Saturday, October 18, 2014

Ram From My Photo

After going to the Northwest Quilting Expo in Portland, I was very inspired!! There were very few traditional quilts, most of the show was landscapes, portraits, animals, flowers, and other art quilting topics. I bought June Yeager's book, "Best Friends, Animal Portrait Quilts" she was one of their featured quilters and all her art was wonderfully inspiring. The book has a photo of a ram, and it reminded me of some photos I took several years ago at the "Black Sheep Festival" in Eugene, Oregon.
I printed the photo in a black and white 8 X 10, and put clear plastic over it from a sheet protector. Defining the value areas of dark and light. I start with the darkest dark and the lightest light, assigning numbers 1-10. Then I scanned the line drawing into the computer, and used Photoshop to print a poster size, 4 sheets of 8.5 x 11 put together. The finished size is 17" x 22" a very manageable size. Be careful that the smallest pieces are not too small to work with, and that you can use prints on the biggest pieces to create pattern.
I am using mostly Bali batiks and Wonder Under to fuse. When the pieces are very specific I fuse, to get an easy pattern transfer, and the detail I want. But it is not my favorite way to make quilts, I prefer free cutting and raw edge applique. I get bored of it quickly, I used to compare it to putting together a jig saw puzzle, now I think it is more like a "Paint by Numbers." The best part is picking out the fabric and the thread painting. I think I still need to work on the values on the face, they are too similar. The eye needs more definition, and the forehead should be a bit lighter too. I think the thread painting will really help make the curl of the horn more defined and the fur with curly texture.

To see more excellent textiles artists, click on the badge link in the right hand column, for Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Friday."

1 comment:

  1. I think this piece really needs to be seen "up close and personal" to be appreciated properly, but the beauty of your hard work still comes through on the screen. :-)

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