Leo F. Monahan - With more than 35 years of experience, Leo Monahan has developed his own unique style of paper sculpture, yet has remained true to the early artistic influences in his life.

As a child in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he became fascinated with Native American art and artifacts, wildlife and his environment as he was growing up. These motifs are at the core of his work today.

Leo had the first Walt Disney art honor scholarship at Chouinard Art Institute and has a fine art education, but as a paper sculptor he is self taught. He combines drawing with a knife and tom paper to create spontaneous images without a pre-drawn plan. He starts with the best white papers and applies color with brushes, sponges, air brush and rubbed in dry pigments. The art is made entirely of paper and never has other materials or objects as part of the collage.

Leo's philosophy is to be true to the integrity of the paper and the form. He is the master of painted paper and of physical and painted texture. With his abstract use of the materials combined with strong symbolism he attempts to create emotional responses and feelings of nostalgia for other times and places. His dedication to the art of paper sculpture has earned him numerous professional accolades including a life achievement award from the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.