Papercuts

As many of you know, I have my first solo show in April, in my hometown of Saffron Walden. The Fry Art Gallery opened in 1987 and houses an impressive collection of paintings, prints, illustrations, wallpapers, and decorative designs by artists of the 20th century and the present day who have local connections and have made a significant contribution to their field.

Alongside framing non-stop, I’ve also had to write a brief bio, so here it is, together with the poster designed by Gareth Wild.

Michelle Thompson
Papercuts: 30 Years of Collage & Illustration

Michelle Thompson has been a freelance illustrator and collage artist since graduating with a First Class degree in Illustration from Norwich School of Art, followed by an MA at the Royal College of Art in 1996. Her work combines analogue collage with digital illustration, creating bold, layered pieces that explore texture, narrative, and found imagery. Clients include The Sunday Times, Financial Times, Channel 4, The New York Times, and The Guardian.

Papercuts presents a retrospective of Thompson’s three-decade career, showcasing original collage pieces alongside her printed illustration work. The exhibition traces her evolving approach, from early cut-and-paste experiments to contemporary digital compositions.

Working Process

In her personal work Michelle builds collages intuitively, letting fragments come together naturally. Her inspiration comes from vintage magazines and advertising slogans.

“My studio is filled with boxes brimming with over 30 years of collage materials. I spend days sifting through them, working on multiple collages simultaneously. Many pieces practically make themselves through the chance placement of one paper next to another. Sometimes a work sits in the plan chest for months, until I am ready to commit and glue it together.”

For commissioned illustration, her process is more structured - working directly on screen, drawing on her database of textures and paint splashes to create roughs for client approval. Once the direction is set, she refines and edits each element before emailing the final artwork as a computer file - these pieces exist entirely in digital form. Michelle thrives on tight deadlines; a recent Guardian cover was completed in just two hours.

Earlier in her career, before digital tools were commonplace, she faxed hand-drawn roughs to clients, assembling final collages by hand and sending them by courier.

Selected Clients & Career Highlights

Michelle created a billboard advertising campaign for Deceit, Channel 4; her digital artwork has been displayed in Times Square in New York, and she has illustrated for The Cheltenham Festival on two occasions. She has also produced work for the Museum of London and City Hall, worked with Apple and Sky TV, and contributed poster art for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, among many other projects.

Alongside her illustration career, Michelle exhibits at major art fairs in London, Hong Kong, New York, and across Europe. She also regularly shows at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

Thank you, as always, for your support. I hope to see you in April.

Michelle