The art of paper quilling has been around for centuries and it’s taken many different shapes and forms over time. Yulia Brodskaya is one of the best artists putting paper quilling on the map and her innovative creations look just like real paintings that use paper as both a tool and canvas.
Brodskaya prides herself in not drawing on paper, but with it, and she’s one of the most acclaimed paper artists of her generation. She became an Instagram sensation with 85,000 followers and counting thanks to her intricate paper illustrations, but it took her a while to find her true calling.
Brodskaya worked as a graphic designer and illustrator after graduating from the University of Hertfordshire in 2006. Her background had a strong influence on her work once she decided to switch to paper quilling.
“Painting with paper means imitating brushstrokes with tightly packed strips of paper, achieved by combining different color strips in a similar way as mixing paints on a palette. This new technique comes as close to real painting as possible, but with the added quality of a third dimension,” Brodskaya told Women Create.
Her technique significantly evolved over the years, and she detailed her journey and secrets of her craft in the book called Painting with Paper: Paper on the Edge. She also worked with a long list of high-profile clients, such as Wimbledon, Target, and Hermes.
