No matter how many times I saw Nicholls’s paper animals work (previous 1, previous 2), I am still amazed by his incredible delicate masterpiece. Using only paper, carving tools and his honed skill, Nicholls was able to replicate feathers, fur, and fins with masterful precision.
According to Nicholls, all his paper experiment started when he explored grain direction, structural limits, scoring and folding during a lab in art school. Nicholls was struck by the latent properties hiding in a simple sheet of paper. Since then, he has dedicated his creative practice to transforming paper into highly detailed sculptures that look like anything but the material.
When said how long take Nicholls to finish a piece, he said “Detailed fur is slow and feathers can be equally challenging so predicting. The largest sculptures I’ve done require several hundreds of hours while the more modest pieces keep me busy for two or more weeks.”
After creating paper sculptures for almost 40 years, Nicholls’ portfolio includes a wide range of paper animals relief sculptures. And we presented some of his latest works. You can purchase original sculptures and prints from Nicholls’ website. Or follow him on his Instagram to keep up to date with his work.
