I often go to where I can be at one with nature.  Nothing grounds and calms me the same way.  More than ever in the recently stressed times I find myself needing to be surrounded by trees, flowers, birds, and the ever-present activities of small creatures like bees, butterflies, and dragonflies. I love to observe them, and their forms fascinate me. It inspired to create this piece in the pure natural shades of the handmade papers I use as my palette; papers made from fibres sourced from nature like the subject matter depicted. There’s an integral relationship between my medium and objects in the composition that helps preserve the connection with the natural world from which I draw such valuable peace and centering. We all need a little of tranquility.Sculptured from Hahnemuhle (Germany) 300gsm cotton NOT, Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould made papers and a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax and Kozo (Mulberry) papers from Awagami (Japan) and other Asian sources.

Tranquility

Of all the feminine spirits manifesting as nature’s principles, the Divine Crystalline brings forth the perfectly ordered structure of the solid elements from which our whole galaxy is formed. As one of the universal foundation energies, all life depends in one way or other upon her being. She provides life with elemental materials and then continues to radiate her influencing energies in ways well understood by eons of those with knowledge of her esoteric core. Her confident gaze emanates from her most ancient wisdom and benevolent purpose. Her geometric crystalline beauty materialises in forms of glistening clarity, ethereal translucence or solidity asserting her indomitable strength, perfectly aligned with all that makes this awe-inspiring universe. 
 
Head sculptured from handmade 40gsm mulberry Kozo with crystals of 30gsm archival glassine on a foundation of Arches hot pressed 300gsm cotton papers. Ink tinted face details.

Divine Crystalline

A stroll in the Australian Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Part 3/4. 
Sculptured from Hahnemuhle (Germany) 300gsm cotton NOT, Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould made papers and a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax and Kozo (Mulberry)papers from Awagami (Japan). 
 
Merit Award -"Yellow" - Art online exhibition | Art Room Gallery | USA 2022 
Merit Award - Botanicals Competition / Grey Cube Gallery USA 2021 
Silver Medal - Professional Artists Competition - Mondial Art Academia 2019| France 
Second Place - Botanicals Exhibition - The Art Room Contemporary Gallery 2019

To Seaside

A stroll in the Australian Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, part 2/4. In entering these gardens, a left turn on the pathway takes us northward past a magnificent Ironbark stand followed by Box and Peppermint Eucalypts, and the distinctive Scribbly Gums with their bark decorated by abstract washes, like paintings. A wonderous landscape of cycads and ferns that once dominated Gondwana in the Palaeozoic Era, 180 million years ago. Sculptured from Hahnemuhle (Germany) 300gsm cotton NOT, Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould made papers and a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax and Kozo (Mulberry) papers from Awagami. 
 
Finalist Stanthorpe Art Prize 2021 
Gold Medal for Creativity - Professional Artists Competition - Mondial Art Academia, France 2018 
First Place - Nature Exhibition - LightSpaceTime Gallery Florida 2018.

The Path to Gondwana

A stroll in the Australian Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne Part 1/4. On entering The Red Sands Garden, the visitor is treated to a landscape design of colour and breathtaking view that is so like experiencing Australia’s Red Centre, A closer look reveals fan shaped Scaevola half-flowers and curious Lichen covered forms looking like branched abstract sculptures. 
Sculptured from Hahnemuhle (Germany) 300gsm cotton NOT, Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould made papers and a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax, and Kozo (Mulberry) papers from Awagami (Japan) and other Asian sources. 
 
Selected artwork for "Honoring the Earth Day 2022" international online exhibition, Diversia 2022, Exhibizone,Canada 
Finalist Stanthorpe Art Prize 2021 
Second Place - Botanicals Exhibition - The Art Room Contemporary Gallery 2019 / 
 Second Place - Botanicals Exhibition - LightSpaceTime Gallery Florida 2018.

The Red Sands Garden

In Melbourne’s inner-city heart are the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens. It’s a dominion of majestic ancient oaks, figs, conifers with other grand giants surrounded by a rich diversity of magnificent green nobility. Here, at one with nature, it’s a place of rest away from the pressures and stress of our daily lives where we can be in touch with our own inner self and belonging together. Animals too, inhabit the riches of this environment.  Ferdinand von Mueller, the garden’s first director, whose commemorative bust looks on would be proud of the treasures today filling these truly royal botanic gardens.  Sculptured from Hahnemuhle (Germany) 300gsm cotton NOT,  Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould made papers and a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax and Kozo (Mulberry) papers from  Awagami (Japan) and other Asian sources, some as light as 4gsm.

Green Dominion

Symbolically, this work is based on the conspicuous decline of our Christmas Beetles. In the web of life, beetles are both important as plant pollinators and agents of the nutrient cycle at root level. Their curl grubs and wriggling pupae were once common in most backyards but are increasingly rare to find, hence bringing attention to an obvious interruption somewhere in their live cycle. The triangular frame signifies a pivot point, (also the algebraic symbol delta = change). Sculptured 30gsm handmade Kozo paper, Mulberry Tengushu with Hahnemuhle NOT and Arches hot pressed cotton sheet-formed papers. Coloured ink tinting. 
 
Selected artwork for Gallerium Art Prize " EXTINCTION: Save the Planet 2022" exhibition 
Mention Honorifique - Professional Artists Competition - Mondial Art Academia, France 2020

A Call to Change

Wasps have always been my favourite insects, but the Spider Hunters, (Family: Pompilidae) in particular. Pompilids are known for succumbing Tarantulas in the Americas. They are solitary hunters often boasting beautifully bright orange or red warning bands, as here. This is Cryptocheilus species, about 4cm long in real life.  It hunts spiders under the bark of trees like this Eucalyptus on which it is pausing and basking momentarily. Sculptured from Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould made papers to create the body core. Covered with a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax and Kozo (Mulberry) papers to create the textures. The bark is of coloured mulberry papers.  The individual body hairs are sliced from machine madepaper to take advantage of its directional grain strength, not a property of papers made by hand. The wings are of transparent Glassine Paper. The spider webs are the long Kozo fibres teased from the source paper. Colours are mostly acrylic inks applied by airbrush.

Spider Hunter Wasp

Originally created for reproduction by Australian Geographic Magazine.The art depicts the life cycle of Australia's most recognized cicada Cyclochila australasiae, or as it is known by its common names, the Green Monday Cicada or the Greengrocer. Bronze Winner, Dimensional Awards, New York, USA. Entirely sculptured from Arches (France) 310gsm cotton hot-pressed mould-made papers with a variety of handmade Hemp, Flax and Kozo and Kozo (Mulberry) papers. Insect bodies are sculptured in calendared, hot-pressed stock to give the realistic shine.The bark is of varying thickness coloured Hemp and Flax papers on an amature of the sculptured cotton stocks creating the tree forms. The wings are of transparent Glassine Paper, as used in archival storage interleafing. Colours are mostly acrylic inks applied by airbrush.

Cicada Life Cycle

High-level business dealing “Suits” in blue and grey represent two tycoons locked in an iron-clad handshake like hook and tow, firmly pinioned together in contract. Everything about them is cold steel polished and formal. The abstracted face-to-face heads in the background show stern, implacable, stoic dispositions. No place for soft-at-heart. 
A metaphor about dealing in the tough game of high stakes business. 
Study the piece up close you will see the fabric texture, and every thread of the sewn buttonholes. The steel looks like polished chromium, but it is entirely sculptured in paper, hand coloured with permanent inks. The background is hot pressed Arches of France 300gsm watercolour paper overlaid with 8gsm Japanese Tengushu. The hands are of mould-made hot-pressed calendared stocks of varying weights. The threads are created by fine slicing of paper strips.

Secure Handshake

Liane Foley, French Jazz singer & songwriter. I‘m inspired by music and the musicians. Jazz is one of my favourite genre, so, it was natural to create portrait tributes to a few of my favourites for my inaugural exhibition in the Caroussel du Louvre, Paris, in 2019. Created in my “Impressionist Sculptured Paper” style, which is named after my desire to capture life, expression and movement without sacrificing the obvious nature of the paper. It’s like painting three-dimensionally using paper as the medium to achieve the same life. Based on a foundation of Arches 300gsm hot-pressed French cotton and German cold-pressed cotton papers, worked over in a variety of ink and dye tinted Asian Mulberry and Hemp papers, some as light as 4gsm, on the hair. 
 
Honorable Mention, “Portrait” art exhibition, Art Room Gallery, 2022

Portrait of Liane Foley - French Jazz Vocalist

During a break in a live performance by Don Burrows, I approached him backstage to ask if he would kindly allow me reference poses from which to create his portrait. He humbly agreed. In 2019 the time was suitable to sculpt that piece in his honour. Sadly, since then he left our earthly presence. It left me so glad I produced this work commemorating who I think was Australia’s greatest ever woodwind jazz artist. Created in my “Impressionist Sculptured Paper” style, named so for my desire to capture life and expression, while clearly revealing the nature of the delicate papers.Based on a foundation of Arches 300gsm hot-pressed French cotton and German cold-pressed cotton papers, worked over in a variety of ink and dye tinted Asian Mulberry and Hemp papers, some as light as 4gsm, on the hair.

Portrait of Don Burrows - Australian Jazz Woodwind Legend

Anne Ducros is a French singer &, songwriter. Apart from nature I love portraiture and wanted to tackle this subject with the challenge of my “Impressionist Sculptured Paper” style. I‘m inspired by music and musical artists and of among my favourite genres is jazz. I was therefore, naturally attracted to create portrait tributes to a few of my favourite artists for my inaugural exhibition in the Caroussel du Louvre, Paris, in 2019. Based on a foundation of Arches 300gsm hot-pressed French cotton and German cold-pressed cotton papers, worked over in a variety of ink and dye tinted Asian Mulberry and Hemp papers, some as light as 4gsm, on the hair. 
 
Honorable Mention, “Portrait” art exhibition, Art Room Gallery, 2022 
Merit Award - "Faces Competition" - Grey Cube Gallery, USA 2021

Portrait of Anne Ducros - French Jazz Vocalist

Sven Libaek is a personal friend who inspired me since childhood. Jazz is one of my favourite genre. I listen to music continually as I work, so, it was natural to create portrait tributes to a few of my favourites for my inaugural exhibition in the Caroussel du Louvre, Paris, in 2019.Created in my “Impressionist Sculptured Paper” style, which is named after my desire to capture life, expression and movement without sacrificing the obvious nature of the paper. It’s like painting three-dimensionally using paper as the medium to achieve the same life. Based on a foundation of Arches 300gsm hot-pressed French cotton and German cold-pressed cotton papers, worked over in a variety of ink and dye tinted Asian Mulberry and Hemp papers, some as light as 4gsm, on the hair. 
 
Merit Award -"Faces Competition"- Grey Cube Gallery, USA 2021

Portrait of Sven Libaek - Australian-Norwegian Distinguished

Be inspired by artworks created in the natural beauty of one of humanity's oldest and most enduring mediums. 

All of what you discover here is sculptured by the artist from sheet-formed papers sourced from Europe and Asia.


About Ray Besserdin
32-year career, recognised internationally with 35 awards to date, including two gold from New York, and “Gold Medal for Creativity” from Mondial Art Acadamie, France.  Born to artist parents, entirely self-taught techniques of sculpturing dimensionally with only sheet-formed papers, much like bas-relief. Papers are mostly handmade cotton and mulberry stocks from Europe and Asia. Works range from miniature to over 6 by 3.8 metres, and abstract to ultra-realistic. Inspired mostly by painters of the French Impressionist Period and developed a technique to achieve expressiveness using torn papers build up three-dimensionally, where they used paint two dimensionally. Whilst his works can be abstract to figurative ultra-realism, he calls his signature style “Impressionist Sculptured Paper” for its use of torn, raw pieces arranged to form the subject matter.  While likeness is important, the focus is to capture emotion, life, and expression over realism, yet always revealing the character of the papers from which the subjects are sculptured. Nature is his favourite subject matter. Works hang in private and corporate collections in London, Munich, Manhattan, Tokyo, New Zealand and throughout Australia.  

Ray is Australian Ambassador for Mondial Art Academia, France.

Ray Besserdin Paper Sculpture Artist- Available Works