Studio
About with a portrait, a CV, exhibitions, how commissions work, rates, clients, press, kind words, workshops, questions, the studio letter, and contact.
The person holding the scissors
I am Ada Reyes, an illustrator and paper artist with a small studio in Porto. I trained as a printmaker, and one slow winter I started cutting shapes from the offcuts instead of printing on them. I never really went back.
Most days start with a pencil and a stack of colored paper and end with a floor full of scraps. I work for magazines, publishers, record labels, and a market or two, and every year I make one series just for myself. That is where the shows and the prints come from.
Yours from the big table, Ada
- Lives and works in Porto
- Trained as a printmaker
- Cuts every piece by hand
- Glues every original on board, then scans it for print
A short CV
Shows, clients, and the training behind the scissors, newest first.
Solo shows
- 2026 Small Suns, Sala Clara, Porto
- 2025 Paper Birds, Kite and Compass Books shop, Porto
- 2023 First Cuts, the studio window, Porto
Group shows
- 2026 Night Garden, a two-person show, The Fold, Lisbon
- 2025 Cut and Pasted, The Fold, Lisbon
- 2024 Small Works on Paper, Sala Clara, Porto
- 2014 Printmaking degree show
Selected clients
- The Harbour Review
- Kite and Compass Books
- Little Orbit Records
- Casa Verde Market
- Moth Lane Theatre
- Salt Road Press
Study and residencies
- 2024 Offcut House residency, six weeks of paper and quiet
- 2016 Evening course in bookbinding
- 2014 Printmaking degree
Now showing
Small Suns
The whole Small Suns series, the pencil roughs behind it, and a long table of offcuts you are welcome to touch. It is my first solo show at Sala Clara.
- September 4 to October 31, 2026
- Sala Clara, Porto
- Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Past shows
Night Garden
A two-person show at The Fold, Lisbon
Cut and Pasted
A group show at The Fold, Lisbon
Paper Birds
A solo show in the Kite and Compass Books shop, Porto
How a commission works
From the first email to the final scan, most jobs take 3 to 5 weeks.
Step 1
Tell me about it
What the picture has to do, where it will live, and when you need it. A rough budget helps too.
Step 2
A pencil sketch within a week
Two or three rough sketches, drawn to your layout, so we pick a direction before any paper gets cut.
Step 3
One round of changes
Move a shape, swap a color, lose a bird. One round is included, and any more are quoted first.
Step 4
Final art as a scan
A high-resolution scan for print and screen, and the cut original, glued on board, if you want it.
What a commission costs
Starting prices in US dollars. Every job gets a written quote before I cut a single shape.
Spot illustration
from $450
- One small collage for a column, a menu, or a page corner
- A pencil sketch and one round of changes
- A high-resolution scan for print and screen
Editorial full page
from $900
- One full-page collage, cut to your layout
- Pencil sketches within a week, and one round of changes
- The scan, and the cut original if you want it
Book cover
from $2,400
- Front, spine, and back, cut as one wraparound piece
- Three sketch directions and one round of changes
- The scan, plus the original glued on board
Who I have made things for
Magazines, books, records, a market, and a theatre. Most of them came back for more.
The Harbour Review
A spot illustration in every issue since 2024, and three covers.
Kite and Compass Books
Covers for their fiction list, and the shop window every spring.
Little Orbit Records
Sleeves for four albums and a box set of singles.
Casa Verde Market
Posters for the Saturday market, and a long paper wall above the fruit stalls.
Moth Lane Theatre
Posters and programs for a whole season of five plays.
Salt Road Press
Covers and endpapers for a set of small poetry books.
Press and studio visits
Interviews, reviews, and one very thorough studio visit. For images and a short biography, write to the studio.
Kind words, pinned to the wall
A few notes from the people I make pictures for. I keep the paper copies taped above my desk for slow days.
We sent Ada a story about tides. She sent back a fish made of forty paper scales, and readers wrote in asking for the print.
Our old market posters came down in the rain. The ones Ada cut come down because people take them home.
Ada listened to the album twice and cut a sleeve that sounds like it. We pressed 500 copies, then 500 more.
Autumn dates are open
Cut Paper for Beginners
Three hours at the big table in my studio, learning to cut shapes that come out the way you meant them. No drawing needed.
You will make one small collage on board, 20 x 30 cm: a sun, a hill, and whatever else wants to join them. We start with circles and leaves, then layer, tear, and glue flat, and you take your piece home that day with a bag of offcuts.
$85 for 3 hours
- Saturday, October 10 two places left
- Saturday, November 7 five places left
- Saturday, November 28 just opened
Things people ask me
About commissions, originals, prints, and workshops. If yours is not here, write to me and I will add it.
How long does a commission take?
A spot illustration takes 2 to 3 weeks from brief to final scan, and a book cover takes 6 to 8. You see a pencil sketch within a week, and one round of changes is included. If there is a hard deadline, tell me first and I will say honestly whether I can make it.
Who owns the rights to the picture?
I keep the copyright, and you get a license for the use we agree on, such as one book cover in every edition or a season of market posters. If the picture needs to do more later, we extend the license instead of starting over. The quote always says what it covers.
Can I buy the original?
Usually, yes. Every original is cut paper on board, 40 x 60 cm or 50 x 75 cm, framed behind glass that keeps the colors from fading. When a piece was commissioned, the client is offered the original first.
How do prints ship?
Prints are giclee on heavy cotton paper, signed by hand, and sent rolled in a sturdy tube with tracking within five working days. Limited editions of 30 come with a numbered certificate. I pack every tube myself, with a sheet of tissue around the print.
What should I bring to a workshop?
Only yourself, and a shirt you do not mind getting glue on. I supply the paper, scissors, glue, boards, and coffee. If you have a sheet of paper you love, an old map or a sweet wrapper, bring it along and we will find it a place.
A letter from the studio, once a month
New pieces before they go up here, first pick of every print edition, dates for shows and workshops, and a short note on whatever is on the table. It lands on the first Sunday of the month.
Booking commissions from November
Say hello
Commissions, prints, workshops, or a question about paper. Email is the quickest way to reach me, and I read every message myself.
Write to me
Visit the studio
A ground-floor studio by the river
Porto, Portugal