use two different glue sticks when I collage - and how to stop getting air bubbles in your work! You can get these exact glue sticks, or equivalents, practically anywhere. They’re cheap and effective, I’ve never needed more. Though I recommend trying different ones, because everyone has different preferences on this stuff. I never get air bubbles, so I’m either the best person or worst person to talk about this, depending on your perspective - but I do know what causes them, because I used to get them all the time when I used liquid glue to make oracle cards (this was my first foray into collage, though I didn’t really think of it as collage at the time!) The last couple of days I’ve been filming with my phone stand on the outside window ledge so I can show my desk at the same time. I’m liking how the videos are turning out but it’s definitely a high risk high reward situation because I really don’t know how I’d retrieve my phone if it fell backwards…probably shouldn’t try this if it’s windy… Follow for more collage advice and to follow along as I build a creative, ADHD-friendly life after quitting my tech job! #collageart #collagetips

Collage art to cool you down! Technique tutorial below: Tearing is such a good technique for adding movement or depth to an otherwise flat scene. But often people overlook the fact you can tear EVEN if there are objects in the way. To tear a line when there’s not a clear horizon (in this case, the horizon is blocked by the heads of the people on horses) just cut around the objects first, then grab the loose edge of the background and pull to tear *away* from the objects. Using a tear instead of a cut immediately added extra narrative charge to this collage: the water appears more restless than it did before. Materials: A vintage National Geographic and a book on solar eclipses. Follow for collage and creativity chat as I build a creative, ADHD-friendly life after quitting my tech job <3 #collageart #collageartwork

How I organise my cut collage materials as an ADHD artist who relies a lot on serendipity! #collageart #collageartistsoftiktok #analoguecollage

When I collage, I always build for what I call narrative charge (the story potential within a scene). Am I leaving an open question or mystery in the viewer's mind? It’s a process of being intentional about what you include and what you omit. In this tiny collage, I want the attention focused on the figure and clock and the story that emerges from the interaction between these two pieces, so | kept every other element clean and paired back. This is a super quick ACEO (art cards, editions, and originals - a mini artwork in 2.5” x 3.5” format) to use up old scraps from other collages. This can be a fun activity in its own right, but it's also an exercise in restraint and suggesting a story with very few details. Follow for collage tips and artistic adventures as I learn how to build a creative life after quitting my tech job! #collageartwork #collagetips

Giving my unused art supplies some love and recreating my mini collages in different mediums! This is for anyone who goes all-in on buying art supplies mid-hyperfixation and then doesn’t end up using them… Today I’m using oil pastels, which I’d been wanting to buy for ages, then finally used them, felt intimidated, and didn’t touch them again. Today’s attempt feels like a slow-motion accident in that I thought I was done, then went back in to make it better, and sort of made it worse! I really want to get out of my comfort zone, get some use out of previous hyperfixation purchases, and learn along the way. I had a lot of fun with this. What next: same collage in gouache or acrylic, or different collage in oil pastels?

Nothing improved my collage art as much as these things - a couple are controversial (though I don’t get why!) 1. You don’t need to stick things down I know this concept feels wrong to some people, but not everything needs gluing! I only glue about half of mine, and I have sold prints of unglued collages. If you like a piece, you can reuse it over and over again. This takes so much pressure off, especially when you’re new to collage and are worried about “wasting” materials. 2. Pieces that are too matchy are just as bad as pieces that clash You can make a beautiful scene from a bunch of very similar pieces, but they’ll just look like a nice photograph. There’ll be nothing to complicate or disrupt your collage. It’s why I like working with a wide range of different sources. 3. You have to let go of your darlings This one is always controversial, but: sometimes your absolute favourite piece is what’s stopping the collage from working. Let it go! The collage will tell you what it needs, if you listen - if you try to control the shape of it, you’re gonna have a bad time. 4. Glossy paper is not the vibe I work with vintage materials because I love the colour palette, saturation and imagery, but it also makes a huge difference that the paper is matte! Glossy paper catches the light and is really difficult to photograph. 5. Your content performance is not a measure of your art My top performing content is not my favourite or best art, not by a long shot. I know what to do to get hundreds of thousands of views on an IG reel. I’ve done it before. Unfortunately it means making art that I don’t enjoy as much! Please don’t let your content performance determine how you feel about your work. They are separate things. That doesn’t mean you can’t optimise the performance of your art content (you absolutely can and I have a guide about it in my bio) but some pieces will just perform better because they’re more striking. That’s okay! Follow for more collage tips and inspo, and download the free beginners guide in my bio for a 15-page deep-dive into everything you need to start collaging!

It took me until I was 30 to have a relationship with creativity that felt easy, fulfilling, and fun. And it happened via a detour into collage art

Ever make a collage and something just looks a tiny bit…off? Join me for this series where we explore the most common issues and what you can do to identify them and fix them when they pop up. Part one covers the issue that’s usually responsible for muddy or flat images or pieces where the eye is drawn to the wrong place. Let me know what challenge you’d like to cover next, and follow for part 2! #collageartwork

Beyond - Analogue collage | Materials used 👇 - vintage nature book, 1960s - vintage Nat Geo, 1950s - vintage Arizona Highways, I think 1970s? - another Nat Geo? I think? I can’t remember where the little building is from actually, it’s been in one of my trays for months! #vintagecollage #analogcollage #analoguecollage

Lifeline || vintage analogue collage This is how I imagine genetic memory: a common with female ancestors via a womb-like dream state. Materials: - 1970s nature book - 1990s Eyewitness book - 1950s National Geographic Follow for collage, process videos, and creativity chat ✂️ #vintagecollageart #analoguecollage #vintagecollage #surrealcollage