Beyond the Borders of Postage Stamps by Molly Rausch

New York-based artist Molly Rausch paints the extended scenes around the edges of postage stamps, imagining the continued horizons and broader stories told by stamp artwork. Via her website:

Each stamp painting begins with an actual postage stamp that is glued down to the paper. Then Rausch paints around the stamp, extending the scene, with watercolor and gouache. As a result, the paintings are quite small – usually around 3 inches tall. Everything is done freehand with a brush; she does not use pens or pencils. She does not paint on the stamp itself. And she does not research the subject, so the extension is completely invented and should not be tested for accuracy.

It’s fun to think how many stories a single postage stamp has, the story of the image printed on it, the story of its physical journey through the postal system, and now a third story told though Rausch’s brush strokes. You can see a gallery of many more via her website.

(via Colossal)