A Guide to the Best of Southern California : HANDMADE : Portraiture in Paper

SHE WAS PAID the ultimate compliment: A few years ago two of her works were stolen from a Westwood gallery along with a Miro, a Dali and a Lichtenstein. Beverly Bigwood is an artiste du papier . In other words, when the rest of us graduated elementary school and left behind construction-paper days, she continued to play with the colored paper, ultimately developing it into an art form. Her whimsical folk-art portraits have adorned the walls of such widely known L.A. restaurants as Spago, Nucleus Nuance, 7th Street Bistro and El Cholo and have appeared in such prominent stores as Giorgio and Fred Segal.

Following a telephone interview with a customer, during which a discussion of mood and color takes place, Bigwood works from a photograph, cutting, ripping and otherwise molding the client’s personality into a finished collage. Her pieces are particularly popular as gifts for weddings, for parents of newborns and for husbands, wives and other significant others. The lively, animated portraits measure 16x20 inches and sell for $90.

Beverly Bigwood, by appointment only; (818) 501-2044.