Painting Again

 

I started the on-line painting class again.  The same class that led to my latest quilt of the face.

And this is the first painting from the section of the class on Color.  You begin by painting many colors all over the background and then you paint-out the surrounding area to make the figure stand out.  

And here she is.  I am pleased with the results and find the process sort of amazing - to see how the crazy mishmash of paint colors look like they were meant to be part of the body.  Naked ladies aren't part of what I usually focus on - but I like this one.  She is large - about 18" square.  And I am NOT comfortable painting LARGE.  I think it is good that I am operating outside my comfort zone.  

Second painting

 And then I tried the second Color class.  And I tried and tried - and finally gave up.

I thought about not posting this one at all because it is not a success.  BUT I learned a lot.  And that is the reason that I am taking these classes.  I have no intention of becoming a painter but I like to try new things....even when I fail.

So this class starts by painting the background bright red.  Then taking a large brush and just blocking the figure.  You can see the inspiration photo in the upper left corner if you squint.

And then you start to add in all sorts of different colors and shadows and highlights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And you keep adding shading and more color and some details.

If you saw my face as I was doing this you would laugh out loud.  I look like I am IN PAIN.  Because I am!  Trying a new media like paint - with a large brush - and a large painting - and struggling SO hard ----- it is actually sort of scary.  

Which is SUCH a good lesson for me as a teacher.  When I teach a class about fusible faces to traditional quilters who are trained to follow directions and use 1/4 inch seams and use patterns instead of their imagination - it is SCARY for them!  And I need to remember that.

 

  And this is where the painting is now.  I am putting it aside and admitting that some things just simply did NOT work. And I don't have the expertise to fix them.  Or, to be honest, the patience.  I would rather start over and try again.

I do like the red hair.  And her face is actually OK.  And I am proud of the hand!  Yes I am!  Hands are hard and this one is so much better than previous attempts.

But the chest looks like she has a white sweater on and it is supposed to look like skin because she is not wearing any clothes.  And I guess I could add more skin tones but ..... I need to let go of this attempt.

And here is the biggest problem... her face is TOO SMALL for her body.  It should be almost twice as large.  And I think that problem happened because of the sequence of steps in the lesson.  I do not have enough experience in sketching out the dimensions of the body parts with out more of a guideline.  But that is excellent information and knowledge to have going forward.

Because yes I am going to take the next lesson and see what happens.  Here is a secret: I feel very brave and vulnerable because I am posting this failed painting and people will see it.  Hopefully anyone who is just starting to look at this blog will look at previous posts to see my projects that were a success.

Till next lesson - - - - -

 

 

 Busy Busy 

 What a busy time this  has been.  And when my schedule gets too busy - I clean and organize.  It helps keep me calm. 

So - to keep busy and to accomplish something useful - I started reorganizing ALL OF MY FABRIC!!!

Was I insane?  Maybe a little bit.  Here is one of the challenging pieces of fabric that I "fussy cut" in order to find the exact colors that I wanted to use in a quilt - several years ago.  You can understand how hard it was to FOLD it so that it could sit on the shelf.

But I was persistent and this is how it looks now.  Much easier to store and to actually SEE the colors so that I use the crazy beautiful piece of wonderfulness instead of ignoring it.

And yes most of the other fabric is now folded.  I'll take a picture of my closet so you can see how nice it looks.

 Spring Birds with Beads and Bindings

I added the beads and binding and they are done.  And they are in the Marketplace just waiting to be adopted and taken home.  

 The flower beads are so interesting in person - very dimensional.  They make the quilt.  

I am really in a SPRING mood - can you tell???

There is also some fancy stitching on the tail feathers.  I don't know if you can see that on your computer.  But little details do make a difference.

My sister-in-law (a talented Milwaukee artist) described my quilts as "unique" and I laughed.  I told her that unique was a nicer word than some folks use.  I am aware that my quilts are a little different - they really do express my creative instincts.  The more common description is "weird" or "strange".  But I am going to use the word unique from now on!!

I think the next thing that I will do creatively is start my painting class again.  I am ready to do a large colorful crazy portrait.  WhooHoo!

 Spring Is Coming Soon

 The past few weeks have been busier than usual for me.  But quilting helps me stay calm and relaxed so I have been working on small projects.  These little bird quilts will go into the Marketplace in Calico Rock.  

I think it is fun to see the different stages of quilts.  When I teach I warn the students that every quilt goes through an UGLY stage.  And it does.  I think this is especially true in art quilting because there is no repetition of pattern.  You get the basic pieces in place but there is not yet enough definition to judge whether or not the design is good. 

Then you add some zigzag lines around the shapes and the design starts to settle in.  You can spot any problems and make changes.  

You can see the difference in these two quilts that those simple lines make.

I'll post some more photos as soon as I finish the quilting and adding the beaded flowers. 

 Little Bears for the Cold Weather

It has been a month since I added anything to this blog but I have been scurrying around.  Let's see ---- we had a foot of SNOW! in Arkansas!!

And that was just plain crazy for this area.  And it was -3 degrees.  In Arkansas!!  

But - the frigid weather inspired this little postcard and this little quilt.  A bear in a sweater.... how cozy.  I like the way the postcard turned out.  Not so much the quilt.

The postcard is 4" x 6".  

The quilt is 14" x 15".  And I had a good time being indoors during the frigid temps and thinking of colors for the sweater and making this little guy.  

BUT - overall the design is not successful.  So he is staying in my closet till next winter.  Then I may fix him - or I may decide to like him just as he is.  We will see.

So - you may be asking which part I don't like.  I really like the colors.  Especially the crazy green background against the orange sweater design.  But there is TOO much background around the bear.  Especially above his head.  I feel like I should cut out a word from fabric and put it up there - but I can't decide which word to use.  Maybe BRRRR or COZY NOW.  Not sure.  But it needs something.  Maybe some snowflakes?  

The other thing I don't like is the bottom sweater design.  Not good.  Too much pattern.  But that would be easy to change.  We will see ..... next winter.  Good Bye for now Little Bear.  

(Actually this is a good lesson for me in just allowing a project to be not completely successful.)

 Finished! 

And I think he looks fabulous.  Just a reminder of the inspiration painting that inspired him ---

So the finished piece is different but definitely related.

I especially like the way that the gold fabric frames the black fabric that he was originally fused to and the way the hair explodes from one area to the next.  He still needs a name.....

The finished piece is about 24" x 24". 

 More Changes in Design

This is the photo from the last post.  The one below shows the changes.  Check out the changes around the eyes and nose and lips.  I may still need to do a bit more around the chin. 

 

 

 

 

My goal with the paint and additional stitching was to make the shape of the nose stand out, reduce and blend the lower border for the eyes, add definition to the pupils, and make the lips and chin more distinct.  As I look at the photo on the computer I realize that I can be a bit more bold with the chin and lip outline and maybe add more white to the nose.  

I find it HARD to paint white on the nose but it does make a difference.  All of the sewing to secure the pieces is done including outlining each of spiky hair pieces.  Next step:  Quilting.