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Artistic Process

My painted papers are like my palette.
Eric Carle
Eric Carle sitting at table painting seahorses
Eric Carle in his studio. Image courtesy of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. 

To create his signature collages, Carle painted acrylic on white tissue paper to achieve vibrant colors and patterns. Each piece was an abstract work of art that he could cut and use in a collage.

Prior to the mid-1980s, Carle used commercially available, pre-dyed papers, the colors of which quickly faded. Later he employed acid-free paper and methyl cellulose adhesive, rather than rubber cement, to ensure the longevity of his art.

open flat files with painted tissue papers in each drawer

Carle kept his painted tissue papers in flat file drawers, arranged by color. 

Image courtesy of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. 
Carle’s two versions of the purple cat from Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? demonstrate how his illustrative style evolved over time. His 1992 cat, constructed with vivid hand-painted tissue papers, has richer color variations and a more active pose.
collage of purple cat sitting
Purple cat illustration from 1967 edition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 
collage of purple cat licking his paw
Purple cat illustration from 1992 edition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 
Carle painted his tissue papers in bright acrylic colors. In the sequence below, he first made bold red strokes on a sheet of white tissue paper. Once dry, he added blue wavy brushstrokes, then yellow dots. In the final step, he applied black paint to a piece of carpet and printed patterns on the design.
overhead photograph of hands holding a paintbrush in a bowl of red paint
overhead photograph of hands holding white tissue paper, bowl of red paint in the background
hand with paintbrush adding read paint to a white piece of tissue paper
hands with paintbrush adding blue lines to tissue paper already painted with red
hand with paintbrush adding yellow dots to tissue paper painted red with blue lines
hand with paintbrush adding dark green paint to small carpet square next to painted tissue paper
hand holding carpet square and pressing it down on painted tissue paper
The images below demonstrate how Carle made a caterpillar collage. He used tracing paper, a utility blade, adhesive, and his painted tissue papers. With a crayon, he added the final touches. 
hand holding a pencil completing an outline of the Very Hungry Caterpillar on tracing paper
hands with a utility blade cutting out the pencil drawing of the caterpillar with a piece of red tissue paper visible under the tracing paper
hand holding red painted tissue paper oval cut out and tracing paper with caterpillar drawing missing it's face, which is above on the table
hand with paintbrush applying glue to red tissue paper circle next to white paper and blue yellow, green and red tissue paper
Hand glueing red tissue paper circle on white paper. Blue, yellow, green, and red tissue papers are in the background.
hand holding tracing paper with caterpillar drawing above green painted tissue while second hand cuts with a utility blade.
Red oval tissue paper with tracing paper caterpillar drawing and hand holing cut green tissue paper
two hands placing green tissue paper shape next to three other greed tissue paper shapes and a red tissue paper oval to create caterpillar collage
hand placing yellow painted tissue paper eye on red oval tissue paper. The caterpillar now has two blue antennas and six green shapes made from different green painted tissue papers
hand placing green eye ball tissue paper shape in right yellow tissue paper eye, left eye is still just yellow tissue paper and green nose is now on red oval caterpillar face
caterpillar collage almost complete with hand holding brown painted tissue paper from which two leg shapes were cut and placed below one of the caterpillars green body
Completed red, green, yellow, and blue caterpillar collage with hand holding a pen and signing the word Eric under the caterpillar
“There are many different media to work in. I just happen to like collage. I enjoy the process of gluing the pieces down in a picture,” said Carle. “I am very interested in details, brushstrokes in a painting, and textures. So the process of painting my tissue papers is very satisfying to me.”
Eric Carle in his studio with cut papers.
Eric Carle in his studio. Image courtesy of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.
Read about Eric Carle's Personal Life