Painted Bunting: Out On A Limb

Painted Bunting: Out On A Limb. 20 X 24. This process was inspired by a technique called, "Portraits In Fiber." Using a photo to interpret a portrait. I have been attempting to get more depth into my compositions; and wanted to trick the eye, by making the Bunting look like he is extending out toward the viewer. I accomplished this by keeping the background in pale values. The bright colors make him move forward from the background. Another trick is to use overlapping. His tail and the bottom leaf are placed on top of the inner border. The background leaves are kept in a muted tone, while the colored leaf is overlapped. All of these tricks make the eye feel that the image has distance between the background and the focal image. Notice that even the busy border does not overpower the bird. That is because it has no real color. A green binding strip, the same color as the leaves, brings your eye from the bottom leaf. It keeps the eye from drifting off of the picture and carries it back up into the composition at the left branch. It also balances the bird with a diagonal balance. The bird is fused onto peltex and has been threadpainted. Pen and ink were used to create the branch on the left. Commercial fabric and fabric pens were used on the colored branch. Different colored threads were used in the threadpainting process. Bird is machine appliqued onto the background. This piece was accepted into the Waverly House Gallery exhibit called "Journeys."

Line And Movement: Color Series

Line And Movement: Color Study Series 21 X 27. This painted quilt came out of a study about how to use line to bring movement to a composition. But since this is a color study, I will use it as my illustration of how to use value and contrast in color to create depth. Again, I have simplified the shapes and used a very abstract style. I started with a dark brown fabric and drew my composition on paper. This drawing was pinned to the fabric and batting and the sewing machine followed my lines. It became my pencil. After the thread drawing, the paper is torn away and the paint is applied. Adding white, creates different values of color from medium to light. Adding warm against cool color, creates a contrast. Allowing the darkness of the fabric to show through, creates shadow. Dark, medium and light; warm and cool contrasts, create the illusion of  moving forward or backward in a composition. There are other elements at work here such as texture and placement; but I liked this study so well, I decided to frame it. A good overall study of elements and design.