Matisse's Red Leaves

I adore Matisse's paper cutouts, and decided to try some leaves.

My reds were placed on a white-on-white background; the matting and framing were chosen to match the fabrics. Each of the four leaves is a different red fabric.

Matisse became ill later in life, and developed a method of painting large sheets of paper, and then cutting out shapes, over and over again, until he had the perfect "essense" of a bird or a leaf or a fish. His apprentices did some of the work, under his direction.