Angela Rio used to be an acrylic painter until she endured a bicycle accident which resulted in a change of direction. Looking for a way to make art that didn’t rely on just one hand and a brush, the Philadelphia-based artist now works primarily with scraps of paper, making complicated collages.
“I try to keep a variety of large colored paper that I tape against the wall as a backdrop,” she told Ape on the Moon, sharing her artistic process. “The perspective of my shot depends on the sketch, so there’s always a period of readjusting paper pieces, lights, and umbrella defusers to find the predetermined angle and focal point. Once I’ve found the sweet spot, I’ll shoot with my Canon Rebel T3. Then for curiosity’s sake, I’ll shoot with the lights hitting a different angle.”
“It may seem like a lot of time and energy for one illustration but it feels like play. There’s so much opportunity to get your mind off of things and forget about your surroundings,” she adds.
With clients that include the Philadelphia Magazine, Manifest, and The New York Times, and a small following on Instagram, her hard work seems to have paid off.
Enjoy some of our favorites:
