I’ve been working on a series of paper sculpture designs featuring art supplies. The first in the series, “The Paper Painter” featured a play on words and white paint tubes, some of my favorite art supplies to sculpt.

In the second of the series, I wanted to make another round paint tray and paint tubes but this time in color. The composition reminds me of a color wheel. I wanted the scene to look as though the artist is in the middle of painting. 

I don’t know about other artists, but I always have to lay out my colors in the same order each time I paint. The yellows are always in the same cup, next to the reds, etc. The vibrant colors right out of the paint tubes always look so clean and colorful, but then the real fun begins — mixing together all those beautiful colors to create even more colors and a vibrant palate full of possibilities.

For added interest in this piece, which I have titled “Color Wheel,” the paintbrush and the tube of paint are actually sticking up in the air, as though the artist is in the process of using them.