Fleur, Mixed Media Collage on Paper

The Original

Fleur by Robin Rivers is an original piece of mixed media collage on paper from the Albertine Series. I created this piece using antique postcards, found photography, my original photography that has not been digitally altered, handmade papers, and acrylic medium. 

The piece measures 11×14″ (w/h) unframed. Shipping will be calculated based on location.  Please note that colours and contrast vary between different monitors.  The colours may not match your monitor’s display exactly. Additionally, copyright of my artwork does not transfer with purchase.

The Inspiration for Fleur by Robin Rivers

Paris, the city of light, romance, wonder. At times, it may seem cliché. But, what of its magic? Its way of drawing one in and reconstructing how we perceive the world? Through the Albertine series, I wanted to explore how memory and time fragment, reconstructing themselves into spaces that live vividly in our experience, even when they are not a faithful representation of the original.

Fleur combines found photography of a man along with an antique Parisian postcard from Jardins du château de Versailles alongside my original botanical photography, ephemera, and handmade papers. Each element is carefully chosen and cut to capture a single moment when Henri is sitting in the garden on a foggy December day and is lost in daydreams about the statues and Albertine.

Sources

• • Found post card, Gardens at Versailles, possibly Yvon, (c. 1920-30)
  • Orphaned cabinet card of a man, c. 1890-1910, acquired via secondary markets, public domain or presumed public domain based on age and publication status. 
  • Artist materials
    • Handmade papers, vellum, gold acrylic paint, acrylic matte medium; Original botanical photography from Robin Rivers

Note: I treat orphaned images as fragments of lived histories. Where identities are unknown, I avoid altering personal features and present them within respectful narratives. If a descendant or rights holder comes forward, I will update or remove the piece from my catalog.

Notes on Care

Albertine is a love story at heart. I build each collage from public‑domain materials—primarily found pieces, Paris Musées archives and The Met Open Access—and note what’s known about dates and collections. While the work leans into romance, I set Henri and Albertine within the city’s real textures: its boulevards and bright nights, and the lives working behind the light. Where details are uncertain, I mark them as circa. My aim is to honor the past—its beauty and its blemishes—while inviting you into a story that feels intimate and true to its time.

The Artist

Robin Rivers is an artist, photographer, and writer who creates from conversations with ancient ponds and old trees, spirits of place and old ones whose lost stories want to be told. As a mixed-media artist, Rivers works with original photography, museum archives, and storytelling to give form to the old ones who speak to her through dreams, deep listening, and walking the land in ancient places. Her practice weaves together mystical guidance and archival research, creating magical pieces that restore powerful lost connections and stories rising up once again. Robin creates all pieces at Studio Albertine in Vancouver, Canada—on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples. This includes the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Before you go, check out more of my work HERE.

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